Next Stop HS Ball: TN Future Stars’ Top ’29 Offensive Performers

The annual border war between the Kentucky Future Stars and Tennessee Future Stars went down this past weekend on the beautiful, scenic campus of UT-Martin. While both states featured plenty of future college prospects–some with verbal offers already–the home team would come away with the victory on all three grade levels. Call it a Tenne-sweep. Below are the Tennessee prospects that shined on the offensive side of the ball, in the eighth-grade (2029) Tennessee vs. Kentucky Future Stars Game.    When looking at the 8th Grade Tennessee Future Stars offensive standout performances, there is no more obvious place to start than with the Offensive MVP, [player_tooltip player_id='998187' first='A'jabeon' last='Stinson']. In an attempt to not burry the lead, Stinson (unofficially) finished the day with nine carries for 140-yards rushing and two touchdowns, plus a reception for four yards.   Stinson, who was an All-District performer on the Varsity level as an eighth-grader this past fall, carried the ball four times in the opening quarter. On his fifth carry of the afternoon, which happened on the second play of the second quarter, Stinson and QB [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden'] executed a picture-perfect option play; 35-yards later, Stinson had his first TD of the game and Tennessee was up 6-0.   Following an uneventful third quarter, Stinson cemented his MVP performance on Tennessee's first possession of the final quarter. On the heels of Kentucky's first touchdown, and starting on his own 4-yard line, Stinson carried the ball on consecutive plays--with the second run being a 92-yard TD run where he outran everyone else on the field.     In a first during my time covering this prestigious event, the 8th Grade Tennessee Future Stars only had the services of one true Quarterback in this game. Fortunately for the Volunteer State, that one QB was [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden'].   Battling both the Kentucky Future Stars and a heat index of 109° at the start of the game, one could make an argument that Hayden could have been named MVP. He started the game hot and showed excellent decision making and accuracy throughout it. In the first half Hayden was 8-of-10 with a touchdown pass, in addition to a handful of rushing yards as Tennessee took 18-0 lead into the half. Also notable, while it won't show up in a stat book, he executed a picture-perfect pitch Option play on [player_tooltip player_id='998187' first='A'jabeon' last='Stinson']'s (listed above) second quarter touchdown run.   Come the second half, the talented signal caller managed the game extremely well for Tennessee and helped preserve the lead. While the final two quarters didn't have the amount fireworks as the first half did, Hayden still connected on 6-of-9 attempts. His second half was highlighted by a pair of completions to [player_tooltip player_id='1537158' first='NuKeise' last='Minor'] for 50-yards. It should be noted, he completed passes to six different teammates.     With QB [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden'] (listed above) slinging the rock all over the yard, no Tennessee Future Stars teammate was targeted more times than [player_tooltip player_id='1539843' first='CJ' last='Briggs']. With the ball coming his way five times, Briggs made the most of his opportunities and made four catches on the afternoon.   Briggs' most impactful catch came on his fourth and final target of the opening half. On 1st- and-15 from the Kentucky 21-yard line, he lined up in the slot and rumbled down field, beating both the CB and Safety, before muscling up to highpoint the ball for a touchdown grab.   Lining up primarily as an Tight End/H-Back, Briggs (unofficially) finished the day with four receptions for 25 yards, with one touchdown and one drop.     Participating in his third and final tour of duty for the Tennessee Future Stars, [player_tooltip player_id='1305180' first='Kruise' last='Buntyn Jr.'] had a commendable performance. His day was highlighted by a productive second quarter, namely a beautiful 21-yard touchdown run that put Tennessee up 18-0. On the touchdown run, he ran it up the gut before bending it outside to the nearside of the field and motoring in for a touchdown.   He (unofficially) finished the day with six carries for 32 yards and a TD. He also had one reception for 4-yards.     After just one target in the first half, which fell incomplete, Minor had a much more productive second half. In the third quarter Minor ran a beautiful out route, before QB [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden'] (listed above) put the ball in the perfect spot, allowing him to drag his back foot for an 11-yard gain.   Come the fourth quarter, Minor made the second of his two receptions of the day. This one was an excellent 39-yard catch and run that brought the ball across the 50-yard line and into Kentucky territory.     With Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden'] having a hot hand and two other Running Backs to share touches with, [player_tooltip player_id='1672176' first='Peyton' last='Hager'] didn't get his first rushing attempt until the second play of the second quarter. That violent six-yard run up the middle happened to be his best of the day, but it gave a glimpse of what he's capable of. Hager (unofficially) finished the day with five carries for 14 yards.     Like teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1305180' first='Kruise' last='Buntyn Jr.'] (listed above), [player_tooltip player_id='1031934' first='Dasani' last='Moulden'] also suited up for the Tennessee Future Stars for a third and final time. While he didn't have the production he's typically used to, Moulden still came away with three targets and a pair of receptions.     As mentioned above in [player_tooltip player_id='1305211' first='Cullen' last='Hayden']'s write up, the talented Quarterback connected with six different Tennesssee Future Stars receivers--one of those Wide Receivers was [player_tooltip player_id='1681703' first='Marcos' last='McCord']. The stats were ho-hum, just two catches for eight-yards. However, successfully catching both targets is never a bad thing.     Rounding out this list of notable 8th Grade Tennessee Future Stars offensive performances is the newly-minted Concord Christian Lion, [player_tooltip player_id='1621991' first='Maurice' last='Smith'] Jr. With all the talent listed above, Smith Jr. surely didn't get as many opportunities as he would have liked, but the coaching staff did a nice job of utilizing his athletic ability. He lined up primarily as a Wildcat QB, and had his biggest contribution of the day on the final play of the first quarter. He took a direct snap and carried the ball 25-yards into Kentucky territory. Tennessee went on to score three plays later.

The annual border war between the Kentucky Future Stars and Tennessee Future Stars went down this past weekend on the beautiful, scenic campus of UT-Martin. While both states featured plenty of future college prospects–some with verbal offers already–the home team would come away with the victory on all three grade levels. Call it a Tenne-sweep. Below are the Tennessee prospects that shined on the offensive side of the ball, in the eighth-grade (2029) Tennessee vs. Kentucky Future Stars Game.