Emptying out the notebook on Cheyenne after today's story, here were a couple notes/quotes that didn't make the piece but I thought y'all still might find interesting.
Foremost, when talking to Tracy Parker he told me how much J.J. McCleskey sold Tennessee to Cheyenne before he made his first trip to Knoxville. Before coming to visit, Labruzza went to LSU a bunch of times, Baylor, Texas A&M and few other places. They saved Tennessee for a later visit because as Tracy said, "JJ told us, ‘Man, I’m telling y’all right now. If you go up there. This place is different than anywhere else you’ve been.' I’m like, ‘Man, these places are all the same.’ But it really is different. Different than anywhere else we went. If a kid goes up there on a recruiting trip, it’s hard to tell (Tennessee) no.”
Robert Gillespie was a key in Labruzza's early recruitment, and obviously he continues to hit the pavement hard in Louisiana and Mississippi. Parker joked Coach G recruits that area solely so, "he can eat all the good food around here." Labruzza and his family have brought Gillespie crawfish and such on various visits in the last year.
During recent training sessions, McCleskey has Labruzza really focusing on his speed and quickness, saying, "We're concentrating on playing to your speed. If you’re a 4.4 guy, play like a 4.4 guy. Transition like you’re a 4.4 guy. We don’t want wasted motions. We want everything we do to be efficient. That’s one of the reasons why I went and talked with coach Warren about the techniques to be using because we don’t want him taking false steps and wasted motions. You can’t play in the SEC taking false steps."
Finally, while Cheyenne has had a number of football mentors in his life, he's paying it forward for another Louisiana prospect. Eddie Smith is super close to Labruzza and apparently loves Tennessee. The Vols offered in April, but right now, Smith, who also trains with J.J., is a bit lower on the Vols' board until they see him camp. Just a potential name to watch down the road. We'll see.
Foremost, when talking to Tracy Parker he told me how much J.J. McCleskey sold Tennessee to Cheyenne before he made his first trip to Knoxville. Before coming to visit, Labruzza went to LSU a bunch of times, Baylor, Texas A&M and few other places. They saved Tennessee for a later visit because as Tracy said, "JJ told us, ‘Man, I’m telling y’all right now. If you go up there. This place is different than anywhere else you’ve been.' I’m like, ‘Man, these places are all the same.’ But it really is different. Different than anywhere else we went. If a kid goes up there on a recruiting trip, it’s hard to tell (Tennessee) no.”
Robert Gillespie was a key in Labruzza's early recruitment, and obviously he continues to hit the pavement hard in Louisiana and Mississippi. Parker joked Coach G recruits that area solely so, "he can eat all the good food around here." Labruzza and his family have brought Gillespie crawfish and such on various visits in the last year.
During recent training sessions, McCleskey has Labruzza really focusing on his speed and quickness, saying, "We're concentrating on playing to your speed. If you’re a 4.4 guy, play like a 4.4 guy. Transition like you’re a 4.4 guy. We don’t want wasted motions. We want everything we do to be efficient. That’s one of the reasons why I went and talked with coach Warren about the techniques to be using because we don’t want him taking false steps and wasted motions. You can’t play in the SEC taking false steps."
Finally, while Cheyenne has had a number of football mentors in his life, he's paying it forward for another Louisiana prospect. Eddie Smith is super close to Labruzza and apparently loves Tennessee. The Vols offered in April, but right now, Smith, who also trains with J.J., is a bit lower on the Vols' board until they see him camp. Just a potential name to watch down the road. We'll see.
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