Fulton High School's two bona-fide college basketball prospects - junior wing Jalen Steele (6-foot-1, 185) and senior shooting-guard James Gallman (6-0, 180) - can attest. Steele is beginning the recruiting circus and recently received his first offer from Dayton of the Atlantic 10.
Fulton coach Jody Wright said Steele has "a lot of people watching him closely" and added that he has received a call or two per week this summer from college coaches impressed with Steele's play on the AAU circuit. South Carolina was one of those callers, and Wright called Steele, potentially, an "SEC-caliber player."
Gallman holds offers from Dayton, Middle Tennessee State and Appalachian State. Wright said MTSU has been on Gallman hard "from the get-go" and hasn't wavered on its commitment to Gallman "being a guard for them and playing quite a bit." Wright said some "bigger" Division I schools are still evaluating the senior, who's just as good a defender as he is a scorer.
This week, we will profile the 2007 football season highlights. The highlights will be provided in five different parts. The videos illustrate a season that many described as overachieving, as the Falcons replaced 22 graduating seniors from their 2006 State Championship team and were able to overcome other obstacles and adversity to become State Finalists in 2007. This team included one of the finest groups of senior WRs and DBs in the state (Vic Smith, Derrick Humphries, Ken Tyson and Jabriel Siler) and other senior leaders, such as, LB/FB Bubba Stokes, RB/DE Terrence Cobb, QB Jonathan Blair, LB/RB Derek Wilcox, OL/DL Gary Gamble, DB/SpTms Kamarin Mack and Juan McKinney.Young Falcons: Fulton fell to Boyle County in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Fulton led with less than a minute remaining before throwing an interception and losing the lead.
The Falcons carried 19 players to the tournament, 14 of whom are either sophomores or freshmen.
Fulton coach Buck Coatney said the passing tournament was a good test for the young Falcons.
"It lets our guys see where they stand and most of these guys are back for two, three more years," he said. "It gives them something to be looking forward to."
Looking to the upcoming season, Coatney said his young players can make plenty of improvement.
"We're going to have to get a little more mentally tough," he said. "It was hot out there (Saturday). I think we have some athleticism but I think our mental toughness could be a little better."
The following schools will be participating in the Adidas 7on7 Regional Passing Tournament at the University of Tennessee on Friday and Saturday. The top two teams will compete in the Finals being held in Atlanta, GA on July 30-31.
The Fulton Falcons have received the No. 1 ranking in the Murphy Fair Class 3A preseason state football poll that was released Thursday. The Falcons secured 10 first place votes and appeared on more ballots than any other team in 3A.
This faster paced game of football starts all plays on the opponents 40-yard line, leading to a more intense, immediate gridiron experience. Athletes are guaranteed to play in at least four games, and college scouts will be in attendance. Players who might not otherwise get an opportunity to show their skills for college recruiters are getting a new chance, thanks to adidas. Every game is played with licensed football officials, and the tournament features an adidas village which includes demonstrations, Xbox® video games, products, music, skill competitions, a Friday evening cookout, and other activities. Nearly 10,000 players in all are expected to attend this year’s events.
