As of now, the Mississippi/Alabama and the Bernard Blackwell North/South all star football games are a go for this year. But like everything else at this time, they are not set in stone.
The Mississippi Association of Coaches website includes the following note regarding the games: “All scheduled times, dates & locations are subject to change due to COVID 19.”
The Mississippi/Alabama game is scheduled for Saturday, December 12 at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. The North/South game is scheduled for one week later at a time and location to be determined.
The deadline for coaches to submit nominations was Wednesday. Coaches will select teams October 7. There will not be a press conference to announce the selections. The teams will be posted on the Mississippi Association of Coaches website: www.mscoaches.com.
Kosciusko head coach Casey Orr will be a part of the selection process for the North team as member of the coaching staff for the North/South game. He will coach linebackers. It will be his first time coaching an all star football game.
“I think it will be a really good opportunity to be around some other really good coaches,” Orr said.
The North head coach will be Chris Cutcliffe of defending 6A champion Oxford. Other assistants are Wade Tackett of New Hope, Clint Hoots of Itawamba IHS, Ty Hardin of Tupelo and Stan Robertson of Oxford.
Dan Brady of Bay Springs is South head coach. Assistants are Drew Causey of Oak Grove, Jay Beech of Poplarville, John Archie of Gulfport, Tim McNair of Crystal Springs, Ty Weems of Forest and Ben Justice of Bay Springs.
Derrick Hooker of South Delta is head coach for the Mississippi team. He will be assisted by Clinton Gatewood of Greenwood, Brad Embry of Water Valley, Tavares Johnson of Northside, Chris Jones of Starkville, Quintarus McCray of Greenville, Stephen Rice of Richton and Jermaine Dobbs of Yazoo County.
Alabama leads the series 22-11, but Mississippi has won the last three, including a 17-16 overtime victory at the University Southern Mississippi's M.M. Roberts Stadium last year, a game decided by a blocked extra point attempt.
The number one recruit in the state of Mississippi according to 247Sports is wide receiver Deion Smith, an LSU commit. But he is not eligible for either all-star game. Smith played for Provine last year. But when Jackson Public Schools opted out of fall sports due to the pandemic, Smith transferred to Jackson Academy. MAIS players are not eligible for the all star games.
Mississippi Association of Coaches executive director Johnny Mims said players at schools that opted out are eligible if they remain enrolled at Mississippi High School Activities Association schools.
Antonio Harmon, a wide receiver and defensive back for Kosciusko, is ranked as the number 4 recruit. Other ranked in the top 20 who might be chosen include wide receiver Isaiah Brevard of Southaven, quarterbacks Luke Altmyer of Starkville and Ty Keyes of defending 3A champion Taylorsville, defensive back Corey Ellington of Holmes County Central and defensive end Tyvoris Cooper of Louisville.
