County stars hit SEC fields Saturday

Published 2:24 pm Thursday, April 16, 2009

Many former Shelby County football stars will be seeing action this Saturday in Southeastern Conference college football spring games, including seven for the Auburn Tigers.

Former Spain Park quarterback Neil Caudle will hope to battle for the starting quarterback position against Kodi Burns, but reports from Auburn say that Caudle suffered a concussion during practice Thursday. His status for Saturday is unknown. Meanwhile, Briarwood all-time passer Barrett Trotter’s status is also unknown for Saturday after suffering a leg injury Thursday.

Returning starters Montez Billings of Pelham and Ryan Pugh of Hoover will return to the Tigers’ lineup, while Ryan Shoemaker of Oak Mountain will look to win back his punting position that helped him earn a Freshman All-American honor in 2007. Also looking to see action Saturday for the Tigers will be former Oak Mountain wide receiver John Cueblic.

Auburn’s A-Day game kicks off at 1 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Playing in his first spring game in Starkville, Miss., will be linebacker Bo Walters, who helped model the new Mississippi State uniforms Wednesday.

Walters played in eight games as a true freshman last fall, recording nine solo tackles and six assists. His career high came at home against the University of Alabama, starting at outside linebacker and recording five solo tackles and two assists.

Also looking for a starting role will be former Oak Mountain offensive lineman D.J. Looney, who received his first start at center last November against Bama. He played in four games.

Former Oak Mountain Eagle, Mark Melichar played two games as a junior offensive lineman last year.

The Maroon-White game will be at 5 p.m.

FLORIDA

Former Spain Park defensive end William Green will play in his first Orange and Blue game for the Florida Gators at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

Green played in 13 games for Florida as a true freshman including the SEC Championship and BCS National Championship. For the season, he recorded four solo tackles and five assists. He also had one sack against Citadel and a punt block against the University of Kentucky.