A numerical snapshot of spring drills at Strawberry Crest
1 Former head coach on second-year coach John Kelly’s staff. Jeremy Shobe, who compiled an 11-30 mark in four years at Wiregrass Ranch and led the Bulls to the program’s first playoff berth, is coaching linebackers.
2 Formal offers — from USF and FIU — for 6-foot-4, 210-pound WR/DE Alex Carswell, who is likely to get several more by month’s end. Carswell had 22 catches, 30 tackles, two caused fumbles and a blocked punt in 2012.
4 Former Armwood assistants — including Kelly — on the Chargers staff. New to the group is Todd Gicker, whom Kelly calls the best prep receivers coach in the state. Gicker held the same job for 15 years at Armwood.
23 Total colleges that stopped by the school last spring. That number already had been eclipsed through the first nine days of spring this year, Kelly said.
1100 SAT score — on the first attempt — earned by 6-1, 185-pound rising senior safety Isaiah Smallwood, an International Baccalaureate student who is among the college prospects the scouts are coming to observe.
Pats lose LB
A late-season concussion sustained last fall is forcing Carrollwood Day rising junior linebacker Kalle Wilwant, the Patriots’ third-leading tackler in 2012, to walk away from the game.
“He didn’t get another concussion. He just got headaches and it wasn’t feeling right,” coach Lane McLaughlin said Monday. “It’s a sad situation but that’s the way it is.”
Wilwant, described by McLaughlin as a throwback-type linebacker, amassed 77 tackles and three caused fumbles in only eight games in 2012. Early in the season, he set a school record when he broke three chin straps in one game.
On the positive side, former Patriots receiver/defensive back Nate Lewis is signing with NAIA Kentucky Christian, McLaughlin said. Lewis, who sustained a season-ending knee injury early in 2011, had 19 catches for 469 yards and four touchdowns in 2012.
Former Jesuit and Freedom coach James Harrell joined the Knights staff as a linebackers coach this year.
By any name, it’s brutal
Over the years, we’ve discovered several programs have adopted euphemisms — ranging from the catchy to the concise to the corny — for their post-practice disciplinary drills. Here are some:
Armwood, Jesuit: Pride Squad
Leto: Old Bessy (nickname for the huge tire used during the drills)
Robinson: Accountability
Sickles: APC (After-Practice Conditioning)
Strawberry Crest: Character Club
Photo: Strawberry Crest coach John Kelly