Why we told you more about our Dandy Dozen athletes than just recruiting news
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Welcome to The Bootleg, our new high school sports newsletter that comes to you on Thursdays and Saturdays.
I'm Tom Kreager, The Tennessean's high school sports editor.
We are wrapping up the second week of high school football preseason practice. The first regular-season games are two weeks away.
For those wondering, the best Nashville area high school football game on Aug. 18 involves two Metro Nashville Public Schools with Cane Ridge traveling to Pearl-Cohn for a clash between two of the best MNPS programs playing that Thursday night.
But also consider traveling to Tullahoma where the Wildcats host Shelbyville. New coaches John Dryden (Shelbyville) and Coy Sisk (Tullahoma) kick off their head coaching careers.
The Tennessean is wrapping up its annual Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top college football prospects in the Nashville area for the Class of 2023. We asked our writers to dive deeper into the project this year to tell stories about the athlete instead of focusing solely on recruiting.
We wanted to give readers a glimpse of who the athlete is, not just what college they may be attending next season.
By doing so, we've been able to tell the stories of:
MBA quarterback Marcel Reed and how he was not only the first freshman starting quarterback in MBA, but also the first starting Black quarterback
Greenbrier defensive lineman Nathan Robinson, a Tennessee commitment, and how he developed his work ethic from his father — an ex-Marine
Why Pope John Paul II quarterback Kenny Minchey gave up playing football to focus on football — and why he's starting to play more basketball now
How Ravenwood quarterback Chris Parson became a game-film junkie, studying NFL quarterbacks like Tom Brady while also deep diving into the Raptors' game film
Our most recent Dandy Dozen, No. 3 Ty Lockwood, was at one-time a big basketball player. Now, he's a four-star tight end.
Ty Lockwood flips to Alabama
Speaking of Lockwood, news broke Tuesday that he decommitted from Ohio State in favor of Alabama. He cannot sign until December when the early signing period begins. If he does sign with Alabama, he'll be the first Nashville area high school football player to ink a letter of intent with the storied SEC program out of high school since Brentwood Academy alum Chris Jordan and Marshall County alum Dont'a Hightower signed with the Class of 2008.
Jordan and Hightower were on The Tennessean's inaugural Dandy Dozen in 2007.
📰 Finally, if you don't yet subscribe to The Tennessean, click here. We have a special right now for $1 for six months that will cover you for the entire TSSAA fall sports seasons and start you into basketball.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why we told deeper stories about our Dandy Dozen athletes
