Hotty Toddy Sports Blog
A blog for fans of Ole Miss, the SEC, or College Sports in general written by a few Ole Miss students with an obvious bias.Friday, May 26, 2006
Family Man
The current icon of the Ole Miss defense is most obviously Patrick Willis, hell he's the icon of the whole team. To gain the national attention he recieved on an underachieving 3-8 Ole Miss squad takes talent. Really, there is nothing I can say that hasn't been said. So I will suffice with this:
Patcick Willis is the best linebacker in all of Division 1-A football. Period.
In a year, expect a collective "thank God" to escape the mouths of SEC West offensive coordinators when the surefire first round slection is propelled to the pro ranks. While Les Miles and Sylvester Croom are letting loose their sighs of relief, the Rebel faithful will simply focus their eyes on the next great Ole Miss defender.
This young man is the player who will shove that "thank God" back into their mouths and turn it into something more like "GOD #*%&*@!" Ladies and Gentlemen of the Southeastern Conference, meet Chris Strong.
Thanks to omspirit.com for the image
Here's an interesting statistic: The state of Mississippi has produced the most professional football players per capita.
A stranger to Mississippi football would ask "where do these kids come from?" Well, if you know anything about the Magnolia State's high school football, you know about South Panola High School. The Tigers of South Panola are currently looking to extend their 45-game win streak to 60 this year and win that (always elusive) fourth 5A title.
This is the USC (pre-Rose Bowl) of Mississippi High School Football.
And if this is USC, Chris Strong is Reggie Bush.
Well, he's not really a half back, but you get my drift.
Strong is the most talented player on the most talented team in (arguably) the most talented state for high school ball.
How talented? Well, for starters Strong was the only junior on the 2005 Clarion Ledger 1st Team All-State squad and the only junior to be named as a Prep Star All-American from the Magnolia State. In 15 games Strong had 94 tackles and 4 sacks on the season. His bench is around 350, his vertical is just shy of 40" and his 40 time is around 4.6 seconds. He is able to cram all of this ability into a 6'3" 240lb frame. He's got the size, strength and ability to play down on the line or in the box. I've actually seen him in action and he can really lay the big hits on anybody. There isn't an offensive player he will play all year that will be able to get past him.
Ok, if you're not impressed yet, check this out. Chris Strong has amassed 32 D1-A scholarship offers and is yet to play a single down as a senior. He's recieved offers from the likes of USC, Miami, and Notre Dame. He has even recieved an offer from every school in the SEC, well, almost every school. Mississippi State pulled his commitment when he apparently told one of their coaches "not to waste their time" recruiting him.
Good move Coach Croom. You don't want this guy anyway, right?
So how does a young man who committed very early to his first scholarship offer feel about recieving all of this attention? In an interview with rebelsports.net Strong said, "(my coaches) just told me that I had 32 scholarship offers. I do not even ask who. I got the one (Ole Miss) where I am headed. That is all I really need to know."
This is baffling, I'm certain, to many people who've offered the kid. They're probably wondering, "well why in the hell is this kid so damn fond of the Rebels?" I mean, surely with offers from Notre Dame et al he should just leave Oxford in the dust.
There is just one little piece of information these people don't know about Chris Strong: for him, blood is much thicker than water.
Rebel fans will remeber mister Eddie Strong, the #1 wearing linebacker who put 18 tackes worth of hurt on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2002 Egg Bowl. Rebel fans are also very familiar with Jamarca Sanford, the hard hitting starting strong safety for the current Rebel squad. Also, Peria and John Jerry, two large linemen (Peria a DE, Jerry a G) will soon be making a name for themselves in Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.
How does Chris Strong know these guys already?
Well besides being fellow South Panola Tigers, these young men are close family members to Strong (Eddie is his uncle while Sanford and the Jerrys are his cousins). The beaches of Miami, the tradition of USC, the crowds of Neyland, and the aura of South Bend will never be able to pull a guy like Chris Strong away from the people he love.
That's the kind of football player I want on my team. Hotty Toddy Chris.
-Bob
Patcick Willis is the best linebacker in all of Division 1-A football. Period.
In a year, expect a collective "thank God" to escape the mouths of SEC West offensive coordinators when the surefire first round slection is propelled to the pro ranks. While Les Miles and Sylvester Croom are letting loose their sighs of relief, the Rebel faithful will simply focus their eyes on the next great Ole Miss defender.
This young man is the player who will shove that "thank God" back into their mouths and turn it into something more like "GOD #*%&*@!" Ladies and Gentlemen of the Southeastern Conference, meet Chris Strong.
Thanks to omspirit.com for the imageHere's an interesting statistic: The state of Mississippi has produced the most professional football players per capita.
A stranger to Mississippi football would ask "where do these kids come from?" Well, if you know anything about the Magnolia State's high school football, you know about South Panola High School. The Tigers of South Panola are currently looking to extend their 45-game win streak to 60 this year and win that (always elusive) fourth 5A title.
This is the USC (pre-Rose Bowl) of Mississippi High School Football.
And if this is USC, Chris Strong is Reggie Bush.
Well, he's not really a half back, but you get my drift.
Strong is the most talented player on the most talented team in (arguably) the most talented state for high school ball.
How talented? Well, for starters Strong was the only junior on the 2005 Clarion Ledger 1st Team All-State squad and the only junior to be named as a Prep Star All-American from the Magnolia State. In 15 games Strong had 94 tackles and 4 sacks on the season. His bench is around 350, his vertical is just shy of 40" and his 40 time is around 4.6 seconds. He is able to cram all of this ability into a 6'3" 240lb frame. He's got the size, strength and ability to play down on the line or in the box. I've actually seen him in action and he can really lay the big hits on anybody. There isn't an offensive player he will play all year that will be able to get past him.
Ok, if you're not impressed yet, check this out. Chris Strong has amassed 32 D1-A scholarship offers and is yet to play a single down as a senior. He's recieved offers from the likes of USC, Miami, and Notre Dame. He has even recieved an offer from every school in the SEC, well, almost every school. Mississippi State pulled his commitment when he apparently told one of their coaches "not to waste their time" recruiting him.
Good move Coach Croom. You don't want this guy anyway, right?
So how does a young man who committed very early to his first scholarship offer feel about recieving all of this attention? In an interview with rebelsports.net Strong said, "(my coaches) just told me that I had 32 scholarship offers. I do not even ask who. I got the one (Ole Miss) where I am headed. That is all I really need to know."
This is baffling, I'm certain, to many people who've offered the kid. They're probably wondering, "well why in the hell is this kid so damn fond of the Rebels?" I mean, surely with offers from Notre Dame et al he should just leave Oxford in the dust.
There is just one little piece of information these people don't know about Chris Strong: for him, blood is much thicker than water.
Rebel fans will remeber mister Eddie Strong, the #1 wearing linebacker who put 18 tackes worth of hurt on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2002 Egg Bowl. Rebel fans are also very familiar with Jamarca Sanford, the hard hitting starting strong safety for the current Rebel squad. Also, Peria and John Jerry, two large linemen (Peria a DE, Jerry a G) will soon be making a name for themselves in Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.
How does Chris Strong know these guys already?
Well besides being fellow South Panola Tigers, these young men are close family members to Strong (Eddie is his uncle while Sanford and the Jerrys are his cousins). The beaches of Miami, the tradition of USC, the crowds of Neyland, and the aura of South Bend will never be able to pull a guy like Chris Strong away from the people he love.
That's the kind of football player I want on my team. Hotty Toddy Chris.
-Bob
posted by Bob Lynch # 5/26/2006 02:11:00 PM 
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