In the galaxy that is Tennessee high school football, the largest collection of stars can be viewed Friday night on the field at Heywood Stadium.
When second-ranked Baylor (2-1) hosts fifth-ranked Lipscomb Academy (1-2) in a Division II-AAA showdown and the East Region opener for both teams, it will also be the biggest assembly of star-rated college recruits for any TSSAA game this season, with close to 20 players who have scholarship offers from power conference programs.
Lipscomb, which won the past two DII-AA state titles before opting to move up in classification, has two of the state’s top three senior prospects — cornerback Kaleb Beasley and linebacker Edwin Spillman, both committed to Tennessee — as well as receiver Dillon Lorick, who’s committed to East Carolina, plus three juniors who are four-star prospects: offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden, safety/outside linebacker C.J. Jimcoily and defensive tackle Amir Leonard-Jean Charles. Two other juniors, offensive lineman Jon Adair and inside linebacker Kris Thompson, are three-star recruits.
“The collection of talent they have is incredible,” said Baylor coach Erik Kimrey, who spent one season as an assistant at the University of South Carolina before guiding the Red Raiders to last year’s DII-AAA state title. “I’ve never coached against a high school team with the number of starred players as they have.
“It reminds me of when I was at South Carolina and we played Georgia and realized all of those guys were going to the NFL. There’s no place where you feel like you can exploit them, so at some point you just have to go out and trust that your guys will make some plays, too.”