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For Immediate Release
ESPN PR
June 25, 2007
860-766-2000

ESPNU High School All-American Game to Debut Jan. 5, 2008 on ABC

First-Year Event to be Held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida; More Than Forty Players Selected to Participate

The ESPNU High School All-American Game, a new ESPN owned-and-operated annual all-star football competition spotlighting the nation’s top high school seniors, will debut Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla. Organized in conjunction with Intersport, a leading sports and entertainment media and marketing company with over 20 years experience, the event will be broadcast live to a national audience on ABC at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT and noon MT), and will be aired on tape delay at noon PT. 

National recruiting analysts and talent evaluators from ESPN Scouts, Inc., will select players for both team rosters from among The ESPN 150, a nationwide ranking of top prep football prospects. A total of 80-84 players will be invited, with all players having the opportunity to also participate in a multi-faceted skills competition, which will be televised Friday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will provide extensive coverage of the event throughout the week, including team practice sessions. Other ancillary events include an awards banquet and a player tour of the Disney facilities.

“The ESPNU High School All-American Game will give players from across the country the opportunity to play alongside one another, while providing fans a glimpse of the future college and possibly NFL stars of tomorrow,” said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. “We look forward to growing this all-star game into one of the country’s premier sporting events for amateur athletics, while also giving even more prep athletes an opportunity to showcase their talent on a national stage.”

     

“This event is a great example of ESPN’s mission to reach a diverse group of sports fans from many different communities throughout the nation,” added James Brown, senior vice president, new program development, ESPN. “Having the game at a nationally-renowned facility like Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, which is located in a popular travel destination and strong high school football market, makes it a terrific foundation for this exciting new venture.”

More than forty players have accepted invitations to participate in the 2008 ESPNU High School All-American Game, including Jermie Calhoun (RB - Van HS, Van, Texas), A.J. Green (WR - Summerville HS, Ridgeville, S.C), Will Hill (DB – Saint Peter’s HS, West Orange, N.J.), Julio Jones (WR – Foley HS, Foley, Ala.) and E.J. Manuel (QB - Bayside HS, Virginia Beach, Va.).

2008 ESPNU High School All-Americans (Scheduled to Participate)

(More players to be added) 

Name
Position
Hometown
School
Dwayne Allen    TE      Fayetteville, NC Terry Sanford High School         
Blake Ayles                       TE Orange, Calif.  Lutheran High School
Jonathan Baldwin            WR Aliquippa, Pa. Aliquippa High School
Brandon Barnes ATH Louisburg, N.C. Bunn High School
Xavier Brewer                   CB Jacksonville, Fla.  Bartram High School
Ramon Buchanan  OLB Melbourne, Fla. Palm Bay High School
Jermie Calhoun               RB   Van, Texas Van High School          
Nigel Carr                      OLB  Jacksonville, Fla.  First Coast High School
Braxston Cave                 OC Granger, Ind. Penn High School    
Taylor Cook                 QB     Eagle Lake, Texas        Rice High School    
Keanon Cooper  OLB Dallas, Texas  Skyline High School
Aundre Dean                  RB   Katy, Texas          Katy High School
Vaughn Dotsy                 OG  Ventura, Calif.   Saint Bonaventure High School 
Dee Finley                        FS   Auburn, Ala.     Auburn High School
Daniel Franklin  LB Clarkesville, Ga.  Habersham Central High School
A.J. Green                       WR  Ridgeville, S.C. Summerville High School
Braden Hanson                QB Charlotte, N.C.  Charlotte Latin School
Brandon Harris                 CB Miami, Fla.  Booker T. Washington High School
Antoine Hicks                 ATH Arlington, Texas  Timberview High School
Will Hill                          ATH West Orange, N.J.         Saint Peter’s High School
Jarvis Humphrey            DT    Cedar Hill, Texas  Cedar Hill High School 
Julio Jones            WR Foley, Ala.        Foley High School
Landry Jones QB Artesia, N.M. Artesia High School
Neiko Lipscomb              DB  Tucker, Ga.  Tucker High School   
Tyler Love                       OT   Birmingham, Ala.  Mountain Brook High School
Jon Major                      OLB  Parker, Colo.      Ponderosa High School 
E.J. Manuel                      QB Virginia Beach, Va.   Bayside High School
Michael Matt FB Jeanette, Pa. Jeanette High School
Antoine McClain   OT Anniston, Ala.  Anniston High School
Terrance  Parks                 DB  Fairborn, Ga. Creekside High School
Burton Scott                  WR   Prichard, Ala. Vigor High School
JamorisSlaughter              FS   Stone Mountain, Ga.  Tucker High School
Kye Staley RB Guthrie, Okla. Guthrie High School
Andrew Sweat                  LB Washington, Pa.  Trinity High School
Carlton Thomas               RB   Frostproof, Fla.            Frostproof High School
Chase Thomas                 DE   Atlanta, Ga.  Walton High School
Brandon Thompson  DT Thomasville, Ga.  Thomasville High School
Courtney Upshaw             DE Eufaula, Ala.  Eufaula High School
Deion Walker                  WR  Christchurch, Va.       Christchurch School
Charles Whitlock ATH Chester, S.C. Chester High School
Christian Wilson             LB   McKees Rocks, Pa. Montour High School
R.J. Washington  DE Fort Worth, Texas  Fossil Ridge High School
E.J. Woods                        FS  Culver City, Calif.  Crespi Carmelite High School

High School Sports on ESPN

The ESPN networks have covered high school sports since the 1980’s, including boys’ and girls’ basketball, football and lacrosse competitions. Notable prep events televised in recent years by the ESPN networks have included top athletes such as LeBron James (St. Vincent-St. Mary’s), Sebastian Telfair (Abraham Lincoln High School) and Greg Oden (Lawrence North), and top 25 football programs such as De La Salle High School (Calif.), Hoover High School (Ala.) and North Fort Myers High School (Fla.). Other featured events have included the McDonald’s All-American High School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Games, the Jordan Brand All-American Classic and the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic. 

ESPNU has also increased coverage of high school sports with more live games and college recruiting studio shows, including ESPNU Recruiting Insider and its annual National Signing Day show in February. In 2006, ESPN acquired Scouts, Inc. to produce more in-depth scouting information primarily for high school, college and pro football across ESPN’s media assets. In addition, year-long recruiting coverage is available at Recruiting Insider on ESPN.com, which provides in-depth national news and information about the top prep athletes from across the country and the collegiate athletic programs recruiting them. 

About Intersport

Intersport was formed in 1985 and is an Emmy Award-winning creator, producer and distributor of original sports and entertainment programming and an industry leader in event marketing and corporate hospitality. The Intersport Media Group is one of the largest independent producers of sports programming in the U.S. It distributes sports content across all media platforms. The Intersport Event Marketing Group designs and executes national event marketing initiatives, including mobile marketing tours in professional, collegiate, amateur and youth sports, as well as major event corporate hospitality programs. Intersport is headquartered in Chicago with offices in New York City and Los Angeles and can be found on the Internet at www.intersportnet.com. 

 

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