We're featuring some of our HomeTeam 100 players, including our No. 24 player, Weeki Wachee OL Marcus Applefield:
Applefield and his Hornets debuted last year with their first fall of all-varsity competition. Looking back, Applefield considers it a test run for 2013.
“It was pretty much a preseason for this year,” Applefield said.
That preseason was solid — three victories, including one over rival Central — and a building block for Weeki Wachee and its cornerstone lineman. Applefield went from an unknown commodity at a Class 4A program in Hernando County into one of the state’s top recruits. Almost two dozen offers, from USF, UCF, Kentucky and others followed.
Applefield (6-6, 270) is growing accustomed to a higher profile. He visited almost a dozen colleges over the summer and earned strong reviews at Florida State. At a recent team camp, opposing coaches flocked to see him face off against Dunnellon’s Keiwan Jones, a defensive tackle with a handful of major offers. Applefield held his own against the 6-foot-2, 250-pound senior.
This fall will bring more challenges. Teams will gear up to take down one of Tampa Bay’s top recruits. He’ll face pass rushers like D-I prospects Rohan Blackwood (Nature Coast) and Jeremiah Jackson (Hernando). But a strong showing on a young Hornets program would show that Applefield belongs among the area’s elite players.
Also in this series:
Players 91-100
Players 81-90
Players 71-80
Players 61-70
Players 51-60
Players 41-50
Players 31-40
Players 21-30