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C2 Orlando Sentinel Monday, January 15, 2018 A PAGE 2 TROPICAL BOWL Top TV Ellis shines at all-star showcase The Insider: Colleges Tide, Knights top list of hits, misses MONDAY COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4:30: Butler at Providence FS1 6:30: Maryland at Michigan FS1 7: Minnesota at Penn St. BTN 7: Bucknell at Colgate CBSSP 7: Duke at Miami ESPN 7: FSU at Boston College ESPNU 9: Illinois at Nebraska BTN 9: Kansas at West Virginia ESPN 9: Oklahoma St. at Baylor ESPNU 9: DePaul at Marquette FS1 4 KEVIN C. COXGETTY IMAGES Alabama's Damien Harris, right, celebrated the Tide's title win by calling out those who doubted the team. was going too well because no scouts talked to me or nothing like that, until today," Ellis said.

"I got the MVP. I wasn't really expecting that." On the sack by Ellis of National team quarterback Montell Cozart of Boise State it appeared Ellis was also able to get to the football and strip it from Cozart's grasp, but the quarterback held on. "I tried to get it out," Ellis said. "He had a good grip on it. He had gloves on." Now Ellis will hope to do well at his school's pro day as he looks forward to a shot at professional football in either the NFL or the Canadian Football League.

"I'm gonna go train, go finish school, get my degree, hopefully continue with this football in any way," Ellis said. "If that don't work out, try to coach." Several other Florida players had good games with FSU defensive back Er-mon Lane leading the way with a game-high seven tackles, including one tackle for loss. FIU H-back Pharoah McKeever ran the ball once for 10 yards and also caught two passes for 33 yards. Players with Central Florida ties were also on display: Oregon WR Charles Nelson of Daytona Beach Seabreeze had one catch for eight yards. Fairmont State QB Jujuan Young-Battle of Orlando Jones completed all three of his passes for nine yards in only about a quarter of action as he had to split time with four quarterbacks.

UCF TE Jordan Franks, with brother and Florida QB Feleipe Franks watching on the sideline, had one catch for no gain. Citadel LB-DB Kailik Williams of Daytona Beach Mainland had one tackle. Bethune-Cookman DB Jamaal Burgess had two tackles. By Chris Hays Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -Anthony Ellis just wanted an opportunity to show he could play against some of the best players in college football and he took advantage Sunday at the Tropical Bowl senior all-star game. Though his National squad came out on the losing end against the American team, falling 29-20, the former Apopka star showed off his skills.

He impressed coaches enough with his play at defensive end that he was named the team's Defensive MVP. A two-time Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Charleston Southern, Ellis had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and was active all day. "I just came out here to play hard, did what I had to do, did what I'm supposed to do and let everything else handle itself," Ellis said. "It's a great honor. A lot of good people out here." Overall MVP honors went to American team receiver Taj Williams, a former Tallahassee Lincoln standout who played at TCU.

Williams had four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Other MVPs were: National Offensive MVP quarterback Brandon Harris of North Carolina, American Offensive MVP running back Zachary Green of Arizona, American Defensive MVP defensive end Antoine Miles of Purdue, Lineman MVP Kevin Batde of Val-dosta State, Special Teams MVP punter Austin Barnes of East Carolina, and Diamond in the Rough Award winner running back Alfred Ramsby of Georgia South-era Ellis admitted he didn't think things were going great for him during practice sessions for the game. "I'm not gonna lie. At the beginning, I didn't think it NBA 12:30: Hornets at Pistons NBATV 3: Spurs at Hawks NBATV 5:30: Lakers at Grizzlies TNT 8: Warriors at Cavaliers TNT 10:30: Rockets at Clippers TNT NHL 7:30: Islanders atCanadiens NBCSP SOCCER 3: Manchester United vs. Stoke City NBCSP TENNIS 9: Australian Open ESPN2 3 a.m.

(Tuesday): Australian Open ESPN2 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ESPN2 7: Kentucky at Vanderbilt SEC TUESDAY COLLEGE BASKETBALL 7: Cincinnati at UCF CBSSP 7: Wisconsin at Purdue ESPN 7: Louisville at Notre Dame ESPN2 7: Georgia at LSU ESPNU 7: Vanderbilt at Miss. St. SEC 7: Clemson at North Carolina SUN 9: UConn at Memphis CBSSP 9: Kentucky at South Carolina ESPN 9: Pittsburgh at Syracuse SUN 9: Oklahoma at Kansas St. ESPNU 9: Mississippi at Texas SEC NBA 7: Timberwolves at Magic FSFL 7:30: Pelicans at Celtics NBATV 10: Suns at Trail Blazers NBATV NHL 7: Flyers at Rangers NBCSP SOCCER FA Cup 2:30: Chelsea vs. Norwich City FS1 TENNIS 9: Australian Open ESPN2 3 a.m.

(Wednesday): Australian Open ESPN2 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 7: Michigan at Ohio St. BTN 9: Michigan St. at Illinois BTN WEDNESDAY Damien Harris burst out of the Alabama locker room moments after the Crimson Tide captured the national championship. Harris joined his teammates following their thrilling 26-23 overtime win over Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the junior running back had a message for those who doubted this team. "People said we weren't supposed to be here, but we won this!" Harris screamed while racing past media members who had assembled outside the team's locker room.

Alabama captured its fifth national championship during the past nine seasons and while the Tide weren't my pick to win it all this season, they were my No. 2 choice in my preseason 2017 Orlando Sentinel college football top 130 rankings. Now that the season is over, let's take a look back at some of my hits, my misses and some of my way-off predictions. HITS Alabama Crimson Tide Where they finished: 13-1 Where I ranked them: No. 2 The Buzz: Alabama has finished ranked either first or second in the final Associated Press top 25 rankings each of the past four seasons, making it a safe bet putting the Tide near the top of my predictions.

Oklahoma Sooners Where they finished: 12- 2 Where I ranked them: No. 3 The Buzz: Oklahoma secured a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons thanks to the stellar play of Heisman winning quarterback Baker Mayfield. Wisconsin Badgers Where they finished: 13-1 Where I ranked them: No. 8 The Buzz: The Badgers have been oh-so-close during their hunt for a spot in the semifinals, finishing eighth in the playoff rankings in 2016 and eighth in the poll this season despite making it to the Big Ten title game. MISSES Florida State Semi-noles Where they finished: 4-7 Where I ranked them: No.

18 The Buzz: Florida's season had more ups and downs than an episode of The Bachelor and, in the end, it led nothing but heartbreak for the Gators. Coach Jim McElwain resigned late in the season as the team capped its worst campaign since 2013. Tennessee Volunteers Where they finished: 4-8 Where I ranked them: No. 22 The Buzz: If things looked bad at Florida, imagine how it looked at Tennessee. The Volunteers lost seven out of their last eight games, fired coach Butch Jones and then botched the coaching search after trying to hire Greg Schiano to the chagrin of fans.

FAU Owls Where they finished: 11-3 Where I ranked them: No. 106 The Buzz: When FAU hired Lane Kiffin, I had my doubts. It's hard to blame me when you consider Kiffin's past, but the enigmatic coach proved me wrong by leading the team to its best season in school history. I admit it, I'm now all aboard on the Lane Train. UAB Blazers Where they finished: 8-5 Where I ranked them: No.

130 The Buzz: This is one time when I'm happy to be wrong. UAB is one of the feel-good stories of 2017, with the Blazers putting together a record-setting season that saw the program make its third bowl appearance two years after being temporarily shut down. mmurschel orlandosentinel.com Matt Murschel Sentinel Colleges Writer 7-6 Where I ranked them: No. 4 The Buzz: There was so much optimism surrounding the Florida State program heading into 2017, but that all went out the window after the first game. It started with the season-ending injury to Deondre Francois and ended with the contentious departure of coach Jimbo Fisher to Texas Georgia Bulldogs Where they finished: 13-2 Where I ranked them: No.

13 The Buzz: It's amazing how quickly Kirby Smart was able to propel the Bulldogs into the national title game in just his second season at Georgia The team fell just short in the national championship game against Alabama, but you can believe this team will be back contending for a title soon. UCF Knights Where they finished: 13-0 Where I ranked them: No. 48 The Buzz: Nobody and I mean nobody could have predicted the type of season that UCF delivered in 2017. Hurricane Irma may have disrupted the team's schedule, but the players bond on their way to a conference championship and a win in a New Year's Six bowl game. WAY OFF Florida Gators Where they finished: COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6: Tulsa at Temple ESPNEWS 6:30: Dayton at St.

Joseph's CBSSP 6:30: Villanova at Georgetown FS1 7: low at Rutgers BTN 7: Arkansas at Florida ESPN2 7: SMU at Wichita St. ESPNU 7: Auburn at Alabama SEC 8: Houston at Tulane ESPNEWS 8:30: St. John's at Xavier CBSSP 8:30: Seton Hall at Creighton FS1 9: Ohio St. at Northwestern BTN 9: Iowa St. at TCU ESPNU 9: Tennessee at Missouri SEC 10:30: Nevada at San Jose St.

CBSSP Fresno St. at San Diego St. ESPNU CHRIS HAYSSTAFF Former Apopka star Anthony Ellis earned the National team Defensive MVP at the Tropical Bowl. FIGURE SKATING Noon, 2: European Championships NBCSP GOLF 8: Singapore Open GOLF 10:30: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship GOLF NBA 8: Lakers at Thunder ESPN 10:30: Nuggets at Clippers ESPN NHL 7:30: Canadiens at Bruins NBCSP 10: Penguins at Ducks NBCSP TENNIS 9: Australian Open ESPN2 3 a.m. (Thursday): Australian Open ESPN2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Press Box: Sports Recap Wildcats set to name Sumlin football coach EDITED FROM NEWS SERVICES Fishuij FRESHWATER: Better reports on shad have come in over the past few days and that should continue even with colder water temperatures.

Look for areas with current in the St. Johns River anywhere from Lake Monroe to south of State Road 50. Slow-troll jigs and small swimbaits until you find an area where fish are staging and work those areas over. A few bass, crap-pie and catfish could be in the mix. SALTWATER: Try the surf at Playalinda Beach for pompano, whiting and blue-fish along with a few redf ish, black drum and sheeps-head.

Work the incoming tides with peeled shrimp and sand fleas for best results. Note: Tides on back of Sports section. Solunars BASEBALL: Free-agent IB Adrian Gonzalez and the Mets reached agreement on a one-year contract. The five-time Ail-Star was limited to 71 games with the Dodgers last year due to a herniated disc in his back. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Arizona hired former Texas coach Kevin Sumlin to replace Rich Rodriguez.

Sumlin is expected to sign a five-year deal. Rodriguez was fired amid sexual-harassment allegations. The Aggies went 51-26 and went to a bowl game in each of Sumlin's six seasons but were 25-23 in the SEC. GOLF: Blayne Barber's caddie, Cory Gilmer, was in critical condition with swelling in his brain after falling on his head at a Honolulu restaurant Barber said he wasn't sure what caused Gilmer to collapse. Union workers for video and audio production at Golf Channel events walked out over stalled contract negotiations, leading to limited coverage of the final round at the Sony Open and two other events in the Bahamas and Florida Chris Paisley beat home favorite Branden Grace to win the South African Open in Johannesburg by three shots and claim his first European Tour title.

Scott Parel beat fellow PGA Tour Champions player Scott Dunlap on the first hole of a playoff for a wire-to-wire victory in the Diamond Resorts Invitational in Orlando, Fla. NFL: The Lions are "likely" to hire Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as coach, ESPN reported. The Bills hired Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to the same position. Titans coach Mike Mularkey said RT Jack Conklin tore his left ACL in Saturday's playoff loss and probably would start camp on the physically unable to perform list SOCCER: Manchester City's 22-match unbeaten streak to start the Premier League season ended with a 4-3 loss to Liverpool. Luis Suarez scored twice before Lionel Messi completed Barcelona's 4-2 comeback win at Real Sociedad, its first league win at the Basque Country team since 2007.

Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero won't be paid by his Brazilian team Flamengo because of his six-month doping suspension imposed by FIFA. WINTER SPORTS: Marcel Hirscher won his fifth straight World Cup slalom race, prevailing in Wengen, Switzerland. In a World Cup comeback after three years out injured, Nolan Kasper of the U.S. placed 20th. Sofia Goggia led an Italian sweep of a women's World Cup downhill in Bad Kleinldrchheim, Austria Lindsey Vonn was 27th.

Federico Pellegrino claimed his second World Cup crosscountry siding win in as many days with a victory in the team sprint in Dresden, Germany. Johannes Thingnes Boe ended Martin Fourcade's biathlon World Cup winning streak in a mass-start race in Ruhpolding, Germany. ALSO: Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Newport Beach, Calif. Two-time Olympian Molly Huddle broke the American half-marathon record, running 1:07:25 in Houston to eclipse Deena Raster's mark by nine seconds. Dan Gurney, the first driver to win in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR, died of pneumonia at 86 in Newport Beach, Calif.

years at Houston, going 35-17, including 12-1 his final season in 201L The 53-year-old Sumlin is known as an adept recruiter and inherits a talented roster, led by quarterback Khalil Tate, who became a breakout star after replacing injured starter Brandon Dawldns the fifth game of the season. Sumlin reportedly was a candidate for the UCF job, but when he held out to see if the Oregon job would open, the Knights moved on to current coach Josh Heupel. Arizona finished 7-6 in Rodriguez's sixth season in Tucson, losing five of its final six seasons. The Wildcats lost 38-35 to Purdue in the Holiday Bowl. Arizona fired Rodriguez after a notice of claim was filed with the state attorney general's office alleging he ran a hostile workplace.

The claim filed by Rodriguez's former assistant alleged the coach fondled himself in front of her and he forced her to cover up an extramarital affair with another woman. Rodriguez acknowledged the affair, but denied the allegations. Associated Press A person familiar with the decision says Arizona will hire former Texas coach Kevin Sumlin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity because details of a five-year contract to replace Rich Rodriguez as coach of the Wildcats were still being finalized. Rodriguez was fired Jan.

2 amid sexual harassment allegations. Sumlin was fired after six seasons at Texas in November and had reportedly been in the mix for numerous jobs, including Arizona rival Arizona State. The Sun Devils hired former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards. The Aggies went 51-26 and went to a bowl game every season under Sumlin, but were 25-23 in SEC play and never matched his first season in College Station, when they were 11-2 with Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel. Texas hired former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher to replace Sumlin.

Sumlin also spent four Minor Major Minor Major Mon. 5:05 1:05 4:45 1:10 Tue. 5:50 1:45 5:20 1:50 Wed. 6:40 2:30 6:05 2:40 Thu. 7:25 3:10 6:50 3:20 Fri.

8:10 4:00 7:40 4:05 Sat. 8:55 4:50 8:25 4:55 Sun. 9:40 5:35 9:20 5:40 Mark Blythe.