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Frostberg

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  1.  

     

    Years ago, before McQuitty set every record in the brand-new record book and knowing he had almost nothing to work with before his first season as a head coach, Conyers watched every one of McQuitty’s middle school games. And when McQuitty was as an eighth-grader, Conyers knew he would be his best receiver the following season on varsity.

    “Here comes in this kinda tall, lanky kid with big, old hands, size-15 shoes, he’s skinny as can be,” Conyers says. “And I’m thinking, ‘OK, this kid has some potential.’”

    McQuitty admits he knew he had some talent. As a freshman on Battle’s new practice field, he says he walked around like he was a little taller than he actually was.

    He was talented, but he was also arrogant. Until someone called him out on it.

    “And one day at practice, this senior told me I wasn’t going to start, I was just going to play JV and freshman team,” McQuitty says. “And after that I was set. I was set. Boy, nobody was going to tell me I wasn’t going to play varsity.”

    His coming-out party was a month later, against the No. 1 team in the state.

    South Callaway High School players spoke pretty publicly about what they were going to do to Battle, the new school with freshmen at quarterback and receiver.

    McQuitty heard the rumblings all week. He remembered the quotes, how they were going to do this and that to the Spartans.

    Come the fourth quarter, with about a minute left, 14-year-old McQuitty caught a pass on a vertical route, shook a defender off his shoulder and bolted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

    “These kids are 14, and they’re winning varsity football games against major teams,” Conyers says. “And I’m thinking, ‘I can deal with this for four years.’”

     

    The moment coach Conyers knew McQuitty was different was on the sideline of one of the biggest games of Conyers’ coaching career.

    It was Week 4 of this season. Before the game, Conyers sat McQuitty down on one of the ivory couches in his office and told him he needed to play big that week against St. John Vianney High School.

    “There were multiple Division-I players on the other side of the ball, and so I went to him and I said, ‘listen, you’re the No. 1-ranked player in Missouri, people are going to hate and say you’re not, and this is the stage where you go out and you prove you’re the best.’”

    Battle bolted to a 14-0 lead. Vianney countered with 35 straight points, putting Battle down 21 in the second quarter.

    During a timeout, Conyers stood by himself by the water cooler trying to wrap his head around what the heck had just happened.

    On the sideline, McQuitty spotted his head coach.

    The receiver walked up, threw his arm around Conyers, and smiled.

    “Hey,” McQuitty says. “We’re gonna be all right. We got this.”

    Conyers took a deep breath, put his headset back on and went back to work.

    “For a second there, he legit was me,” Conyers says. “I’d never had a player do that. Never.”

    Battle won, 55-52.

    McQuitty finished with 7 catches for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns, including the game-winning grab in the final minute.

    It’s a story Conyers says he’ll tell for years. Not just because of McQuitty’s game, but because he went out of his way to tell the coach it would be OK.

    That’s why the bar McQuitty has set at Battle High School is so high, Conyers says. McQuitty did it on and off the field. The foundation Battle is built on, McQuitty helped pave.

    He never had an ego, Conyers says. Despite being the No. 1 player on offense in the state, the No. 42 receiver in the 2017 class, and fielding offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, McQuitty kept being McQuitty.

     

    A nice article on McQuitty on landof10.com

     

    Link

     

     

     

    He’s excited to be coached by Riley, too. Coach Conyers wasn’t a yeller. Neither is Riley. And McQuitty likes that. That’s what put Nebraska over Michigan, McQuitty says. He was watching a Michigan game when coach Jim Harbaugh began freaking out on the sideline. It was then, McQuitty says, he realized he didn’t like how “business” Michigan seemed.

    “I’ll see him in games and stuff and I’d see him and like, that’s not what I want,” McQuitty says. “I just want to be told how to fix it.”

    • Fire 1
  2.  

    Years ago, before McQuitty set every record in the brand-new record book and knowing he had almost nothing to work with before his first season as a head coach, Conyers watched every one of McQuitty’s middle school games. And when McQuitty was as an eighth-grader, Conyers knew he would be his best receiver the following season on varsity.

    “Here comes in this kinda tall, lanky kid with big, old hands, size-15 shoes, he’s skinny as can be,” Conyers says. “And I’m thinking, ‘OK, this kid has some potential.’”

    McQuitty admits he knew he had some talent. As a freshman on Battle’s new practice field, he says he walked around like he was a little taller than he actually was.

    He was talented, but he was also arrogant. Until someone called him out on it.

    “And one day at practice, this senior told me I wasn’t going to start, I was just going to play JV and freshman team,” McQuitty says. “And after that I was set. I was set. Boy, nobody was going to tell me I wasn’t going to play varsity.”

    His coming-out party was a month later, against the No. 1 team in the state.

    South Callaway High School players spoke pretty publicly about what they were going to do to Battle, the new school with freshmen at quarterback and receiver.

    McQuitty heard the rumblings all week. He remembered the quotes, how they were going to do this and that to the Spartans.

    Come the fourth quarter, with about a minute left, 14-year-old McQuitty caught a pass on a vertical route, shook a defender off his shoulder and bolted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

    “These kids are 14, and they’re winning varsity football games against major teams,” Conyers says. “And I’m thinking, ‘I can deal with this for four years.’”

     

    The moment coach Conyers knew McQuitty was different was on the sideline of one of the biggest games of Conyers’ coaching career.

    It was Week 4 of this season. Before the game, Conyers sat McQuitty down on one of the ivory couches in his office and told him he needed to play big that week against St. John Vianney High School.

    “There were multiple Division-I players on the other side of the ball, and so I went to him and I said, ‘listen, you’re the No. 1-ranked player in Missouri, people are going to hate and say you’re not, and this is the stage where you go out and you prove you’re the best.’”

    Battle bolted to a 14-0 lead. Vianney countered with 35 straight points, putting Battle down 21 in the second quarter.

    During a timeout, Conyers stood by himself by the water cooler trying to wrap his head around what the heck had just happened.

    On the sideline, McQuitty spotted his head coach.

    The receiver walked up, threw his arm around Conyers, and smiled.

    “Hey,” McQuitty says. “We’re gonna be all right. We got this.”

    Conyers took a deep breath, put his headset back on and went back to work.

    “For a second there, he legit was me,” Conyers says. “I’d never had a player do that. Never.”

    Battle won, 55-52.

    McQuitty finished with 7 catches for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns, including the game-winning grab in the final minute.

    It’s a story Conyers says he’ll tell for years. Not just because of McQuitty’s game, but because he went out of his way to tell the coach it would be OK.

    That’s why the bar McQuitty has set at Battle High School is so high, Conyers says. McQuitty did it on and off the field. The foundation Battle is built on, McQuitty helped pave.

    He never had an ego, Conyers says. Despite being the No. 1 player on offense in the state, the No. 42 receiver in the 2017 class, and fielding offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, McQuitty kept being McQuitty.

     

    A nice article on McQuitty on landof10.com

     

    Link

    • Fire 1
  3. Oregonlive.com did an interview with Graham.

     

    When asked what stands out about N...

    "Coach Riley, the academic staff and the opportunity to play in the Big Ten"

     

    When asked what stands out Oregon...

    "Oregon, Coach Taggart, I love his plan and what he has planned for the next level at Oregon to bring them back. Everyone thinks they fell off because of one year, but he's going to bring them back to the top."

     

    Link

    • Fire 1
  4.  

    After refusing to practice Thursday, Gophers players donned their maroon game jerseys and announced that they are boycotting all football activities — even their Dec. 27 bowl game, if need be — in protest of the University of Minnesota’s decision to suspend 10 teammates as a result of a September sexual assault allegation.

    Those 10 suspended players stood directly behind seniors Drew Wolitarsky, Mitch Leidner and Duke Anyanwu — with the rest of the team arrayed behind them in support — as Wolitarsky read from a typed, two-page statement, laying out the players’ demands.

    “The boycott will remain in effect until due process is followed and the suspensions for all 10 players involved are lifted,” Wolitarsky said.

    Wolitarsky said the players want an apology from university President Eric Kaler and athletic director Mark Coyle, adding that the players “demand that these leaders are held accountable for their actions.”

    Asked if the players were worried about losing their scholarships, Wolitarsky responded: “We’re all in this together. What are they going to do, pull 120 guys off the team? They won’t have a team if that’s the case.”

    A source confirmed that Northern Illinois is next in line for a bowl game and a candidate to replace Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl. The decision on whether Minnesota will play likely needs to be made in the next few days, as a potential replacement team would need time to prepare.

    Link

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