Early region top 10 predictions

[scarab527]

How many D1 kids has Morton produced in the last five years? Names and schools please?

Dierre Kelly - Bowling Green (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Jojo Johnson - Notre Dame --> Iowa Western --> Indiana University (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Phyllip Gunn - Ball State University --> TBD (Believe headed to a smaller D-1 or a D-2) (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Also pretty sure that CPBulldog is referring to their current division 1 talent as...

Lebron Hill - 14 Division 1 Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)

Freddie Brown - 7 Division 1 Offers

Holland Harris - Bowling Green and Grand Valley State Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)


So by my count, that's 5, possibly 6, in the last 5 years. Even if you don't want to count the "incoming transfers" of Hill and Harris, that still makes 4...

All this really shows is that it takes a lot more than just having D1 players to be a good HS football program.

[CPbulldogs2024]

How many D1 kids has Morton produced in the last five years? Names and schools please?

Dierre Kelly - Bowling Green (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Jojo Johnson - Notre Dame --> Iowa Western --> Indiana University (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Phyllip Gunn - Ball State University --> TBD (Believe headed to a smaller D-1 or a D-2) (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Also pretty sure that CPBulldog is referring to their current division 1 talent as...

Lebron Hill - 14 Division 1 Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)

Freddie Brown - 7 Division 1 Offers

Holland Harris - Bowling Green and Grand Valley State Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)


So by my count, that's 5, possibly 6, in the last 5 years. Even if you don't want to count the "incoming transfers" of Hill and Harris, that still makes 4...

All this really shows is that it takes a lot more than just having D1 players to be a good HS football program.

I did my research. Yes they all played a good portion of high school at Morton. But most of them came though merrillville pop warner and merrillville school systems.

Freddy brown was all merrillville. Till seiss told him he wouldn’t start as a freshman in varsity and he booked it to Morton. And a lot of people discuss the transfers to Merrillville.. well the only true transfer was jo jo. He transfered before Covid came in. And when Morton shit down there sports. Jo Jo’s dad got the others to transfer so they wouldn’t miss out on senior year.

Merrillville was out on probation because of Jo jo dad. Which turned in Merrillville after his son left.


Rumors are Merrillville wouldn’t let him on the coaching staff due to a felony on his record from back when he was in his 20s so now he is doing anything to spite them.

Freddy was at pierce in 8th grade. Btw.


#bulldogsrunthestate

[nwifbfan]

By far, Merrillville produces the most D1 and NFL talent in NWI. Not even debatable, pure facts. The discussion was in regards to Morton and D1 talent. I didn’t think it was that many over the years and Jimbo laid it out very clearly.

[warrior]

Lebron had many D1 coaches coming to see him Sophomore year when he was at Hammond Central. I am not trying to throw shade, but the kid's talent was evident well before he got to Morton and to say he wasn't on D1 radars is not accurate. He's 6'6" with a 3.5 GPA - he was not hard to find.

[Jimbo23]

How many D1 kids has Morton produced in the last five years? Names and schools please?

Dierre Kelly - Bowling Green (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Jojo Johnson - Notre Dame --> Iowa Western --> Indiana University (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Phyllip Gunn - Ball State University --> TBD (Believe headed to a smaller D-1 or a D-2) (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Also pretty sure that CPBulldog is referring to their current division 1 talent as...

Lebron Hill - 14 Division 1 Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)

Freddie Brown - 7 Division 1 Offers

Holland Harris - Bowling Green and Grand Valley State Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)


So by my count, that's 5, possibly 6, in the last 5 years. Even if you don't want to count the "incoming transfers" of Hill and Harris, that still makes 4...

All this really shows is that it takes a lot more than just having D1 players to be a good HS football program.

Totally agree.

[nwifbfan]

Agree but talent sure helps!!

[Jimbo23]

Dierre Kelly - Bowling Green (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Jojo Johnson - Notre Dame --> Iowa Western --> Indiana University (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Phyllip Gunn - Ball State University --> TBD (Believe headed to a smaller D-1 or a D-2) (Note: Playing as a Senior at Merrillville DOES NOT mean Merrillville "produced him.")

Also pretty sure that CPBulldog is referring to their current division 1 talent as...

Lebron Hill - 14 Division 1 Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)

Freddie Brown - 7 Division 1 Offers

Holland Harris - Bowling Green and Grand Valley State Offers (0 offers before arriving at Morton)


So by my count, that's 5, possibly 6, in the last 5 years. Even if you don't want to count the "incoming transfers" of Hill and Harris, that still makes 4...

All this really shows is that it takes a lot more than just having D1 players to be a good HS football program.

I did my research. Yes they all played a good portion of high school at Morton. But most of them came though merrillville pop warner and merrillville school systems.
3+ years at Morton for all on the list except for Harris, Hill, and Gunn (who I removed after further discussion). Changing of schools from grades 8 to 9 or grades 5 to 6 is relatively commonplace for families. It seems to have paid dividends for the members of the Kelly, Johnson, and Brown households who made that switch from grade 8 to 9.


Freddy brown was all merrillville. Till seiss told him he wouldn’t start as a freshman in varsity and he booked it to Morton. And a lot of people discuss the transfers to Merrillville.. well the only true transfer was jo jo. He transfered before Covid came in. And when Morton shit down there sports. Jo Jo’s dad got the others to transfer so they wouldn’t miss out on senior year.
I won't speak on Freddy because I don't know Freddy, his Merrillville past, or his family situation, and I won't pretend to. I do know, based on local media and Jojo's Twitter (now X) that you are correct on Jojo transferring prior to Covid playing a role. The rest of the Morton Govs core followed suit after Hammond (not just Morton) shut down their sports for what ended up being half of the season (as far as I can find). Credit whoever you'd like, but Mr. Johnson is probably a good person to thank.


Merrillville was out on probation because of Jo jo dad. Which turned in Merrillville after his son left.
They were put on probation due to their own transgressions. They've been doing what they got caught doing for MANY YEARS (far outdating my existence) but no one cares because it's Merrillville. They get a "transfer or two" every year and we just assume everyone is moving into the fine city of Merrillville? LOL but watch Hammond Central, EC, or Morton do that and see what happens. Character bashing will transpire and the jokes will fly left and right. Mr. Johnson isn't why Merrillville got in trouble, Merrillville's coaches are why Merrillville got in trouble. The article is out there, I won't do the homework for you. You're capable as you indicated above.

Rumors are Merrillville wouldn’t let him on the coaching staff due to a felony on his record from back when he was in his 20s so now he is doing anything to spite them.
How'd he coach there before then? 2015 if I'm not mistaken.. More lenient background checks in 2015?


Freddy was at pierce in 8th grade. Btw.
You said that above using other words.


#bulldogsrunthestate

[Jimbo23]

Lebron had many D1 coaches coming to see him Sophomore year when he was at Hammond Central. I am not trying to throw shade, but the kid's talent was evident well before he got to Morton and to say he wasn't on D1 radars is not accurate. He's 6'6" with a 3.5 GPA - he was not hard to find.

Totally agree that 6'6" with the grades to go with it is appealing and "not hard to find" to quote the great warrior and Coach Prime. Lol however, based on Hill's Twitter (X) page, the only trip to a college I saw prior to his transfer was to Ball State. I do see a hand full of mentions of coaches coming in to see players from Hammond Central Football's twitter page from the end of Lebron's sophomore season to his transfer to Morton (Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, Ball State, and Western Michigan). Two of those eventually offered Hill (Ball State and Central Michigan). The Morton staff selling Lebron Hill (6'6'' raw but talented WR) to colleges or the previous LC staff selling Xavier Williams (6'0'' 220lb RB that runs in the 4.5's) to colleges is as easy as it gets in the recruiting world. It's just tough, for me I suppose, to not recognize the explosion in his recruiting after his transition from Hammond Central to Morton.

Similar to yourself, this isn't me throwing shots. I don't think I had said he wasn't on D1 radars prior to Morton. I DID use an example about kids being "offerless" or "no names" in the football/ recruiting world. I guess with the direction our conversation is heading, I would say this applies to Harris more so than it does to Hill based on the minimal exposure to recruiting Hill saw at Hammond Central. Regardless if it's 3, 4, or 5 D1 guys "produced" by the Govs, it's impressive nonetheless.

[VikingNation]

1. Crown point- 6A State Runner Ups returning QB Noah Elrich and RB Larry Ellison. They will have a lot of success in the regular season, tough road for them to make it back to Indy.

2. Merrillville- Program will never lack talent as they have some good DLinemen and athlete John Peters, question mark at QB though. Weak sectional so will walk to Regional.

3. Valpo- I hate ranking us this high but I feel we could beat any team below us. We lost a lot of good skill guys and some linebackers and I am already nervous for a rematch in the regional with Merrillville.

4. Hanover central- Have to give Hanover the nod at 4 as they won the NCC last year but schedule is still weak. Big time loss at QB and OL-DL losing Colin Foy. 4A Sectional with NP will be a tough matchup if they get to see them.

5. Hobart- Losing the transfer QB and WR from last year could be felt if guys aren't able to step into those roles.

6. Andrean- Bring back a ton of guys from last year including 3 Division 1 players. Last time they got upset in a 2A playoff, they won the state championship the following year but they need a QB and RB to emerge.

7. Lowell- New Field and Hopefully new mentality down in the Inferno this year.

8. Hammond Morton- 3 D1 Players on this team, will compete well in the regular season.

9. Michigan City- Really like the defense they have coming back and they have athletes. They could be dangerous come sectional time.

10. Lake Central- I have always liked Pete as a coach and I think as an alumni he will bring a different energy to the Burial Ground.

[nwifbfan]

1. Crown point- 6A State Runner Ups returning QB Noah Elrich and RB Larry Ellison. They will have a lot of success in the regular season, tough road for them to make it back to Indy.

2. Merrillville- Program will never lack talent as they have some good DLinemen and athlete John Peters, question mark at QB though. Weak sectional so will walk to Regional.

3. Valpo- I hate ranking us this high but I feel we could beat any team below us. We lost a lot of good skill guys and some linebackers and I am already nervous for a rematch in the regional with Merrillville.

4. Hanover central- Have to give Hanover the nod at 4 as they won the NCC last year but schedule is still weak. Big time loss at QB and OL-DL losing Colin Foy. 4A Sectional with NP will be a tough matchup if they get to see them.

5. Hobart- Losing the transfer QB and WR from last year could be felt if guys aren't able to step into those roles.

6. Andrean- Bring back a ton of guys from last year including 3 Division 1 players. Last time they got upset in a 2A playoff, they won the state championship the following year but they need a QB and RB to emerge.

7. Lowell- New Field and Hopefully new mentality down in the Inferno this year.

8. Hammond Morton- 3 D1 Players on this team, will compete well in the regular season.

9. Michigan City- Really like the defense they have coming back and they have athletes. They could be dangerous come sectional time.

10. Lake Central- I have always liked Pete as a coach and I think as an alumni he will bring a different energy to the Burial Ground.

1-3 are solid and hard to disagree with. HC at #4 seems too high. Lost very good qb and lineman. Great RB returning but

#4 Andrean. The youngsters grow up this year. New qb an unknown and they need to find a rb1 but they have talent elsewhere. Offensive line could be the strength….finally!! Tough schedule again.
#5 MC
#6 Lake Central
#7 Hanover Central
#8 KV
#9 Hobart
#10 Morton