HornetFan

You can't teach a short QB to be tall; taller QB's can see downfield better than short QB's; it opens the whole field to possible pass routes. That's a fact. If a short QB has to roll out to throw downfield, it cuts the field almost in half. Too many kids that list themselves as 5'11" or 6'0" measure out at 5'10" or less. When you see a 5'9" RB standing next to the QB and they appear to be the same height, the QB isn't 5'11". "lack of height is not nearly the factor that other intangibles are". If this is true, why do teams place a value on taller QB's?

I have to agree that he would probably be a better fit at Edgewater, but maybe his family actually moved to Dr Phillips school zone. It has to be difficult to transfer in as a senior QB unless the position has been vacated through graduation of the previous starter. That's not the case at DP. I don't see DP bailing on Patti unless this kid is clearly better than him; Patti didn't look good in the Spring Jamboree.

MacKenzie Milton is a rare talent who has a quick release that comes from various levels (sidearm, over the top, etc., like Patrick Mahones) that enable him to deliver the ball downfield. He also looks to pass first and run second. Too many undersize QB's are too quick to pull the ball down and run, and that's usually because they can't see real well over the DL and OL. Watching this kid's Hudl videos, to me it appears he is quick to pull the ball down and run; just an observation. I'm sure DP is happy to have him, but he's a senior coming to a new team that already has a starting QB. I wouldn't hesitate to use him as a slot receiver; he's quick and has the build to go over the middle.

Can't say I blame him for leaving a Lyman team that only won one game last season, while getting blown out by several teams on their schedule. His Hudl video for last season looks good for him as an individual; he ran with the ball quite a bit and showed good ability as a runner: still a bit on the short side; listed at 5'11" but looked shorter. He'll face much tougher competition at Dr Phillips, first for the starting QB position, and then against stronger and bigger opponents. Overall, he looks good and should compete for starting position.

I agree, but WP is being criticized for their schedule when admittedly, with the exception of Timber Creek, they are in a weaker district, something they don't control. Their non-district schedule isn't weak.

After seeing DP in the Spring Jamboree (one varsity quarter against WP {12-0} and a varsity half against Apopka {21-0}), I would expect that every team on DP's schedule, with the exception of the three I mentioned previously, will be a challenge for DP. Their offense looked terrible and their defense was non-existent. Playing a tough schedule if you can't beat those teams, proves nothing except you scheduled out of your league.

Your earlier statement on how they were 9-2 last year with only losses to Edgewater and Apopka is correct. However, those were the only two top ranked teams they played and as you described our loss to Seminole "They Got Blown Out". WP did get blown out by Edgewater and Apopka last season. WP played a one dimensional offense all last season relying on the running game as their main weapon and for the most part, they got away with it. A strong defense shut down their opponents. It worked against all but Edgewater and Apopka, but those two took away the run and forced WP to pass the ball. WP's starting QB was undersized and it was apparent that he has trouble seeing down field, especially over a tall DL. WP actually led Apopka at the half despite playing with a depleted DL; their edge rusher DE who led the team in sacks broke his arm the game before and their other starting DE was playing with an injured shoulder. WP's QB threw three bad interceptions downfield in the 2nd half; it was obvious he couldn't see his receivers. On top of that, he fumbled the ball away twice in that 2nd half trying to scramble. The 2nd half was a disaster and the final score was lopsided. You can't have 5 turnovers in a game, no less in one half, and expect to win a game. Credit the Apopka coaches for taking advantage of WP's weaknesses. My participation into this discussion was driven by you saying to name 1 team in central FL with a tougher schedule and I gave you five (despite our differences in opinion). I believe I asked for several examples of tougher schedules. I never implied that WP's schedule was the toughest in Orlando area. The teams you listed had common opponents with WP. That's how it works out in Orlando area; there's a lot of common opponents. It's rare that class 8A teams in the area don't play many of the same teams.

If the teams in Orlando get too good, WP may have to travel to Tampa Bay to find some a wealth of weak football teams. What was that glorified Pop Warner team that your root for?

It's a better source once it hits end of July and August I follow Winter Park's Twitter page and they have next season's schedule posted. For WP schedule, Hudl and MaxPreps are accurate as of right now. It would be nice if more teams kept their Twitter pages up to date; some teams are very informative while others seem reluctant to putting much information out there. As a big HS and college football fan, I like to try and stay abreast of what happening with the teams I follow. 7v7 fills a big void in the off-season.

Hudl and MaxPreps are not that far off, and it's a lot less work than trying to seek out a team's schedule on Twitter. When a team plays in a good sized city like Orlando, most of the teams in classifications 8A and 7A are going to have many common opponents on their schedules.

How did I make your point with DP? WP doesn't play DP in the regular season; though they did play in their Spring Jamboree. You listed DP as a tough opponent on other teams' schedules and I suggested they may not be that tough this year. Yet, you want to credit them as a strong opponent on schedules listed above. I commented on Jones in your post above.

Jones has been very good for several years and are moving up to 6A this Fall. They have been beating up 5A schools for the past 5 years and playing stiffer competition in non-district games. In their new 6A classification, they'll have to schedule more schools from outside Orlando because 6A is almost non-existent in Orlando. Jones does have a tough schedule this Fall.

The schedules are no secret if you're willing to press a few keys on your computer. Most schedules can be found on Hudl and MaxPreps. Lacking the ability to find comparative schedules, it sounds like your comments were coming straight out of your butt. Most schools in Orlando piece their out of district schedules together playing pretty much the same teams in comparable classifications. They realize that their fans may not want to drive around the state on a Friday night if it's possible to attend games around Orlando.

Jones should walk all over DP, lose to IMG, have a good physical game with Edgewater, and no comment on Palmetto because I know nothing about them. Jones has looked to schedule up in recent years because their 5A opponents were, for the most part, lacking. Moving up to 6A should offer better opponents. Jones is travelling weeks 2 through 6; that's a bit unusual and may have some bearing on how they scheduled. No coach in his right mind wants to start a season with five straight road games.

I would start off with Apopka. Similar degree of difficulty in district, but picked up not only Edgewater also West Orange, DP and Lakeland. West Orange and Lakeland are good opponents. DP looked terrible in Spring Jamboree against Apopka and Winter Park; not overly impressed with DP. Colonial, Lake Brantley, Edgewater, and Evans are also on WP's schedule. This may be slightly, if at all, more difficult than WP schedule. West Orange in a tougher district has Apopka, Boone, Wekiva and upcoming Ocoee. Boone is also on WP's schedule. Ocoee has to be "upcoming", because there is no "down" from where they were last season. You fail to mention they also play East River, Celebration, and Olympia (three gimme games for WO). DP same tough district has Apopka and Cocoa. After seeing DP in Spring Jamboree, they may win only 3 games this season (Celebration, Olympia, and Windermere). OHS has Cocoa and Manatee OHS has Lake Nona, Edgewater, and University on schedule, all common opponents with WP. Olympia, Windermere, Celebration, and University won't even offer token resistance. DP shouldn't be much trouble either. Sorry, but I don't see how any of these schedules are more difficult than WP's with possible exception of Apopka, with WO and Lakeland on their schedule.

And there is no proof unless someone posts a link that WP was actively looking for top teams to schedule. I don't see where you mentioned any other Orlando area schools that have more difficult "out of district" schedules, so I guess it's fair to assume that most other Orlando area schools are scheduling in a similar manner. You say "The schedule is not good". I say that the "powers that be" at WP did a nice job of scheduling a good blend of local Orlando area schools, schools that are of similar size to WP and are within reasonable distance for fans to go to away games. Several of these teams have been very competitive recently, such as Edgewater, Lake Mary, Lake Brantley, and Lake Nona. Boone fielded a good team last year and returns a senior laden team that should be even better this year. Evans has been rebuilding under a popular HC and has been improving the past two years; they expect to be much better this year. Timber Creek has a strong program. The level of play in Central Florida has been improving over the last few years. It may not have the overall strength of South Florida, but it can compete on equal footing with any other region of the state. You say the KOC is meaningless, but I disagree. It may not count in the standings, but it can set the stage for what type of season a team experiences. And finally, not every top team in a region wants to schedule too many good teams in out of district play, so tougher opponents aren't always willing to risk a loss that could impact their ranking. I'm still waiting for you to name a few teams in Orlando with stronger out of district schedules.

Winter Park finished 9-2 last year, losing only to Edgewater in the regular season and Apopka in the playoffs. This coming season, they will have Timber Creek, Hagerty, University, and Colonial in their District (they have no control of that schedule. Their other games are Edgewater, Boone, Evans, Lake Nona, Lake Mary, and Lake Brantley; that's not a bad non-district schedule. Their KOC opponent is West Orange. The Spring Jamboree was Dr Phillips and Apopka. You can only schedule non-district games against teams that want to schedule you as an opponent. If WP's schedule is weak, name several "good" Orlando area schools that have much tougher non-district schedules. I don't pay much attention to nolebull's comments because if I remember correctly from last season, his team would have had trouble against a girls' field hockey team that was playing short handed.

I don't know why you call Winter Park's schedule "middle of the road". They don't control their District schedule (Timber Creek, Hagerty, University, and Colonial). Their out of district schedule contains West Orange (KOC), Lake Nona, Lake Mary, Edgewater, Boone, Evans, and Lake Brantley. Those aren't exactly lightweights. The only teams that have been real weak lately are University and Colonial. Most teams have at least a few easy games on their schedules.

It might be easier to list the kids in South Florida that aren't transferring.

What happened at Hardee that would cause 9 players to transfer out of their school? That's a significant number, especially if they're productive players.

John Walker or Derrick LeBlanc film; impressive. The DL doesn't need much time, they just bowl people over and deck the QB They are both big, quick, and impressive. WO has some big kids on their OL and DL too. The QB's will have to get the ball out quickly because there will be pressure. Both teams have some impressive talent. It should be an interesting matchup when they meet.

But, when you are 14 through 17 being a part of unfairness on purpose can be devastating. Though it only happens on rare occasions, that is why it is so satisfying when the kid who transfers in is beaten out by the kid who is actually zoned for the school.

Go to WO's Hudl site and take a look at Gibson's film; impressive. The QB doesn't need much time; he just puts the ball out there and Gibson goes and gets it.

I have seen Jayden Gibson, WO's 4 star WR in 7v7 play with an all-star type team, and I have seen his film from last season. Osceola doesn't have any DB's that can cover this 6'6', 4 star, fast WR who happens to have long arms and great hands. WO likes to just put the ball up deep and let him go after it. They also have other talented WR's so you can't just concentrate on Gibson. Osceola will have trouble with a WO team that has talented returning seniors at most key positions.

I like your sarcasm; we both know Osceola will be a contender. It's going to be a good season in Central Florida; the area has some quality teams in 8A including the defending state champion and runner-up. After seeing DP in the Spring Jamboree last month, I wouldn't rate them above Osceola. I think DP may be the 3rd best team in their District, behind WO and Osceola. It is a tough district this year.