Gainesville Ready To Put On Show In 2021

When it comes to producing football talent, no area of Florida should be a surprise to anyone. Whether it’s Miami, Middleburg, Tampa/St. Petersburg or Gainesville, there are quality football players and programs just waiting to jump on the radar screen. <img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-103307" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/01/Prep-Redzone-GrabbingtheSpotlight-16-300x187.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="187" />After a season in which Buchholz High went deep into the playoffs and Hawthorne advanced to the 1A state championship game for the first time ever, many are ready and waiting for the next season to begin. As we do throughout the course of a year is we bring you quality talent from across the Sunshine State. Today, we stop in once again on some of the programs that make Gainesville special: <strong>2022 - Carter Coleman, Athlete, Gainesville Oak Hall</strong>: The one thing this area has always had were impressive two-way performers, and as this program gets ready for the off-season, spring and a safe summer, it’s talented athletes like this – who performs on both sides of the ball – that could be huge in 2021. His 971 yards, 17 touchdowns, 0 fumbles, five catches for 104 yards and one touchdown was impressive, and much needed. Leading the team with 79 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and one sack was also something that helped in 2020. <strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11073921/Carter-Coleman">https://www.hudl.com/profile/11073921/Carter-Coleman</a> <strong>2022 - Marcus Peterson, Athlete, Junior, Lake City Columbia: </strong>Here is someone we talked about all year as he helped this team reach the playoffs after a slow start. As a quarterback, he completed 36 of 78 for 637 yards, 6 TD, 5 interceptions. As a runner, he finished with 50 carries for 250 yards and 4 TD. Playing receiver, he ended up with 19 catches for 286 yards and 7 TD. His 1,128 all-purpose yards, 17 total touchdowns, 4 tackles, one pick on defense, and a 33.8 punting average showed that there were very few prospects in the state like this. <strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11971490/Marcus-Peterson">https://www.hudl.com/profile/11971490/Marcus-Peterson</a> <strong>2023 - Jailen Ruth, DE, Hawthorne</strong>. One of the reasons that this program advanced to the state championship game this past season, losing to unbeaten Baker in the 1A finals. Average 10 tackles per game, his amazing 19 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 5 sacks performance against Tavares showed that this is one special underclassmen. Finished with 131 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. <strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14819891/Jailen-Ruth">https://www.hudl.com/profile/14819891/Jailen-Ruth</a> <strong>2022 - Mario Thomas, Athlete, Mayo Lafayette:</strong> It was certainly a banner year for this young man as he made the most of his opportunities to guide this team on offense. He was 62 of 102 for 944 yards, 12 touchdowns, five interceptions through the air. On the ground he dazzled the opposition with 1,106 yards and 13 touchdowns on 151 carries. Also added two catches for 13 yards, giving him a head-turning 2,063 all-purpose yards and 25 total touchdowns. <strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13300747/Mario-Thomas">https://www.hudl.com/profile/13300747/Mario-Thomas</a> <strong>2022 - [player_tooltip player_id="50253" first="Curran" last="Webb"], LB, Lake Butler Union County. </strong>As this team grew and matured with a new coaching staff in place, athletes like this found a way to step up and make an impact. Headed back for his final year in 2021, his 77 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and three forced fumbles earned this young man quite a reputation. One that will carry him through the off-season. <strong>TAPE: </strong><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11457953/Curran-Webb">https://www.hudl.com/profile/11457953/Curran-Webb</a> <strong>PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCUS PETERSON</strong> <strong>Y<em>ou Can Contact Larry Blustein with prospect or team information at: Foridakids1@aol.com. We are also on </em></strong><strong><em>Social Media on @PrepRedzonefl.</em></strong>