“I always have like a goal list that motivates me,” said Gallop, who starred at Churchland High in Portsmouth. “I have some on my phone when I wake up. I have some in my locker. So it’s always there as motivation.”

Last season, Gallop accomplished everything on his wish list and more.

He was the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, just the fourth Bison player to receive the award since 1971. He also was the recipient of the Aeneas Williams Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back in HBCU Division I football.

Gallop made three All-America teams, and was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the most outstanding defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

And this season has gotten off to a great start as he was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday at the league’s annual media day.

“It’s a great feeling, but I also know that preseason doesn’t mean much,” said Gallop, who also was named a first-team Preseason All-American by FCS Football Central. “It’s not how you start, but how you finish. It feels amazing to get recognized, but you know, I’m more of a guy who cares about accolades after the season.”

Coming home for media day was a big deal for Gallop. He got to show teammates and coaches where it all started for him, including the 15-minute drive to his high school.

“It feels good, you know, just being close to home,” he said. “You know, showing my teammates around the area I grew up in. It’s just always exciting to show guys my background and where I come from.”

Going back to Churchland also is a reminder to Gallop of how far he’s come. He wasn’t highly sought as a high school player. But he went to Howard University and worked hard to become one of the top defensive backs in the country.

“At one time in my life, I didn’t have any scholarships. I used to think I wasn’t going to go to college,” said Gallop, 6 feet and 215 pounds. “So I never get complacent and also always enjoy the moment. I’m excited about my accolades because I know the work I’ve put in. But I want some more, I’m still hungry.”

Last season, he helped lead Howard to its first Celebration Bowl appearance.

Teammate Darius Fox knows they’ll need another big season from Gallop to be successful.

“He will be extremely critical to our team’s success on defense. On defense, we’ll go as far as he goes,” he said. “With him on the field, the sky’s the limit. He’s a key part to our defense. He’s one of those field generals that takes control on the field.”

Howard coach Larry Scott called Gallop the “rock” of the team.

“He’s the epitome of what you want in your program. He’s a guy who does it right every day,” he said. “Hopefully, a lot of the other younger players can see through the example that he provides each and every day, how valuable just being consistent is.”

Gallop returned to Howard to pursue his graduate degree. It also gave him a chance to play alongside his brother, Kaleb, and improve his chances of getting drafted.

For the second time in three seasons, no HBCU football players were selected in this year’s NFL draft. Only Jackson State cornerback Isaiah Bolden, who was drafted in 2023, has been selected in the past three years.

And the last Bison to be drafted was former Denbigh High star Antoine Bethea, who went in the sixth round to the Indianapolis Colts in 2006.

“It was definitely frustrating because there were a lot of talented guys,” he said. “I feel like the 2024 draft class was one of the most talented draft classes.”

Gallop, a two-time HBCU All-American, wants to change that. He has been selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl 1000, which is a best-in-class all-star event that will take place Feb. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Players who are selected will be coached by NFL coaches in an NFL facility while having access to NFL-level resources, facilities, player-friendly schedules and opportunities at the highest level.

“That’s my main goal is to get drafted,” he said. “That was kind of like a big motivation thing for me. I want to show that I’m capable of going to the NFL from Howard University.”

York County Schools Public Relations and Communications Officer Katherine Goff said Wednesday that Bolton departed as coach earlier this week following a meeting with Grafton High principal Stephen Gavin. Neither she nor Bolton gave a reason why he’s leaving after sharing head coaching duties the past two seasons with Creighton Incorminias, who left in December to become an assistant coach at Granby High in Norfolk.

“He (Gavin) met with Coach Bolton and (expressed) appreciation for the progress made on the football field under his tenure,” Goff said. “But they felt it was time to move the football program in a different direction and amicably separated.

“Grafton will be looking for a new coach and hopes to have him in place as soon as possible.”

Progress under Bolton and Incorminias was significant in their two years at the helm. The seventh and eighth head coaches at Grafton since the start of the 2016 season, they inherited a program in 2022 that had won only four games (one by forfeit) in five seasons before they took over.

The Clippers went 6-5 in both of their seasons as co-coaches, and reached the Class 3 Region A playoffs in each. They started practice in 2022 with only four seniors, but the next coach will step into a program with increased participation, experience and talent. One district coach said recently he expects Grafton to be a top-two team.

“I think we made great progress, with back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in a while (since 2015 and ’16),” Bolton said. “We made the playoffs both seasons and I felt we could contend in the district this year.

“This is a special group of seniors and I hope they can continue the momentum. I wish all the kids the best of luck.”

Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com

Not only would campers learn about football, but they would also learn about life off the field.

“I shared this vision with Vaughn last year during (organized team activities),” Holmes said about his late stepfather, Vaughn Parker. “I just wanted to get 15 to 20 kids in a room and talk about real-life stuff. Teach them the same stuff that we do at the college and NFL level.”

Sadly, Parker never got to see his stepson’s idea come to fruition. He died by suicide on June 11.

To honor his stepfather, Holmes, a defensive lineman for the New York Jets, started a football academy — not a camp — with the introduction of the “Vaughn’s Way Defensive Line Academy.”

“I don’t want to just teach them the basics of football, but about life and how to be an entrepreneur,” Holmes said. “It’s such a learning curve from high school to college. We’re just trying to get them ahead of the game, whether it’s life or football.”

Holmes was a two-time, first-team All-Tidewater selection at Lake Taylor. He helped lead the Titans to the program’s first state title in 2012.

He went to Ohio State and was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection. He had 85 career tackles and helped lead the Buckeyes to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Holmes in the fourth round with the 102nd overall pick in 2018.

He’s also played with the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Chicago Bears and the past two seasons with the Jets.

He brings his lessons from the NFL to help future players.

Asked if he wish he had something like this when he was coming up, he said, “They don’t know how lucky they got it.”

Holmes brought in current and former NFL players along with trainers and local businessmen to help educate the more than 15 players who came to his invitation-only academy.

“It’s not your normal football camp,” he said. “They’re getting the top-notch of everything.”

He also got plenty of help and support from this mother, Tasha Holmes-Parker, to make the event a success.

One of the first things players had to do was develop an “elevator pitch” — a brief way of introducing yourself with a key point or two, and making a connection with someone.

Participants also learned about public speaking and business options before they even set foot on the football field.

Tallwood High lineman Namarih Byrd said he’s glad he came to the academy.

“I just wanted to be a sponge,” he said. “I wanted to learn as much as I can from Jalyn Holmes and become a dominant factor on the football field.”

Atlantic Shores Christian lineman Aric Cooper said he came after getting a text from his father. After he looked up who Holmes was, he was even more excited to come.

“I was like, ‘Why not?’ There’s always a chance to get better,” he said. “You want to learn new things. There’s always room to get better, whether on the field or off.”

For Lake Taylor lineman Kaleb Shortridge, it was a chance to learn from a former Titans standout.

“We were out on the field learning how to play the gaps, learning different pass rusher’s moves and then we went back into the fieldhouse and then watched some NFL players do what we were just getting taught on the field,” he said. “I’m very happy and glad that someone who went to my own high school has come back to their hometown to do good in their community.”

Outten, 6 feet and 200 pounds, chose the Hokies over Penn State, Maryland and Syracuse.

A four-star recruit, he is listed as an athlete because he can play so many positions.

He was rated the No. 6 athlete in the state for the Class of 2025 by 247Sports. The site also rated him No. 5 nationally at his position and the No. 139 recruit nationally.

1000% Commited #gohokies @CoachPryVT @HokiesFB @Coach_Mines pic.twitter.com/8LWuGPHMT7

— Matthew outten (@Matthewoutten6) July 1, 2024

Among all state football recruits, he is rated No. 13 in the class by On3, No. 7 by ESPN and No. 31 by Rivals.

Norcom coach Anthony Hawkins said the Hokies are getting a special player.

“They will be getting a superb young man with a high ceiling for progress,” he said. “Matthew has so much untapped potential with a great personality and (is) soft-spoken. He has elite talent with the athletic ability to make special things happen on the football field with his speed, size and playmaking ability. He is a player that can help take a program to the next level.”

Last season, Hawkins said, Outten had 24 receptions for 843 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also had three returns for touchdowns.

He was named first-team All-Eastern District and was all-region.

While the final seven games of the defending Class 5 state champion Commodores’ schedule are against Eastern District opponents they outscored by a combined 439-27, they will start ’24 against the three powerhouses they began 2023 with.

The Commodores (15-0 in 2023) will open at home on Sept. 6 against Maryland power H.D. Wise, according to the Virginia High School League master schedule released Thursday. Maury won last year’s meeting 34-14 in Upper Marlboro, handing Wise its only defeat in 12 games.

A Sept. 13 rematch at Highland Springs follows. Maury won their 2023 meeting 23-14, handing the Springers their only regular-season loss to avenge a defeat in the 2022 Class 5 state championship game.

A trip on Sept. 20 to Dinwiddie, a team Maury beat 46-29 a year ago, is next. Dinwiddie was the defending Class 4 state champion heading into that game and is expected to be one of Phoebus’ biggest roadblocks to defending that crown — which would give the Phantoms four consecutive state titles.

Phoebus, also 15-0 a year ago, enters 2024 with 35 consecutive victories — stalking its own state record of 53. But the Phantoms are not being overly protective of the current streak as they will open their season Sept. 6 at 2023 Class 6 state runner-up Highland Springs.

“We want to give our players every opportunity to prepare to be their best, so we’re going to schedule the toughest non-district game we can every year,” Phoebus coach Jeremy Blunt said recently.

Barring a surprise, the Phantoms should win their next seven games as they enter the season with 58 consecutive Peninsula District victories. Should that streak get to 65 as expected, Phoebus will have to battle to stretch it to 66 as it hosts Warwick in a game that likely will decide the PD title. Phoebus edged Warwick 10-2 in a district title showdown a year ago.

Green Run rolled through the 10-game Beach District schedule unbeaten last season. It faces its three closest pursuers — Cox (Sept. 20), Kempsville (Sept. 27) and Salem (Oct. 4) — in consecutive weeks this season.

King’s Fork negotiated a trio of close victories — beating Nansemond River (24-21 in two overtimes), Indian River (20-14 in two overtimes) and Oscar Smith (21-19) — to win the Southeastern District. The Bulldogs will face Nansemond River on Sept. 27, Indian River on Oct. 4 and Oscar Smith on Oct. 25.

Warhill went unbeaten in the 2023 regular season, denying Lafayette a Bay Rivers District title for a rare season with a thrilling 27-21 win in a James City County matchup. Lafayette, which advanced to the Class 3 state championship game, figures to be the favorite against graduation-depleted Warhill when the teams meet on Oct. 11.

It is possible that the regular-season finale on Nov. 7 between Lafayette and visiting Poquoson, a Class 2 state semifinalist a year ago, will decide this year’s Bay Rivers champion.

Games to watch in 2024

Aug. 30: Hermitage at Oscar Smith

Sept 6: Phoebus at Highland Springs

Sept. 13: Maury at Highland Springs

Sept. 20: Green Run at Cox

Sept. 20: Maury at Dinwiddie

Sept. 27: King’s Fork at Nansemond River

Oct. 4: Indian River at King’s Fork

Oct. 4: Green Run at Salem

Oct. 5: Hampton vs. Phoebus at Darling Stadium

Oct. 11: Lafayette vs. Warhill at Wanner Stadium

Oct. 18: Nansemond River at Indian River

Oct. 25: King’s Fork at Oscar Smith

Nov. 2: Warwick vs. Phoebus at Darling Stadium

Nov. 7: Poquoson vs. Lafayette at Wanner Stadium

Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com

Or, maybe in Green’s case, the four-sport athlete.

Green has done more than just play in 16 seasons during his four years at Poquoson. Amazingly, he has qualified for Class 2 state track and field meets or advanced as far as football or baseball state semifinals in 15 of those 16 seasons.

It was the quality of his achievements, however — not just the quantity — that prompted the PSC to honor him as the top high school athlete on the Peninsula for the 2023-24 school year.

“This is the highest honor I’ve ever gotten as an athlete,” said Green, who will sprint for Eastern Kentucky University’s track and field team next year. “It means a lot, not just to me, but also to the family, friends and coaches who have helped me become the athlete I am today.”

Typically small at 5-feet-8 and 160 pounds on a Poquoson football team that features few players larger than 200 pounds in any season, Green went about putting a stranglehold on the Conn award from his first touch of the 2023 season. After missing much of the 2022 season with a broken leg, he broke 66 yards for a touchdown run on the Islanders’ first play from scrimmage.

By the end of the first quarter — the only 12 minutes he would play in the win over Southampton — Green had run for 141 yards and four touchdowns on just five carries.

“Coach (Bill) Ward (the Islanders’ offensive coordinator) knew I was nervous after coming back from the only major injury I’ve ever had, so getting the ball and scoring on the first play was big,” Green said.

He hardly slowed down thereafter, rushing for 1,177 yards and 22 touchdowns on the way to all-state honors. Green also started in the defensive backfield for a Poquoson team that won Class 2 Region A for the third time in his four-year varsity career to advance to the state semifinals.

“I don’t think there’s any team around with more heart,” he said. “You look at how few guys there are that are 6 foot or 200 pounds, but there isn’t anyone on the team who didn’t love to hit.

“Playing football in Poquoson is special because the whole community has your back. When you walk into the 7-11 to get a Gatorade before a Friday night game, complete strangers will wish you luck.”

Green followed in the winter by winning the Class 2 indoor track and field 300-meter state title in a meet-record 35.1 seconds. That capped a phenomenal state meet in which he scored 31 points by also finishing second in the 55 while earning third in the long jump, triple jump and on the 4×200 relay.

“After being seeded first in the 55, then finishing second, I had to prove I deserved the No. 1 seed in the 300,” Green said. “Setting the meet record was a great way to get my first state championship.”

Three more were to come in the spring as he juggled his duties in track while starting in center field for the Islanders’ baseball team.

“Time management is the key,” said Green, who often went from study hall to the baseball field to the track and then to lift weights. “But I love to compete and I love to win.

“As a kid, I was not the kind to sit around the house. I always had that competitive itch and liked to be out playing sports.”

Green, who had bests of 10.9 seconds in the 100 and 21.56 in the 200 this spring, overcame “my worst start ever in a meet or in practice” to win the Class 2 outdoor state 100. He then torched the field in the 200 for the gold, adding to a day in which he also scored points in the long jump, triple jump and 4×100 relay.

Busy or not, Green led the Islanders’ baseball team in batting average until late in the season before falling off a bit. He still finished with a .321 average while stealing 27 bases in 27 attempts on the way to all-state honors for a second consecutive season.

Most important, Green — playing in a baseball state final for the third time in four seasons — helped the Islanders win the state title. He played a key role, bunting the winning run to second base in the bottom of the 10th inning.

As he walked back to the dugout, he counseled teammate TJ Check to “be aggressive.” Check obliged with a single that drove in Brody Bunting, who had reached on an error, with the winning run in the 2-1 win over Lebanon in Salem.

“I’ll remember everything that happened that last half-inning for the rest of my life,” Green said. “It’s awesome to have had so many great coaches and teammates, and made so many memories in my high school career.”

Peninsula Sports Club’s 74th annual Headliner’s Night

What: Banquet honoring Peninsula-area athletes with NFL quarterback Tyrod Taylor as featured speaker

When: 5:45 p.m. Monday

Where: Hampton Roads Convention Center

Tickets: peninsulasportsclub.com

Also included:

Jeff Artis-Gray of Chesapeake, a five-time All-American with the men’s track and field program who holds four program records.

Larsen Bowker, a former men’s and women’s tennis coach who took three Atlantic 10 titles.

Duane Brown, a two-time All-ACC football honoree who became Tech’s seventh first-round NFL draft selection.

Dave Cianelli, a 20-time ACC Coach of the Year with the Hokies’ track and field program who has guided 20 individual national champions.

Brittany Pryor, a six-time All-American for the women’s track and field program with six conference titles.

Heather Savage, a two-time All-American swimmer with two ACC crowns in the 100 butterfly.

Logan Shinholser, Virginia Tech’s most decorated diver, with four men’s All-America honors.

The class will be inducted Sept. 20 at The Inn at Virginia Tech and will be recognized Sept. 21 during halftime of the football game against Rutgers.

GOLF

UVA’s James earns berth in US Open

Virginia golfer Ben James qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open, set for Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina from June 13-16.

During what is known as the “Longest Day in Golf,” James tied for first at the final qualifying site at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey.

James, the recent NCAA individual runner-up, shot 11-under 131 over 36 holes of play Monday. The top four finishers from the site advanced to the U.S. Open. He had rounds of 4-under 67 and 7-under 64.

This marks the first time James has qualified for the U.S. Open. He will join a field that includes former Cavaliers and current PGA Tour members Denny McCarthy and Ben Kohles.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Lynchburg ousted from Division III tourney

Lynchburg’s bid to repeat its NCAA Division III championship ended with a pair of losses Monday to Misericordia in Eastlake, Ohio.

The Cougars from Pennsylvania, who earned their trip to the eight-team finals in Ohio by winning a Super Regional at Christopher Newport, edged Lynchburg 3-2, then came back a few hours later and beat the Hornets 5-1. That advanced Misericordia to the best-of-three championship series, which starts Wednesday.

Lynchburg, with several players from Hampton Roads, had started 2-0 in Eastlake, including a first-round victory over top-seeded Endicott of Massachusetts.

In Monday’s second game, Nathaniel Mack, a senior from Tabb High, pitched two scoreless innings of relief for Lynchburg.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

NSU to play preseasons exhibitions in Costa Rica

Norfolk State announced its 2024 schedule. Coming off a 9-14 season, including 7-7 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Spartans plan to play exhibitions in Costa Rica on July 30, July 31 and Aug. 2, becoming the first NSU women’s program to face international competition.

The Spartans will play an exhibition at VCU on Aug. 24, then open their season at their home tournament Aug. 30-31 with Gardner-Webb, Lamar and Miami of Ohio.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, after whom Bethel’s gym is named, and former Olympic gold-medal runner Francena McCorory are among the most recognizable names. So is Dennis Kozlowski, who coached Bethel to football and track glory since the school opened.

Also named: former pro golfer Skeeter Heath, former Tennessee Volunteers and NFL defensive end Todd Kelly, wrestler Stephen Forbes, Iverson’s basketball teammate Tony Rutland, football player Michael Dunn, coaches Mike Bailey and Eddie Williams, and contributor Liberty Baptist Church.

The induction is set for 2 p.m. Aug. 31 at a site to be announced. Area sportscaster Craig Loper will be the emcee.

Aug. 30, when Bethel plays Nansemond River in football at 7 p.m., is the Alumni Night of Champions. All championship-team alumni are asked to participate and be part of halftime activities.

In a release, Bethel athletic director DeRocke Croom — who used to compete against Kozlowski’s teams as a Hampton Crabbers quarterback — said, “We want to recognize as many as we can in the coming induction years. This is long overdue and we want to recognize all good things within our school, which includes athletics.”

“All” became so much during Hunt’s tenure as coach and athletic director, he eventually founded a hall of fame known as Legends of Tabb. No legend looms larger than Hunt, who died on Friday at 81.

Hunt virtually created the Tabb athletic program from the ground up upon the school’s founding in 1972. The legendary coaches he hired — Baggett (boys basketball and baseball), Charlie Hovis (football), Freddy Mitchell (football, track), Paul Kirby (boys soccer, field hockey), George Coulter (cross country) and David Walton (football, softball) among them — combined to win 11 state championships and 211 district titles before his 1997 retirement.

Hunt was a standout coach in his own right, guiding the Tigers to the 1977 Group AA wrestling state championship in addition to stints as golf and field hockey coach. He is perhaps best known as offensive coordinator for Tabb football teams that went 143-27-2 from 1980-93, advancing seven times to the state playoffs and winning state championships in 1981, ’87 and ’90.

“Coach Hunt ran the entire offense and he taught me about giving as much as I had,” said Terry Kirby, who set state rushing records in high school and at the University of Virginia before playing 11 seasons in the NFL. “I learned from him that whatever you think you have, you have more.”

That was most evident on the night of the greatest victory in Tabb athletic history, the 10-7 win over Hampton in September 1988 in front of 6,000 at Bailey Field. Kirby, injured the week before, ran the ball 40 times for 187 yards as the Group AA Tigers upset the preeminent power in larger-schools Group AAA.

“When we talked about the game plan, it was Kirby left, Kirby right and Kirby up the middle,” said Kirby, who was joined in the NFL for more than a decade by Tabb and UVA teammate Chris Slade. “He told me, ‘If we’re going to win this game, it will be with you doing what you do best, so I’m just going to give you the damn ball and you just do what you do.’

“He knew exactly what I had in me.”

Hunt was given free rein on the offense because of his close relationship with best friend Hovis, for whom he played at York before graduating in 1960 and playing collegiately at Bridgewater. When York inexplicably fired Hovis as coach, Hunt speed-dialed him to become head coach at Tabb and a 15-year football dynasty ensued.

Tabb struggled on the gridiron in its early years, but Bruce Cunningham, now a longtime Baltimore-area sportscaster and public address announcer for the Baltimore Ravens, says Hunt was a joy to play for.

“Coach Mitchell ran very stern practices, so the last thing you wanted was to be seen laughing,” said Cunningham, a linemen on Tabb’s first three teams. “But if you were within 10 feet of Coach Hunt, he would make you laugh.

“I can’t tell you how many gassers Coach Mitchell made me run because of Coach Hunt, but the one consistent message from both was that we were building a tradition at Tabb.”

Hunt began his coaching career in 1965 at York, but upon being assigned to new school Tabb in 1972, he set about surpassing his alma mater athletically. His wrestling team struck first with the 1977 state title.

“Coach Hunt told us that within two years we were going to beat York and that within four years we were going to win the state championship,” said Dennis Herndon, who became Tabb’s first individual state champ the day the Tigers won the wrestling state crown. “He did that.”

Mike Meyers, an all-state wrestler on that team, said, “There were consequences if we broke rules, but he taught us that sports are supposed to be fun and you should laugh some. He was proud of that state championship and he should’ve been.”

Baggett said that Tabb athletics — which twice won state Group AA all-sports trophies during Hunt’s tenure as athletic director — were successful because Hunt supported his coaches unfailingly. Parents who came to Hunt’s office to complain about tactics or their child’s playing time almost always walked away disappointed, Baggett added.

“Willard Hunt was the foundational brick of the Tabb High athletic department and he can be really proud of what he did while there,” Cunningham said.

Hunt is survived by Carolyn, his wife of 60 years, and three children. A celebration of his life will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Amory Funeral Home Chapel in York County.

Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com

Just because there’s no big-time prospect among the rising seniors doesn’t mean the three-time defending state champion Phantoms aren’t deep in potential collegians. Thirty assistant college coaches were interested enough to flock to the Hampton Soccer Complex last week for the Phantoms’ annual “College Day” workout.

“They have a good number of kids who have good grades and can play, some at Division II or lower,” said former William & Mary defensive coordinator Matt McLeod, currently an assistant coach at Christopher Newport.

Two-way all-state lineman Markus Hopson, whose offer from East Carolina made him the first of this year’s group sought by FBS, put it this way: “We have a lot of cats who are dawgs. Coach (Jeremy) Blunt says there’s a (state championship) four-peat on the way.

“We’re underrecruited, but we showed eyes today.”

University of Virginia assistant coach Chris Slade said being able to employ those eyes in person is valuable because it’s more difficult to get true measurements, see how a player really moves or how he takes to instruction by watching film.

“Live evaluation is priceless,” W&M assistant Darryl Blackstock added.

While each position group did its own drills, the scouts were most attentive when the Phantoms ran plays or conducted a 7-on-7, activities that featured the players in transition.

“These guys want to see their bending and their twitch in space,” Blunt said. “Anything with a low center of gravity, and having to redirect, that shows their ability to get their hips in a nice football position and then transition to the next step.

“I think (linebacker) Nijay Gay and (safety) Trent Mitchell made a case for themselves today,” Blunt said of players under the radar screen helped by the workouts.

Gay and Mitchell are among a number of talented rising seniors — along with running back Davion Roberts, linemen Nathaniel Anthony and Jayden Hill, and linebackers Brenden Thompson and Kaleb Tillery — Blunt thinks have the ability to play in college. He said they might have been overlooked to this point for their size or speed, and hopes College Day increased their stock.

Tillery, for instance, was one of the most productive Phantoms last year with 108 often-bruising tackles, but at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, he is small for a linebacker.

“This (workout) was important, but the main thing I wanted to show them were my character and leadership skills,” he said. “We all appreciate them staying and watching us.”

At 6-2, 285, Hopson is more FCS- than FBS-sized for a lineman. He, too, wanted to display his toughness.

“I want them to understand that although I’m a small guy, small guys can do big things,” he said. “I’m aggressive and I’m fast (with a 4.9-second 40-yard dash).”

Jefferson, a safety and receiver who has an offer from Charlotte, probably made the biggest impact among the upperclassmen. Hampton University, just one day after naming Trent Boykin as its new (interim) head coach, offered him a scholarship while at the workout.

Old Dominion also expressed interest while there.

“I think I showed during the 7-on-7 that I like to get to the ball,” Jefferson said. “Wide receiver was my first love, but safety is what I think I can do best in college.

“It was amazing (to get the offer from Hampton). I felt like I did something today and this (workout) was worth it.”

Perhaps the No. 1 player on the assistant coaches’ wish list is quarterback Maurikus Banks. In only his third start, Banks, a 6-foot, 165-pound freshman, completed 11 of 17 passes for 165 yards in the Class 4 state championship game.

That included an 86-yard touchdown completion to Keyontae Gray with one second remaining to give the Phantoms a 21-14 victory over Salem for the state championship. With talent and poise uncommon for a freshman, he likely will draw many more FBS assistants to future College Days.

“They’re all looking at him,” Blunt said of the 30 assistants on hand.

Phoebus will open at Highland Springs on Sept. 6

Phoebus will enter the season with 35 consecutive victories to go with its three straight state titles. The Phantoms will put the win streak on the line when they open the season Sept. 6 at Highland Springs.

The Springers have won five state championships in reaching the finals seven of the past 10 years. The move is typical of Blunt, who has scheduled area powerhouse Oscar Smith as the Phantoms’ non-district game the past three seasons.

“We want to be battle-tested to withstand anything that comes our way during the season,” he said.

Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com