ESPN RISE Games Champion® Gridiron Kings 2011 Roster Announced
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July 6, 2011
ESPN RISE Games Champion® Gridiron Kings 2011 Roster Announced
Champion® Gridiron Kings returns to ESPN RISE Games July 23-24
Sixty-four of the nation’s top high school football players will take the challenge and compete in the third annual Champion® Gridiron Kings event, a series of competitions featuring the best players in the game’s seven skill positions – quarterback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, linebacker, cornerback and safety. Champion® Gridiron Kings, part of the ESPN RISE Games, will take place July 23-24 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in suburban Orlando, Fla.
Champion® Gridiron Kings is one of four elite high school events featured in the ESPN RISE Games, a two-week event for elite and competitive level student-athletes, July 13-27. Other events include, Champion® All-American Showcase, a US Lacrosse boys and girls event; the AAU 11th Grade Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion®; and the Under Armour High School All-America Softball game.
This year, 21 of the 2011 participants are ranked in the ESPNU 150 including No.11 Travis Blanks (North Florida Christian – Tallahassee, Fla.) and No. 20 Cayleb Jones (Austin – Austin, Texas). Blanks and Jones are both ranked No. 2 in their positions – safety and wide receiver – respectfully. Players represent (17) states including Calif., Fla., Ohio and Texas.
| First | Last | High School | Position | Team | ESPNU 150 | Position Rank |
| Ishmael | Adams | Oaks Christian | CB | West | n/a | #13 |
| Bralon | Addison | Fort Bend Hightower | Ath | SouthWest | n/a | #19 |
| Mike | Baker | Central | QB | West | n/a | #21 |
| Chris | Bivins | Gainesville | CB | SouthEast | n/a | #56 |
| Travis | Blanks | North Florida Christian | S | SouthEast | #11 | #2 |
| Keith | Brown | Miami Norland | LB | SouthEast | n/a | #27 |
| James | Burgess Jr. | Homestead | LB | SouthEast | n/a | #34 |
| Alex | Carter | Briar Woods | S | MidWest | #115 | #15 |
| Timothy | Cole Jr. | Brenham | LB | SouthWest | n/a | #24 |
| Corey | Coleman | J.J Pearce | WR | SouthWest | n/a | #40 |
| Joel (JC) | Coleman Jr. | Oscar Smith | RB | MidWest | n/a | #24 |
| Ronald | Darby | Potomac | CB | MidWest | #70 | #11 |
| Matt | Davis | Klein Forest | QB | SouthWest | n/a | n/a |
| Devante | Harris | Mesquite John Horn | CB | SouthWest | n/a | #15 |
| Bryson | Echols | Desoto High | S | SouthWest | #79 | #6 |
| Riley | Ferguson | Butler | QB | SouthEast | n/a | (class of 2013) |
| Ukeme | Eligwe | Stone Mountain | LB | SouthEast | #120 | #3 |
| Greg | Garmon | McDowell | RB | MidWest | n/a | #29 |
| Griffin | Gilbert | Lake Travis | TE | SouthWest | n/a | #8 |
| Joshua | Holsey | Creekside | CB | SouthEast | #77 | #5 |
| Angelo | Jean-Louis | Palm Beach Central | WR | SouthEast | #52 | #7 |
| Randy | Johnson | Miami Norland | RB | SouthEast | n/a | #10 |
| Thomas | Johnson | Dallas Skyline | WR | SouthWest | #35 | #4 |
| Corey | Jones | Penn Hills | WR | MidWest | n/a | #59 |
| Cayleb | Jones | Austin | WR | SouthWest | #20 | #2 |
| Cyrus | Jones | Gilman | Ath | MidWest | #37 | #5 |
| Kenyan | Drake | Hillgrove | RB | SouthEast | n/a | #14 |
| Quanzell | Lambert | Timber Creek | LB | MidWest | n/a | #25 |
| Robert | Lewis | Southeast | RB | West | n/a | #12 |
| Lamar | Louis | Breaux Bridge | Ath | SouthWest | n/a | #25 |
| LaDarrell | McNeil | A Maceo Smith | S | South | n/a | #10 |
| Taylor | McNamara | Westview | TE | West | n/a | #9 |
| Jaydon | Mickens | Dorsey | WR | West | n/a | #54 |
| Darien | Monroe | East St.John | CB | SouthWest | n/a | n/a |
| Kwontie | Moore | Norfolk Christian | LB | MidWest | n/a | #10 |
| Wayne | Morgan | Erasmus | CB | MidWest | n/a | #11 |
| Shane | Morris | De La Salle Collegiate | QB | MidWest | n/a | d (class of 2013) |
| Davonte | Neal | Chaparral | ATH | West | #28 | #2 |
| LaTroy | Pittman | North Marion | WR | SouthEast | #106 | #15 |
| Darius | Powe | Lakewood | WR | West | #84 | #13 |
| Sean | Price | North Marion | TE | SouthEast | n/a | #7 |
| Rayshawn | Jenkins | Admiral Farragut | WR | SouthEast | n/a | #33 |
| C.J. | Prosise | Woodberry Forest | S | MidWest | #37 | #5 |
| Terry | Richardson | Cass Tech | CB | MidWest | #68 | #4 |
| Marcus | Rios | Consumnes Oaks | CB | West | n/a | #24 |
| Deaysean | Rippy | Sto-Rox | LB | MidWest | n/a | #32 |
| Michael | Rose | Rockhurst | LB | SouthWest | n/a | #4 |
| Jabari | Ruffin | Downey | LB | West | #34 | #4 |
| KeiVarae | Russell | Mariner | RB | West | n/a | #26 |
| Chris | Santini | Leland | LB | West | n/a | #37 |
| Canaan | Severin | Worchester Academy | WR | MidWest | n/a | #87 |
| T’ajani (Tee) | Shepard | Central East | CB | West | #89 | #7 |
| Dwayne | Stanford | Robert A Taft | WR | MidWest | #111 | #16 |
| Scott | Starr | Norco | LB | West | n/a | #20 |
| Ronald | Thompson | Southfield | TE | MidWest | n/a | #18 |
| Corey | Thompson | Lawrence E. Elkins | S | SouthWest | n/a | #21 |
| Shaq | Thompson | Grant | S | West | n/a | #3 |
| Bryce | Treggs | St. John Bosco | WR | West | n/a | #78 |
| P.J. | Williams | Van Guard | S | SouthEast | #113 | #6 |
| Trey | Williams | Dekaney | RB | Southwest | #134 | #9 |
| Jaime | Wilson | Glades Central | WR | SouthEast | n/a | #80 |
| Derrick | Woods | Inglewood | DB | West | #128 | #17 |
Coaches
Participants will be trained and coached by former NFL and CFL players including Natrone Means (RB – Chargers, Panthers, Jaguars), Donovin Darius (DB – Jaguars, Raiders, Dolphins) and Jeff Blake (QB – Jets, Bengals, Saints, Ravens, Cardinals, Eagles, Bears).
Under Armour High School All-America Softball Game, Champion® Gridiron Kings, AAU 11th Grade Boys Basketball Super Showcase presented by Champion® and Champion® All-American Showcase, a US Lacrosse event (boys) will be featured on ESPNU and ESPN3.com. A complete television schedule will be made available closer to the events. For more information, please go to: www.espnrise.com/erg
Opening ceremonies for the ESPN RISE Games will be Saturday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
About ESPN RISE Games
The ESPN RISE Games is a two-week-long elite and competitive level student-athlete focused event, anchored by four elite high school sports events: the Champion® All-American Showcase, a US Lacrosse boys and girls event, the AAU 11th Grade Boys Basketball Super Showcase Presented By Champion®, the Under Armour High School Softball All-America game and the elite 7-on-7 high school football event Champion® Gridiron Kings. The ESPN RISE Games’ competitive channel youth sports include boys and girls lacrosse, softball, football, baseball, basketball, field hockey and track & field. The ESPN RISE Games expects to host more than 14,000 student athletes during the 2011 event.
About ESPN RISE
ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school student-athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration to improve their skills and achieve their goals. ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE Guy and Girl magazines, with special issues for football, basketball, track and recruiting; ESPNRISE.com; mobile and social media products (Facebook.com/ESPNRISE and Twitter @ESPNRISE); and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, Elite 24, ESPN RISE Games, ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, Area Code Baseball, ESPN RISE Girls Showcase, and ESPN RISE Nike Football Combines/Nike Football Training Camps. ESPN RISE is uniquely positioned to provide high school student-athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across multiple ESPN platforms. To follow ESPN RISE Girls on Facebook, please visit www.Facebook.com/espnrisegirl.
About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts more than 300 events a year, is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States, accommodating 70 different sports and athletes from more than 70 countries. Designed to take youth sports to the next level, the 230-acre facility features the ESPN Innovation Lab, a real-world testing ground for the ESPN Emerging Technology Group to develop ground-breaking on-air products like Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom, as well as development of its new 3-D television channel. In addition, the complex features 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 hand-held and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture and display footage from any event taking place at the complex. The camera and video screens, as well as a 20-zone audio system, are controlled through the state-of-the-art HD and 3-D Broadcast Center that features eight edit bays and links to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.wdwnews.com for press releases, photos and videos. Follow us on Twitter at @DisneySports
Champion®
Since 1919 Champion athleticwear has offered a full line of innovative athletic apparel for men and women including sports bras, activewear, team uniforms, sweats and accessories. Champion athleticwear can be purchased at most sporting goods and department stores. For more information please contact us at 1-800-999-2249, visit www.championusa.com or at www.facebook.com/champion or follow us on Twitter @Championusa. Champion is a brand of Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI)
