Latroy Pittman, Southeast fall short at Gridiron Kings

LAKE BUENA VISTA – After dominating the competition the last two years at the ESPN Rise Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 tournament, the 3-0 Southeast team suffered a stunning 18-14 loss to the 0-3 Midwest team in the semifinal game Sunday afternoon.

Tampa Berkley Prep athlete Nelson Agholor (6-2/180) caught a 43-yard touchdown and Florida wide receiver commitment Latroy Pittman (6-1/195, Citra/ North Marion) scored on a one-yard touchdown pass right before half to give the Southeast team a 14-12 halftime lead.

After the break, however, Agholor and Pittman were held in check and the Southeast team was held scoreless.

The Midwest team went on to lose 29-13 to the Southwest team in the championship game, and, for the first time in the tournament’s history, there was no consolation game.

Gridiron Kings News and Notes

  • Southwest quarterback Matt Davis (6-2/200, Houston, TX/ Klein Forest – Texas A&M) was the offensive MVP for the tournament. Southwest defensive back Devante Harris (5-11/160, Mesquite, TX/ Horn – Oklahoma) was the defensive MVP.
  • Latroy Pittman had a solid tournament, but because of the talent on the Southeast team, he saw limited footballs come his way. Pittman shows great ability to get off the line when being jammed by defensive backs. He has good foot-speed off the line, but because of his size, he can simply out-muscle defensive backs to get the right position to get in to his route. His routes are very precise and he is very fluid coming out of cuts. He did drop a few passes throughout the tournament, but it doesn’t appear to be a routine thing for him.
  • Pittman said he constantly talked to Agholor about coming to Florida. Pittman thinks Agholor is very high on both Florida and USC.
  • Pittman’s high school teammate Sean Price (6-4/230), a USF verbal commit, was probably the MVP for the Southeast squad. Price finished the tournament with eight total touchdown catches.
  • If Price was the MVP for the Southeast, Agholor was a close second. Agholor made a few spectacular plays and showed just how explosive he is. Agholor, who said he will narrow down his list of schools by September 1, displayed speed, instincts and overall playmaking ability.
  • Southeast wide receiver Jaime Wilson (5-11/187, Belle Glades/ Glades Central) might have been the most consistent player for his team. Though Wilson never really had any home run plays, he caught just about everything thrown his way. He ran great routes from the slot receiver position and had excellent hands. Because of some academic concerns, Wilson currently only has one offer from Marshall. If he can bring his grades up, expect his recruitment to really pick up.

Gator Country Recruiting Coordinator Derek Tyson can be reached at Derek@GatorCountry.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at DerekTysonGC.