Fire vs. Ice Game: Team Fire Skill Position Practice Standouts

The first ever Fire vs. Ice All-American Game took place over the weekend of November 9-10th, and it featured a ton of prospects with big high school and college futures. With some athletes already holding scholarship offers on both Team Fire and Ice, many of the Eastern TN studs were out to play. Here's a look at the practice standouts from Team Fire.    The first skill position player I noticed while watching Team Fire during the first practice. One of those kids that you can line up at any skill position and he gets the job done. Fresh off an All-County season at Brighton Middle School where he lined up at both Running Back and Wide Receiver, he looked excellent as a pass catcher for Team Fire in the first practice. His lower body strength is what impressed me the most throughout the early practice. If he made a mistake at all, I didn't see him make the same mistake twice. Took coaching well, was attentive and gave constant effort. During the second practice of the day he also looked good as a Strong Safety. As I noted, he's a strong kid and almost acted as an additional Linebacker because he came down hill on running plays; Yet, had the athleticism to aid in coverage over the top.     One of several Wide Receivers with pretty good length on Team Fire, Dixson looked good during the indy period of practice. Seeing him for the first time yesterday, he struck me as more of a Safety type with his long limbs--but he showed he can absolutely play the Wide Receiver position at an advanced level too. He was getting coached up a decent amount, but when he put it all together, it was like watching a key fit in the right hole. It looked natural and he played the position well.     While certainly the smallest of the other Wide Receivers on Team Fire, Underwood was also arguably the quickest. Moved very well during routes on air. Underwood also looked sharp throughout the individual period of practice--specifically in cone drills. I didn't see a false step off the line and there was hardly any wasted movement while going through the cones. His feet and arms pumped in rhythm and looked liked pistons when getting into his breaks.     When I first arrived at practice, Porter and his Robertsville Middle School teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1553969' first='Josiah' last='McClure'] were doing Defensive Back drills, while the line and backs were doing inside run drills and the WR's were working on releases. Looking back through my notes, I immediately jotted down that he was big and had a great build for a Defensive Back at this level...and that's probably because he turned out to be an Outside Linebacker once the team came together. He played with physicality and put his size and strength on display through a bunch of drills. During the regular season he earned All-Conference honors while playing Wide Receiver, Quarterback, Defensive Back and Linebacker--which is why he gets the ATH designation. However, after what I observed, I think the future is bright as an Outside Linebacker.     As mentioned above in [player_tooltip player_id='1553960' first='La'miere' last='Porter']'s write-up above, I noted that when I first arrived at practice McClure was doing Defensive Back drills. Almost immediately, I took a liking to McClure's frame and how high-cut his legs were. He moved very fluidly through drills and almost looked as if he was gliding instead of running while in action. During the second practice of the day, McClure also looked good on the offensive side of the ball. During a live session he was lined up in the backfield and was taking some direct snaps when Team Fire went into an empty set.     I've seen Moulden play in live settings nearly half a dozen times over the last two years and as we said in an article last month about <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/10/game-changing-athletes-vol-5-east-middle-tennessee-10-23-24/">Game-Changing Athletes</a>, Moulden "shows consistency with playmaking ability." No matter how you slice it, he's a kid that always delivers at least a play or two that get you excited. He was a little late to the opening practice and I didn't see him for some of the second practice either, but when he was playing it was good stuff. What he lacks in size at this point, he more than compensates for with exceptional quickness--I mean special quickness. He ran great routes and I loved the way he stabs his plant foot down while breaking off his route.     Speaking of quickness, I quickly fell in love with [player_tooltip player_id='1554523' first='Kymani' last='Smith'] when I saw him at the second practice of the day for Team Fire. Smith wasn't at the first practice of the day, but he made an immediate good impression on me in all three phases of the game. From what I gather, he looks to be a starter at Wide Receiver on the offensive side of the ball and should factor in heavily in special teams. Between him and [player_tooltip player_id='1031934' first='Dasani' last='Moulden'], Team Fire has no shortage in the quickness category. On top of that, during a live session during the second practice, Smith was the first (apparent) non-starter to come in as a Cornerback when Team Ice went four wide.     When I first saw Buntyn Jr. this past June at the Tennessee vs. Kentucky Future Stars Game, I loved his powerful running style. He ran low to the ground, was built thick and more or less moved like a tank as he broke arm tackles. Everything I saw in June was still the case at Team Fire's practice, with the exception of two big things. First, he appeared to stretch out a bit and get a few inches taller, yet his thighs and hamstrings appeared to get even bigger/stronger. The type of legs that will cause defenders to see stars if they meet 1:1 in the hole. The second difference is that he looked noticeably quicker once he was able to get moving in space. Not that he was ever a one-trick pony who only pounded it between the tackles, but the Briarcrest Christian prospect appears to have quicker feet and has added a degree of speed to his game. I'm not a fan of making comparisons to NFL greats, but it's hard not to draw comparisons between Buntyn Jr. and Marshawn Lynch. Build, size, ability, production, etc. it all checks out.     Another prospect that wasn't at the first practice, but then quickly showed up big in the second practice was Austin East Road Runner, [player_tooltip player_id='1537309' first='Keyvon' last='Booker']. Booker looks to be a starter at Linebacker for Team Fire, but as a Running Back during the regular season, it's his speed that really stood out at practice. He looked significantly faster than some of the Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs/Running Backs on the roster. Making a play on the opposite boundary from where he lined up, is completely on the table as a possibility with the way he gets from Point A to Point B. He was just simply a better athlete overall than the majority of kids on the field and it consistently showed throughout practice.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Additional Standouts:</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='1553950' first='Malachi' last='Blake'] | Wide Receiver - One of several Webb School of Knoxville prospects selected for the game, Blake is a multi-sport athlete that stood out during the first practice of the day as a Wide Receiver. Took handoffs on end-arounds and made a number of plays that made me take notice. It'll be interesting to see how he's used in-game.   [player_tooltip player_id='1539541' first='Greyson' last='Pace'] | Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Another one of the bigger Wide Receiver/Defensive Back prospects on Team Fire, he initially struck me as a physical possession type of Wide Receiver. However, after watching him he had more explosion that I originally gave him credit for. Looked strong getting off press coverage. Should see adequate playing time at Safety too.   [player_tooltip player_id='1277967' first='Braeson' last='Gourley'] | Quarterback - Whenever his football career ends, Gourley has a future as a leader in some capacity. Constantly talking and encouraging teammates. The son of a coach. Mature beyond his years. It also helps that he can throw a nice ball and has a build that looks like he'll continue to put on solid muscle.   [player_tooltip player_id='1051781' first='Caleb' last='Johnson'] | Quarterback - One of only a handful of 2030 prospects (meaning he's currently in seventh-grade) to be selected for the game. I'd give him the nod in terms of being the more athletic QB at this time. Showed off some good mobility during both practices and also through some nice passes. I look forward to see more of him as he continues to develop physicallyl

The first ever Fire vs. Ice All-American Game took place over the weekend of November 9-10th, and it featured a ton of prospects with big high school and college futures. With some athletes already holding scholarship offers on both Team Fire and Ice, many of the Eastern TN studs were out to play. Here's a look at the practice standouts from Team Fire.