TN vs. KY Future Stars: Which 2031 Prospects Shined Offensively?

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 offensive prospects that shined on the offensive side of the ball, in the sixth-grade (2031) Tennessee vs. Kentucky Future Stars Game.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tennessee</h2>    The eventual Offensive MVP for Tennessee, [player_tooltip player_id='1695363' first='Jashaun' last='Stansberry'] had an outstanding performance--and essentially only played a little more than two quarters. He started his day with the Special Teams play of the game. With Tennessee up 14-8, Stansberry had a jaw-dropping kick return for a touchdown in an immediate response to Kentucky's first touchdown of the day. After muffing the original catch, he reversed field and turned on the jets to outrun the other 21 players on the game for a touchdown, putting Tennessee up 20-8 just before half. It wouldn't take long for him to strike again in the second half, as Stansberry took the first play from scrimmage 44-yards to the house on another beautiful run, showing off the speed he brings to the table. On Tennessee's second possession of the second half, the Knoxville Catholic prospect was again pounding the rock, before an unfortunate injury ended his day prematurely. Regardless, his performance--though short--will not soon be forgotten. He finished the day with two touchdowns.     There's a very good argument that [player_tooltip player_id='1326140' first='Titus' last='Holloway'] could have been named the Tennessee Future Stars Offensive MVP. The Oakland Middle School prospect was used in motion throughout the day on end-arounds and other play calls/formations that allowed for him to get loose in space. On Tennessee's first possession of the game, Holloway scored the first points of the day on a touchdown run, which he promptly followed up with a two-point conversion to put Tennessee up 8-0. Holloway's day wasn't finished, as he made the offensive play of the day—regardless of game—on his second touch of the game. He took an end-around 44-yards to pay dirt, running over a Kentucky defensive player in the process, as if the Kentucky defender was a pin and Holloway was the bowling ball. The standout play resulted in the entire team meeting him in the end zone, as Tennessee went up 14-0. Come the third quarter, with [player_tooltip player_id='1695363' first='Jashaun' last='Stansberry'] out of the game due to injury, Tennessee got back to using Holloway for explosive plays. Kentucky struggled to find ways to contain his speed and agility all game long. He finished with two touchdowns.     One of the first prospects I noticed when walking around the field during warmups, [player_tooltip player_id='1695374' first='Charles' last='Booker'] was an immediate eye-test passer. Booker got the first carry on each of the Tennessee Future Stars' first two possessions. He went for positive yards on each run, which set the tone for what the Volunteer State's offense would be about. Additionally, Booker's contributions weren't limited to the offensive side of the ball, as the Oakland product also had a very nice kick return early in the third quarter. As the game continued on, and with [player_tooltip player_id='1695363' first='Jashaun' last='Stansberry'] out of the game due to injury, Tennessee relied on the tough running of Booker. He had a number of physical runs right up the gut, that aided in wearing out a Kentucky defense that spent the afternoon chasing down the explosive TN skill players in 90-degree temperatures.     With the Tennessee running game clicking on all cylinders, in addition to some big Special Teams plays, Byington didn't stuff the stat sheet--but he also really didn't need to. With that said, he did show off a live arm at times. Additionally, Byington had a few short runs that kept drives alive and the Kentucky defense honest.     Early in the fourth quarter, [player_tooltip player_id='1695382' first='DJ' last='Owens'] was Johnny-on-the-spot for Tennessee. On a 4th-and-22 play in no man's land, Tennessee QB [player_tooltip player_id='1695387' first='Jackston' last='Byington'] threw a pass that deflected off the hands of his intended target, but Owens snatched the ball out of midair and got the first down to keep the drive alive. It was his only catch of the day, but it showed off quick reactions and ball skills.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kentucky</h2>    There's no question that the Kentucky Future Stars offensive game plan was: Let Alford do his thing by any means necessary. The Offensive MVP for Kentucky was the workhorse Running Back for the Bluegrass Boys, and had nearly 10 touches by the end of the opening quarter—including the first four carries of the game. His consistent work and effort was finally rewarded with 2:22 left in the opening half, as Alford had a nice TD run up the right side. The right side of the Kentucky Offensive Line seemed to be the favorite side of the Kentucky offense, as they found plenty of success on that side of the Center. Alford's strong afternoon continued on his first opportunity of the second half. After Stansberry scored on Tennessee's first play from scrimmage, Alford responded by taking the ensuing kickoff to the house for his second score of the day. Tennessee was in control for most of this game, but Alford did not make it easy for the Big Orange.     When [player_tooltip player_id='1695402' first='Justice' last='Alford'] (listed above) wasn't running the ball and picking up chunks of yards for the Kentucky Future Stars, it was [player_tooltip player_id='1675205' first='Hudson' last='Martin'] who kept the chains moving on offense. On his first two carries of the day, he moved the chains on consecutive zone runs to the outside, showing off the mix of speed and power. As the game ticked on, Martin continued to run the ball with decent success against the Tennessee Future Stars. He didn't have any memorable runs, but he was a consistent threat offensively for Kentucky.     After an uneventful opening quarter, [player_tooltip player_id='1695415' first='Ladarious' last='Mayes'] started to make his presence known in the second quarter. The reining Trigg County Middle School MVP came in and had a number of exciting runs to help breathe some life in a Kentucky offense that was struggling to put points on the board until that point. He showed off excellent speed and quickness on outside runs, which spread the defense out a bit and helped them from crashing the box to stop Alford and Martin. He also tacked on a few nice runs late in the fourth quarter in a losing effort.     Meece Middle School's [player_tooltip player_id='1695419' first='Landry' last='Anderson'] may have had the most impressive day of any prospect, who didn't run the ball. Anderson is clearly a gifted athlete and it didn't take long for the Tennessee Future Stars to find that out. He made an outstanding play in the first quarter, as he extended to make a catch on the sideline and had the wherewithal to drag his feet in bounds to secure the grab. While he was targeted a handful of times, the first quarter grab was his only reception. It won't show up anywhere, but he also had a tremendous day blocking on the outside. As the game went on, Anderson made a few additional impressive plays on defense and special teams.     The starter for the 6th Grade Kentucky Future Stars, [player_tooltip player_id='1668300' first='Kade' last='Johnson'] certainly had some moments throughout the game--just not enough to help KY win the border war. On one of his best balls, threw a beautiful pass to Tight End [player_tooltip player_id='1670496' first='Darien' last='Williams'] for a two-point conversion following Kentucky's first touchdown. He was able to get his passes off, but like his Tennessee QB counterparts, there just wasn't a ton of productivity through the air in the game. It should be noted, that he did use his legs a decent amount throughout the ball game, when the situation called for it.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Additional Notes</h2>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Tennessee reserve Running Back [player_tooltip player_id='1695392' first='Karter' last='Hampton'] had a handful of short runs up the middle in the second half, that went for positive yards. The shorter, compact RB out of Havenview Middle didn't get a lot of touches, but ran hard when he did.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Kentucky Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1646859' first='Tyler' last='Duncan'] made a pair of grabs on the afternoon. The JCTMS product made a nice catch in the flat in the first quarter, in addition to a short snag late in the fourth quarter.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Another Kentucky Wide Receiver who made a nice snag on the day was Meece's [player_tooltip player_id='1695429' first='Brysten' last='Wells']. Wells reeled in a nice ball from QB [player_tooltip player_id='1668300' first='Kade' last='Johnson'], to help set up the Kentucky Future Stars' first scoring drive.</li> </ul>   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Kentucky Tight End [player_tooltip player_id='1670496' first='Darien' last='Williams'] made a beautiful catch on the team's first two-point conversion of the day. The Notre Dame Academy prospect showed off his vertical and went up to bring down a pass from [player_tooltip player_id='1668300' first='Kade' last='Johnson'].</li> </ul>

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 offensive prospects that shined on the offensive side of the ball, in the sixth-grade (2031) Tennessee vs. Kentucky Future Stars Game.