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IMG Academy Football Alumni to Watch During the Opening Weekend of College Football
As the 2018 College Football Kickoff Weekend begins to unfold, IMG Academy football looks forward to watching alumni compete in jerseys that may no longer showcase blue and white. Throughout the first games of the season, 85 IMG alumni will be members of 48 different FBS teams.
Check out which IMG alumni will be competing throughout Kickoff Weekend below:
| Team Rank | Team | Player (Grad. Yr.) | Game Date | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | Savion Smith ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Lousville |
| 1 | Alabama | Thomas Fletcher ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Lousville |
| 1 | Alabama | Dylan Moses ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Lousville |
| 1 | Alabama | Stephon Wynn ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Lousville |
| 2 | Clemson | Rashaun Smith ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Furman |
| 2 | Clemson | Mike Jones ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Furman |
| 2 | Clemson | Xavier Thomas ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Furman |
| 3 | Georgia | Isaac Nuuta ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Austin Peay |
| 5 | Ohio State | Malik Barrow ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Oregon State |
| 5 | Ohio State | Isaiah Pryor ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Oregon State |
| 5 | Ohio State | Marcus Williamson ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Oregon State |
| 5 | Ohio State | Taron Vincent ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Oregon State |
| 6 | Washington | Ryan Bowman ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Auburn |
| 8 | Miami | Scott Patchan ('15) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 8 | Miami | Tyree St. Louis ('15) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 8 | Miami | Elias Lugo-Fagundo ('17) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 8 | Miami | Brian Miller ('18) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 8 | Miami | Brian Hightower ('18) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 8 | Miami | Will Huggins ('18) | Sun. 9/2 | LSU |
| 10 | Penn. State | K.J. Hamler ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | App. State |
| 12 | Notre Dame | Tony Jones Jr. ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Michigan |
| 12 | Notre Dame | Robert Hainsey ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Michigan |
| 12 | Notre Dame | Houston Griffith ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Michigan |
| 14 | Michigan | Shea Patterson ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Notre Dame |
| 14 | Michigan | Jordan Anthony ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Notre Dame |
| 14 | Michigan | Cesar Ruiz('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Notre Dame |
| 17 | West Virginia | Cole Stash ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Tennessee |
| 18 | Mississippi State | Powers Warren ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Stephen F. Austin |
| 19 | Florida State | Deondre Francois ('15) | Mon. 9/3 | Virginia Tech |
| 19 | Florida State | Ricky Aguayo ('16) | Mon. 9/3 | Virginia Tech |
| 19 | Florida State | Josh Kaindoh ('17) | Mon. 9/3 | Virginia Tech |
| 19 | Florida State | Tre McKitty ('17) | Mon. 9/3 | Virginia Tech |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | Khalil Ladler ('16) | Mon. 9/3 | Florida State |
| 21 | UCF | John Tauber ('15) | Thurs. 8/29 | Connecticut |
| 23 | Texas | Ayodele Adeoye ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Maryland |
| 24 | Oregon | Nike Wiebe ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Bowling Green |
| 25 | LSU | Drake Davis ('16) | Sun. 9/2 | Miami |
| 25 | LSU | Grant Delpit ('17) | Sun. 9/2 | Miami |
| UR | Oregon State | Miki Fifita ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Ohio State |
| UR | Texas A&M | Jhamon Ausbon ('17) | Thurs. 8/30 | Northwestern |
| UR | Texas A&M | Kellen Mond ('17) | Thurs. 8/30 | Northwestern |
| UR | Minnesota | Brock Annexstad ('17) | Thurs. 8/30 | New Mexico State |
| UR | Minnesota | Zack Annexstad ('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | New Mexico State |
| UR | Minnesota | Curtis Dunlap Jr.('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | New Mexico State |
| UR | Minnesota | Daniel Faalele ('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | New Mexico State |
| UR | Oklahoma | James "TJ" Pledger ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | FAU |
| UR | Oklahoma | Brendan Radley-Hiles ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | FAU |
| UR | Oklahoma | Dane Saltarelli ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | FAU |
| UR | FAU | Matt Murphy ('14) | Sat. 9/1 | Oklahoma |
| UR | Rutgers | Jalen Jordan ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Texas State |
| UR | Rutgers | Artur Sitkowski('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Texas State |
| UR | Syracuse | Kerrik "K.K." Hahn ('16) | Fri. 8/31 | Western Michigan |
| UR | Syracuse | Andre Cisco ('18) | Fri. 8/31 | Western Michigan |
| UR | Syracuse | Kevin Johnson ('18) | Fri. 8/31 | Western Michigan |
| UR | Syracuse | Juan Wallace ('18) | Fri. 8/31 | Western Michigan |
| UR | Northwestern | Jango Glackin ('16) | Thurs. 8/30 | Purdue |
| UR | Northwestern | Greg Newsome ('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | Purdue |
| UR | New York - Buffalo | Tyler Mabry ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Del State |
| UR | New York - Buffalo | Kendrick Osborn ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Del State |
| UR | LA Tech | Spencer Perry ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | South Alabama |
| UR | Arizona | Robert Congel ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | BYU |
| UR | Tennessee | Kingston Harris ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | West Virginia |
| UR | Arkansas | Hjalte Froholdt ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Eastern Illinois |
| UR | Connecticut | Ryan Fines ('15) | Thurs. 8/30 | UCF |
| UR | Illinois | Verdis Brown ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Kent State |
| UR | Illinois | PC Daniel ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Kent State |
| UR | Illinois | Rueben Unije ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Kent State |
| UR | Kent State | Elvis Hines Jr. ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Illinois |
| UR | Georgia Tech | TK Chimedza ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Alcorn State |
| UR | Central Michigan | Joe Tingelhoff ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Kentucky |
| UR | Maryland | Avery Edwards ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Texas |
| UR | Maryland | Nicholas Toppino ('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | Tulane |
| UR | UMass | David Weinstock ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | Boston College |
| UR | West Point | Kjetil Cline ('16) | Fri. 8/31 | Duke |
| UR | UAB | Alondras Strong ('18) | Thurs. 8/30 | Savannah State |
| UR | Texas Tech | Case Gatlin ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Ole Miss |
| UR | Virginia | Christian Pluchino ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Richmond |
| UR | Nebraska | Broc Bando ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Akron |
| UR | Michigan State | Jack Camper ('17) | Fri. 8/31 | Utah State |
| UR | Miami(OH) | Elijah Watson ('17) | Sat. 9/1 | Marshall |
| UR | Marshall | Shamaur McDowell ('18) | Sat. 9/1 | Miami(OH) |
| UR | FIU | Stone Wilson ('15) | Sat. 9/1 | Indiana |
| UR | Cincinnati | Joel Dublanko ('16) | Sat. 9/1 | UCLA |
| UR | Fresno State | Matthew Boateng ('14) | Sat. 9/1 | Idaho |
Ahead of the 2018 season, coaches from their respective programs have announced that five IMG alumni competing for Power-5 FBS programs will hold starting quarterback positions. With this announcement, every starting quarterback from IMG from 2014-2017 will be starting for their respective schools during kickoff weekend. Those players are as follows:
Rutgers: Art Sitkowski ('17)
Michigan: Shea Patterson ('15)
Florida State: Deondre Francois ('14)
Texas A&M: Kellen Mond ('17)
Minnesota: Zack Annexstad ('16-'17) - watch the video below for Annexstad's interview on SportsCenter
Adam Behrends, Quarterbacks Coach at IMG Academy, has worked with dozens of the football alumni and continues to have working relationships with them. He recognizes that Deondre is "an extremely hard worker and one of the best leaders IMG has ever had." He also spoke very highly of Shea and noted that he "is one of the most dynamic players he's ever seen and can take over games, throw, and run as well as anyone in the game." Zack stood out to Behrends in that he has "an incredibly high football IQ, is very dedicated to maximizing his potential, and is a leader who has a personality that other players are drawn to." Art's physical tools stood out to Behrends, and he said that "he was extremely hardworking and a great person."
Thus far, the following IMG alumni have earned their way onto these 2018 college football watch lists for their respective awards:
Butkus Award (linebacker)
• Dylan Moses, Alabama – Class of 2017
Lou Groza Award (placekicker)
• Ricky Aguayo, Florida State – Class of 2016
Outland Trophy (lineman)
• Hjalte Froholdt, OL, Arkansas – Class of 2015
Wuerffel Award (community service/athletics)
• Hjalte Froholdt, OL, Arkansas – Class of 2015
John Mackey Award (tight end)
• Isaac Nauta, UGA – Class of 2016
• Tyler Mabry, Buffalo – Class of 2015
Maxwell Award (best player)
• Deondre Francois, QB, FSU – Class of 2015
• Shea Patterson, QB, Michigan – Class of 2016
In 2018, Bo Scarbrough became the first IMG football alumnus to enter the NFL. As a seventh round pick (236th overall), Scarbrough will see his biggest stage of football to date this year while wearing the Dallas Cowboys jersey. As play begins across the collegiate arena and 10+ players enter into their senior season, IMG alumni have a chance to continue making names for themselves both in the FBS and in the NFL upon graduation.
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