From Jumper_Dad:

 

70's: Thomas "Pete" Vendable RB, Max Messamore QB,

80's: Allen Sexton TE, Scott Stevens RB, Tony Massey QB/S, James "Boo" Fletcher RB, Eric "EJ" Jones RB

00's: Neal Tucker QB, Tremain Perkins WR, John Cole WR,

10's: Storm Wilson WR, Trey Slaughter DE, Tevin Slaughter DE

 

Wasn't living in Somerset for the 90's and early 2000's someone else can name the best of the best from that period.

Make the tough choices for us JD and get it down to three.

Ray Corrall - Bear Bryant Recruit, UK Ring of Honor and Steelers draft pick (Chose business with brothers over Steelers offer)

Allen Sexton - 3 time First team All-State TE

John Cole - 2 time First team All-State WR holder of many State receiving records played D-1 at Vandy.

 

Honorable Mention

Tony Massey - 2 time First Team All-State Safety, played D-1 at UK

I know there are other great players but those would be MY top 3...someone else may have a completely different top 3.

For an outsider looking in, I would go with:

 

Pete Venable

Allen Sexton

John Cole

For an outsider looking in, I would go with:

 

Pete Venable

Allen Sexton

John Cole

Of the players that I actually saw play I would agree 100% with you.

Trey Perkins - His speed at wide receiver made him a threat every play to score. That same speed on defense made him tough to get over top in the secondary. His hands were superb, could catch anything thrown his way. When it comes to route running it doesn't get any crisper than his.

 

Tyler Ford - Could play just about anywhere on the field if he need be. His knowledge of the game made his athletic abilities all the more dangerous. Played wide receiver at the same time Trey Perkins did which is why he never had incredible numbers at this position and for that matter neither did Trey. There was too much talent at the skill position to just target one guy. At safety his anticipation of where the Qb was going to go with the ball was a thing of beauty and if a RB made it past the front 7 they were running into a linebacker at safety. He laid the wood.

 

Brandon Newell - An athletic freak of nature. Was a threat to go a thousand yards rushing and receiving, but due to the fact he played 2 years with the guys mentioned above did not put up insane numbers. His senior year he was ahead in just about every statistical offensive category before his season came to an end on an opening kick off in the third week. He was not very big from an eye test, but if you were to underestimate that during a game you would end up changing that thought quickly after one run in with him. There has been a lot of guys with great speed throughout the years of Somerset Football history and He would be in the top 3 of that great list.

 

All these guys in my opinion would have broken numerous records at Somerset if they had not all been playing with one another. That to me is what makes them so great is that even in the midst of all that talent they still stood out. Those are just my three because to me they didn't just excel in one aspect of the game, they were threats in all aspects. Trey was a punter with a mule leg, a returner that could score almost anytime he touched it and so much more. Tyler could have started Qb if necessary ( was not because Chris Conley was great), his special teams play was just as great as the O and D. Brandon was also a threat to score every time he touched it on special teams and could run down anybody on Punt or Kick Offs. All three of these guys were not known for just one aspect of their game, but the whole package. If I get to make an all time team these guys would be my first three picks.

Trey Perkins - His speed at wide receiver made him a threat every play to score. That same speed on defense made him tough to get over top in the secondary. His hands were superb, could catch anything thrown his way. When it comes to route running it doesn't get any crisper than his.

 

Tyler Ford - Could play just about anywhere on the field if he need be. His knowledge of the game made his athletic abilities all the more dangerous. Played wide receiver at the same time Trey Perkins did which is why he never had incredible numbers at this position and for that matter neither did Trey. There was too much talent at the skill position to just target one guy. At safety his anticipation of where the Qb was going to go with the ball was a thing of beauty and if a RB made it past the front 7 they were running into a linebacker at safety. He laid the wood.

 

Brandon Newell - An athletic freak of nature. Was a threat to go a thousand yards rushing and receiving, but due to the fact he played 2 years with the guys mentioned above did not put up insane numbers. His senior year he was ahead in just about every statistical offensive category before his season came to an end on an opening kick off in the third week. He was not very big from an eye test, but if you were to underestimate that during a game you would end up changing that thought quickly after one run in with him. There has been a lot of guys with great speed throughout the years of Somerset Football history and He would be in the top 3 of that great list.

 

All these guys in my opinion would have broken numerous records at Somerset if they had not all been playing with one another. That to me is what makes them so great is that even in the midst of all that talent they still stood out. Those are just my three because to me they didn't just excel in one aspect of the game, they were threats in all aspects. Trey was a punter with a mule leg, a returner that could score almost anytime he touched it and so much more. Tyler could have started Qb if necessary ( was not because Chris Conley was great), his special teams play was just as great as the O and D. Brandon was also a threat to score every time he touched it on special teams and could run down anybody on Punt or Kick Offs. All three of these guys were not known for just one aspect of their game, but the whole package. If I get to make an all time team these guys would be my first three picks.

3 great ones also. May not be the 3 best ever, but all were Great Briar Jumpers!!!

I would go with: Allen Sexton, Tony Massey and John Cole. I give Massey the nod over Venable because of his impact on both sides of the ball. Ray Correll probably had the best college career but from talking to some of the people around town that saw him play they say that he actually matured late and was a better college player than high school player.

I can't be 100% on any player past the 90's, but I am looking at this from a perspective of who could mass produce results on the field. Most of the players listed above were known for one aspect of their game. I'm sure they were good at more than one, but that's what their known for. The three I listed were all known for one area as well, but anybody who watched them knew they could be productive in more than one way. Love John Cole, but in my opinion he lacked a lot on the defensive side of the ball. If we are going for just who was the best at what they did, well he is probably number one on the list. There is no right or wrong answer is what I love about conversations like this and the fact that we have so many greats it truly his hard to pick just three.

I can't be 100% on any player past the 90's, but I am looking at this from a perspective of who could mass produce results on the field. Most of the players listed above were known for one aspect of their game. I'm sure they were good at more than one, but that's what their known for. The three I listed were all known for one area as well, but anybody who watched them knew they could be productive in more than one way. Love John Cole, but in my opinion he lacked a lot on the defensive side of the ball. If we are going for just who was the best at what they did, well he is probably number one on the list. There is no right or wrong answer is what I love about conversations like this and the fact that we have so many greats it truly his hard to pick just three.

 

Tony Massey was the starting quarterback on a pair of Somerset teams that went 27-2. He was the second leading rusher on those teams as well as All-State on defense both his junior and senior seasons. He was named AP Male Athlete of the year his senior season. He was far from a one-dimensional player. The 3 players that you mentioned were great Briar Jumpers but Allen Sexton was a 3 time first team All-State player, Massey was a 2 time first team All-State player and Cole left Somerset as the all-time leading receiver and a state record holder as well. Ford, Perkins and Newell don't quite have those credentials--but they were great, great players.

That's just it, they don't have those credentials. Therefore, no one pays much attention to them in this conversation. They were victims of being great players on great teams, that took away from numbers that could of had. I fully believe that if any of these players played on any of those three players teams you mentioned their numbers would have went down too. I know from talks with many great past jumpers that the teams of the 70's and 80's were tough top to bottom so I'm sure Massey, Veneable, and Sexton speak for themselves and the competition was fierce as well, but those were different times with the Somerset area at that point still receiving a lot of attention. When Ford, Newell, and Perkins played the teams were stacked and the competition fierce as well, but the media had left for greener pastures and not much attention was paid to these guys. I truly believe in my heart in another time period or on teams with less talent in their areas these guys do big things number wise. Ford was a first team all state and no telling what he would have accomplished had he not torn his acl in spring going into his senior season, Perkins was first team punter and not sure of first, second, or honorable mention at Wr, Newell was a Mr. Football candidate until he went down way too early. These guys are human highlight reels and give me goose bumps every time I watch their highlights. The fact is we will never know if I am right or not, but that's why all this is just opinion.

That's just it, they don't have those credentials. Therefore, no one pays much attention to them in this conversation. They were victims of being great players on great teams, that took away from numbers that could of had. I fully believe that if any of these players played on any of those three players teams you mentioned their numbers would have went down too. I know from talks with many great past jumpers that the teams of the 70's and 80's were tough top to bottom so I'm sure Massey, Veneable, and Sexton speak for themselves and the competition was fierce as well, but those were different times with the Somerset area at that point still receiving a lot of attention. When Ford, Newell, and Perkins played the teams were stacked and the competition fierce as well, but the media had left for greener pastures and not much attention was paid to these guys. I truly believe in my heart in another time period or on teams with less talent in their areas these guys do big things number wise. Ford was a first team all state and no telling what he would have accomplished had he not torn his acl in spring going into his senior season, Perkins was first team punter and not sure of first, second, or honorable mention at Wr, Newell was a Mr. Football candidate until he went down way too early. These guys are human highlight reels and give me goose bumps every time I watch their highlights. The fact is we will never know if I am right or not, but that's why all this is just opinion.

 

Or you could look at it as those great players you mentioned did no more than the talent already listed.

 

Sexton was on a State Runner-up team his Junior Season and what was probably the best AA team his Senior season (a 1 point loss kept that from happening)

 

Massey was likewise on a State Runner-up team in his Junior Campaign.

 

Venable was a State Runner-up his Senior year I believe.

 

Might even add the older Jumpers played in the 4 Class System rather than the current 6 Class System and accomplished just as much. Not deriding your selections just pointing out that it's all conjecture on whether they would have had better numbers on other squads. Massey handed the ball off a lot to James Fletcher. Sexton watched Stephens and Hines before him get more than a few touches while waiting on the ball to be thrown his way.

This is an excert from the Somerset Paper pertaining to the SHS Hall of Fame:

 

Jeff Dungan was known as a “man among boys” when he performed for Somerset in the mid 1970s. A 6’7”, 265 lb, behemoth, Dungan was a Courier-Journal first team all-stater. Dungan signed with Vanderbilt University in 1977 and immediately was thrust in the starting lineup. Dungan responded as a “true freshman” and was named to the All-SEC team.

 

Tony Massey was an all-around athlete for the Briar Jumpers in the mid ‘80s. An exceptional basketball player, Massey was best known for his exploits on the football field. Named to the Courier-Journal’s football all-state first team in both his junior and senior seasons, Massey was named the Associated Press “Athlete of the Year” in 1985. A distinguished career at the University of Kentucky and in the SEC followed Massey’s graduation from Somerset High School.

 

Allen Sexton is easily the most decorated football player to perform at Somerset High School. In each of Sexton’s sophomore, junior, and senior seasons he was named first team all-state. He was selected “Captain” of the Courier-Journal all-state football squad in both his junior and senior seasons. In 1982, Sexton was named a “Street and Smith” All-American. An honor achieved by no one else in Somerset’s storied football history.

 

I never saw Dungan play but Sexton and Massey I remember watching as a kid. I also remember watching Massey on TV as a Wildcat. I believe he also made the All SEC team his senior year.

Once again, just my thoughts on the matter. Plain and simple I would take any of them. There has been so much talent to come through Somerset High School that I feel a lot of great ones have gone unnoticed. I really believe there are a lot of great lineman who have played there that contributed to such great numbers by all these athletes. The unsung heroes are the ones I will remember from my days on the gridiron. What makes all these legends great is there humbleness. I have not met one past or present who doesn't give props to his teammates and not truly mean it.