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Eternally Optimistic
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Adams: There's the beef, Powell's defensive front averages 270 pounds
August 13, 2004
Powell High School coach Larry Stephens tells you right up front, "We're not trying to grow 300-pounders."
Zane Bruhin just happened along. All 315 pounds of him.
And so did his brother, "Little John," a 6-foot-5, 290-pound sophomore who is only a few buffet lines short of 300 pounds. There's also Logan McKinney, a 6-3, 300-pound center whose dream job, according to the Powell press guide, is to be the "owner of a Chik-fil-A franchise." And Jared McGaha, a 6-6, 280-pound sophomore has room and time to grow bigger than any of them.
Powell has so many super-heavyweights, the mere heavyweights get lost. Twenty-three of the Panthers weigh more than 200 pounds. Ten weigh 235 or more.
The defensive front four - with the two Bruhin boys at tackle - will average about 270 pounds. The offensive line will average slightly more even though "Little John" doesn't start. If the Panthers move Zane from guard to tackle and put "Little John" at guard, they will average more than 280 from tackle to tackle.
I realize the human race is getting bigger, but I still wasn't ready to see so many college-size players on one high school football team. The only bigger team in Knox County plays its home games at Neyland Stadium.
As big as the Panthers are, they could be bigger. Offensive line coach Daryle Smith required his big guys to make a weight limit when they reported for preseason practice.
Zane Bruhin, the biggest of the bunch, said he weighed 340 pounds before he started playing basketball as a sophomore. He already has received scholarship offers from Division I-A schools, and both he and his brother have a chance to follow in the footsteps of their father, John Bruhin, who played six years in the NFL after leaving UT.
"Until recently, I had questions about them (as college prospects)," the elder Bruhin said. "But I saw Zane go against other top players in one-on-one drills this summer, and I can see how John has improved.
"I think Zane can be better than I was. But he has to be pushed. He's always done what the team does, but not anything extra."
Because of that, Bruhin can understand why UT hasn't offered his older son a scholarship. "They want to see how he does this year," he said.
Smith, who played with John Bruhin at Powell and UT, also sees potential in Zane. It's not just his size, but his quickness and footwork that will attract recruiters, according to Smith, who played six years in the NFL.
"Logan is a really smart kid and will get a chance to play somewhere," Smith said. "Jared and Little John definitely will be Division I prospects."
Smith doesn't have to leave his house to find a college prospect. His son, Lee, is a 6-5, 235-pound junior tight end and defensive end. Lee transferred from Central, where his father coached last season.
Baron Huber, another Central transfer, will provide more size and talent. Huber, a 6-4, 240-pound linebacker, already has committed to play college football at the University of Alabama.
Huber still remembers how last year's scouting report on Powell began: "They're big."
Now, they're bigger than ever.
Assistant coach Russ Partin played on another big Powell team. He was a 5-6, 185-pounder on a line that included several 300-pounders.
"That team was big," he said. "But this team has more big players."
Powell has so many big players, it gains an advantage by just taking the field.
Said Partin: "When Campbell County saw our defensive line (in a spring scrimmage), they didn't want to break the huddle."
Size isn't enough, Stephens stresses. And for all his team's potential, he reminds you that last year's record was 4-7.
But Powell fans probably won't be thinking about last year's team when their Panthers take the field for tonight's high school jamboree at Neyland Stadium. Instead, they will remember that other really big team, the one Partin played on.
That was in 1991, when the Panthers made it all the way to the state-championship game.
August 13, 2004
Powell High School coach Larry Stephens tells you right up front, "We're not trying to grow 300-pounders."
Zane Bruhin just happened along. All 315 pounds of him.
And so did his brother, "Little John," a 6-foot-5, 290-pound sophomore who is only a few buffet lines short of 300 pounds. There's also Logan McKinney, a 6-3, 300-pound center whose dream job, according to the Powell press guide, is to be the "owner of a Chik-fil-A franchise." And Jared McGaha, a 6-6, 280-pound sophomore has room and time to grow bigger than any of them.
Powell has so many super-heavyweights, the mere heavyweights get lost. Twenty-three of the Panthers weigh more than 200 pounds. Ten weigh 235 or more.
The defensive front four - with the two Bruhin boys at tackle - will average about 270 pounds. The offensive line will average slightly more even though "Little John" doesn't start. If the Panthers move Zane from guard to tackle and put "Little John" at guard, they will average more than 280 from tackle to tackle.
I realize the human race is getting bigger, but I still wasn't ready to see so many college-size players on one high school football team. The only bigger team in Knox County plays its home games at Neyland Stadium.
As big as the Panthers are, they could be bigger. Offensive line coach Daryle Smith required his big guys to make a weight limit when they reported for preseason practice.
Zane Bruhin, the biggest of the bunch, said he weighed 340 pounds before he started playing basketball as a sophomore. He already has received scholarship offers from Division I-A schools, and both he and his brother have a chance to follow in the footsteps of their father, John Bruhin, who played six years in the NFL after leaving UT.
"Until recently, I had questions about them (as college prospects)," the elder Bruhin said. "But I saw Zane go against other top players in one-on-one drills this summer, and I can see how John has improved.
"I think Zane can be better than I was. But he has to be pushed. He's always done what the team does, but not anything extra."
Because of that, Bruhin can understand why UT hasn't offered his older son a scholarship. "They want to see how he does this year," he said.
Smith, who played with John Bruhin at Powell and UT, also sees potential in Zane. It's not just his size, but his quickness and footwork that will attract recruiters, according to Smith, who played six years in the NFL.
"Logan is a really smart kid and will get a chance to play somewhere," Smith said. "Jared and Little John definitely will be Division I prospects."
Smith doesn't have to leave his house to find a college prospect. His son, Lee, is a 6-5, 235-pound junior tight end and defensive end. Lee transferred from Central, where his father coached last season.
Baron Huber, another Central transfer, will provide more size and talent. Huber, a 6-4, 240-pound linebacker, already has committed to play college football at the University of Alabama.
Huber still remembers how last year's scouting report on Powell began: "They're big."
Now, they're bigger than ever.
Assistant coach Russ Partin played on another big Powell team. He was a 5-6, 185-pounder on a line that included several 300-pounders.
"That team was big," he said. "But this team has more big players."
Powell has so many big players, it gains an advantage by just taking the field.
Said Partin: "When Campbell County saw our defensive line (in a spring scrimmage), they didn't want to break the huddle."
Size isn't enough, Stephens stresses. And for all his team's potential, he reminds you that last year's record was 4-7.
But Powell fans probably won't be thinking about last year's team when their Panthers take the field for tonight's high school jamboree at Neyland Stadium. Instead, they will remember that other really big team, the one Partin played on.
That was in 1991, when the Panthers made it all the way to the state-championship game.
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