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SMSB News and Updates

2018 Michigan Showcase Impacts Over 350 Student-Athletes

The second annual Sound Mind Sound Body Michigan Showcase was a smashing success, with over 350 student-athletes in attendance over three days (Dec. 26-28).

Eric Thomas, aka “ET, The Hip Hop Preacher,” rocked the stage at Detroit Cass Tech HS on Day 1 (the “Sound Mind” portion of the three-day Showcase), spreading his message of taking “ownership” and of having a plan for after football.

Fellow motivational speaker and Thomas’ protégé TJ Tyus served as emcee for the day, and provided a very enlightening message about making proper decisions off the field.

The rest of the day consisted of a Parent Seminar, which was spearheaded by Zybek Sports’ Mike Weinstein and Sound Mind Sound Body’s own Curtis Blackwell. Weinstein talked to the parents about the state-of-the-art equipment from Zybek that was used the following day for testing the campers’ measurables, while Blackwell emphasized the importance of knowing one’s numbers (i.e. height and weight) and of doing well inside the classroom in order to be eligible for playing collegiately.

“You’ve got to focus on academics with your son, just like you focus on camps,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell added, “If your son doesn’t have an offer by the time he’s a senior, you need to especially focus on academics, character & leadership (with him).”

After the day concluded, the players walked over to Ford Field for the Quick Lane Bowl, where they were able to watch, free of admission, the Minnesota Golden Gophers take on and defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Fast forward to Day 2 of the camp, which took place at SMSB’s headquarters at The MAC.

It was Zybek Sports’ time to shine as the premier provider of talent identification and performance analysis equipment, and it sure did just that.

Zybek Sports, based in Boulder, Colo., has provided the only fully automated timing system used at the NFL Combine since 2011.

On Day 2, Zybek, led by Weinstein, tested players on a variety of skills, including recording players’ 40-yard dash times and the distances on their broad jumps.

The student-athletes, by the end of the day, gained a real sense of what times and skills they needed to improve upon in order to become better players.

Top Performers for 5-10-5 Shuttle (“Short Shuttle”), 3-Cone Drill and 40-Yard Dash (with times)

Name 5-10-5 Name 3-Cone
Overall 1 Luke Newman 4.006 Nicholas McCarthy 6.342
Overall 2 Kalen King 4.168 Jason Williams 6.529
Overall 3 Nino Mastromatteo 4.316 Mark Reynolds 6.574
QB 1 Sebastian Brown 4.439 Caleb Knoer 6.917
QB 2 Anthony Romphf 4.497 Michael Martin-El 6.991
QB 3 Kyle Greenwood 4.53 Braylon Silvas 7.033
WR 1 Nino Mastromatteo 4.316 Darrell Johnson 6.575
WR 2 Darrell Johnson 4.33 Tayshaun Massey 6.732
WR 3 Pierce Muthui-Edwards 4.444 Jay Fouchey 6.786
RB 1 Jamason Jodway 4.474 Jamason Jodway 6.659
RB 2 Dillon Tatum 4.558 Marcel Poe 6.819
RB 3 Ralph Donaldson 4.573 Anthony Tyus III 6.837
OL 1 Luke Newman 4.006 Luke Newman 7.265
OL 2 Kyle Johnson 4.929 Eli Haidamous 7.539
OL 3 Eli Haidamous 5.168 Marcia Freeman 7.674
DB 1 Kalen King 4.168 Kalen King 6.686
DB 2 Zaiden Mitchell 4.367 Agostino Giagnacovo 6.81
DB 3 Daeon Johnson 4.471 Grant Hart 6.856
LB 1 Kentlee Flake 4.373 Jason Williams 6.529
LB 2 Jeff Hayes 4.491 Mark Reynolds 6.574
LB 3 Kobe King 4.513 Parker Eastman 6.699
DL 1 William Kerr 4.885 Clarence Wilson Jr. 7.259
DL 2 Clarence Wilson Jr. 4.917 Mike Unger 7.273
DL 3 Mike Unger 4.948 William Kerr 7.317

Name 40-Yard Dash 
Overall 1 Ralph Donaldson 4.622
QB 1 Sebastian Brown 4.726
WR 1 Arron Foulkes 4.638
RB 1 Ralph Donaldson 4.622
OL 1 Kyle Johnson 5.379
DB 1 Grant Hart 4.702
LB 1 Kentlee Flake 4.706
DL 1 Ari Curtis 5.099

Then came Day 3 of the camp, which took place at Ford Field.

It featured three sessions of players from every position going through drills, including quarterbacks trained by Donovan Dooley and Quarterback University, as well as QBU alums such as SMSB alum and Boston College commit Sam Johnson III.

A talented group of players from the class of 2020 took part in the day’s drills, including Oak Park’s Maliq Carr, Ecorse’s Cortez Dingle, Warren De La Salle’s Jordan Rogers, Detroit King’s Peny Boone, River Rouge’s David Carter Jr. and King’s Lemuel Watley and Rashawn Williams.

2020 Oak Park WR Maliq Carr

After the drills from each session concluded, the top players at each participating position were announced.

From session #1, the top players were the following:

At QB – Clarkston Everest Collegiate’s Giovanni Mastromatteo, Livonia Franklin’s Jacob Kelbert, Bloomfield Hills’ Tanner Slazinski, Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley’s Vincenzo Meschi, Chicago (Ill.) Kenwood Academy’s Kaleb Garner and Muskegon Mona Shores’ Mark Konecny.

At DB – Birmingham Groves’ Kaleb Coleman, Belleville’s Travon Monroe, Davison’s Caleb Smith, River Rouge’s David Carter Jr., Antoine Brown, Kenwood Academy’s Donald Dillon and Detroit University Prep Science & Math’s Tommy Kyles II.

At WR (from left to right in top photo) – Detroit King’s Watley and Williams, Ecorse’s Montez Archer Jr., Anton Davis and West Bloomfield’s Jordan Brown.

(Left to right in bottom photo) – Chicago (Ill.) Curie’s Jaylen Brooks and Kenwood’s Jaleel Payne and Dante Reynolds.

 

From session #2, the top players were the following:

At QB – Walled Lake Western’s Zach Trainor, Wyandotte Roosevelt’s Jalin Pitchford, Detroit Cass Tech’s Sebastian Brown, Detroit King’s Michael Martin-El and Grandville’s Andrew Fuss.

At WR – Detroit U-D Jesuit’s Elijah Rikard, Belleville’s Christian Rapley, Deion Burks and Darrell Johnson and U-D Jesuit’s Carson Hinton.

At DB – Detroit Cass Tech’s Jacob Taylor, River Rouge’s LeRoy Watson, Cass Tech’s Kalen King, Grosse Pointe South’s Grant Hart, Harper Woods’ Da’veon Turner, Redford Thurston’s Maki Dunigan and Grosse Pointe South’s Will Johnson.

From session #3, the top players were the following:

At RB – Birmingham Groves’ Ralph Donaldson, Warren De La Salle’s Jordan Rogers, Plymouth Salem’s Drake Jordan, Auburn Hills Avondale’s Jamason Jodway, Oak Park’s Davion Primm and Detroit King’s Peny Boone.

At DL – Detroit Cass Tech’s Clarence Wilson Jr., Romulus Summit’s Tyree Ready and Felix Foucher, Detroit U-D Jesuit’s Miles Hickman and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Bryce Hall.

At LB (in back from left to right) – Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s Michael Miles, Davison’s Logan Pasco, Detroit King’s Blake Bailiff, Ecorse’s Dingle and Detroit Cass Tech’s Jason Williams.

(In front from left to right) – Detroit U-D Jesuit’s Dorian Mausi and Cass Tech’s Kobe King.

At OL – #196 Oak Park’s Kenneth Manley, #221 Harper Woods’ Jemarrlowe Sykes Jr., #203 Trenton’s Drew Sueta, #128 Romeo’s Neil Shaw, #194 Burbank (Ill.) St. Laurence’s Myron Lewis, #628 Harper Woods’ Davion Weatherspoon, #253 William Hunt, #239 Detroit Cass Tech’s Craig Rush, #192 Holt’s Eli Haidamous and Birmingham Groves’ Ben Simmons.

The day wasn’t over after the top players from each session were recognized, either. There was still a 7-on-7 tournament to be played, with each team taking the name of a major road in the metro Detroit area, such as 7 Mile, I-94, I-696 and Livernois. And boy, was the tourney full of highlights.

Team 7 Mile and Team I-94 met in the title game. 7 Mile put up 18 points on I-94, capturing the 2018 Michigan Showcase 7-on-7 title, 18-11.

   Team 7 Mile

For some of the athletes that played in the 7-on-7 tourney and took part in the day’s festivities, it was the first time they had been inside of Ford Field. And for those that had previously been to Ford Field, many of them had never played on the same surface as Detroit’s NFL franchise, the Detroit Lions, prior to the Michigan Showcase.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many, and it was all made possible by one organization: Sound Mind Sound Body.