Tenn. Gatorade POY may walk on at UT

#1
kamoshika

kamoshika

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#1
In 15 games this year, JaRon Toney averaged 9.0 yards per carry while rushing for 2,358 yards and 50 TDs.

Alcoa High School's JaRon Toney, who last season set the state record for touchdowns in a single season, attended practice and is considering walking on at Tennessee. Toney had a number of smaller Division I and multiple Football Championship Series offers but has not committed to any college so far.
Stephens struggles in first UT scrimmage

More on Toney:

Toney has maintained a 3.43 grade point average, is a talented saxophonist and is a volunteer on behalf of his church's youth group and local youth football programs.
Alcoa's Toney named Gatorade state player of the year

A mixture of blistering speed and the strength to flatten defenders, Toney proved in racking up more than 1,700 regular season yards that he's one of the best backs in Tornadoes history.
Player of the Year Toney does it all for Alcoa

Coach Gary Rankin, who has notched eight state titles (four at Murfreesboro Riverdale), calls Toney “a tough kid, great student who is popular at school and with his teammates. He got a lot of carries this year. Usually we spread the wealth. After two games he had 10 touchdowns. I don’t think it took a very smart coach to ride him.


“He fools everybody with his strength and power. He broke a lot of tackles. He’s a slashing type of runner and has breakaway speed. He benches 300 pounds and is one of the strongest kids we’ve ever had in our program.”
Toney leads Alcoa to sixth Tennessee title in a row - MaxPreps News

Rankin said Toney's size - he was listed 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds in the preseason - has limited his running back's college recruiting.

"His size throws some people off," Rankin said, "but he's awful strong, he runs hard downhill, so he'll land at a good school. He's a good student, a 3.5 (GPA) student, so he'll land somewhere good."
Alcoa's Toney aims to make even bigger impression Knoxville News Sentinel
 
#4
#4
If its about size then Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans probaly never would have got a shot. Think it turned out pretty good for him.
 
#6
#6
If he gets on the team and sticks around for a while, it would be nice to have a little guy with speed that can hide behind the O-Line then bust through an opening for 20+. I've always liked schools that had the guts to put the little guy in there @ RB. They got chips on their shoulders and usually suprise many.
 
#7
#7
He was an amazing player I watched a ton of his games.
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#8
#8
^^ good point. They've heard they're too small since middle school- sick of it. Most of them pleasantly surprise.
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#10
#10
How big was the Ole Miss tailback (can`t think of his name) last season he did ok:)
Give me a kid who feels he has something to prove they generally do:good!:
 
#12
#12
This kid put on one of the most impressive performances I've ever seen out of a high school running back against Maryville this past season.

If he wants to walk-on then that's fine with me.
 
#15
#15
tigervol9802 said:
This kid put on one of the most impressive performances I've ever seen out of a high school running back against Maryville this past season.

If he wants to walk-on then that's fine with me.
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I was at that Maryville/Alcoa game as well, kid has talent that is for sure. Say what you want about the lesser talent in the state, but when you are a P.O.Y., you have skills. At the very least, he can be a special teams player possibly and as a walk-on costs the school nothing if he never makes scholarship. I applaud the young man for pursuing his dream of playing at UT(if that is his dream). Go for it.
 
#16
#16
#17
#17
He'd be great as a walk-on. Nothing to lose, and the coaches will then be able to fully evaluate him.
 
#22
#22
Hope you decide to hone you're craft with the Vols. Wow, what does that say about Highschool football in this state if the Gatorade POY has to walk on somewhere. (to a big college)
 
#23
#23
jspvol76 said:
As a runningback or mutiple positions?
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He's better at what he does well than what any other player does well.

Now that's not really saying much because I've only seen high school football around east Tennessee, but he is definitely the best.
 
#25
#25
PrimeTime said:
He's the best high school player I have seen in person.
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I wouldn't go that far as I'm not even sure he was the best player on his team from a raw talent standpoint. That honor would probably go to Darren Warren. But Toney did put on a show that night.

That said, I can see why he's not a SEC-level prospect, but he's definite what I would consider a preferred walk-ok.
 
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