Editor’s note: This is an opinion column.
The Alabama Sportswriters Association has released its 2021 All-State team, and there are some really good players on that list.
There are also some glaring omissions, and that’s what I want to talk about today.
I’m not sure how the 5A All-State team leaves off Center Point’s junior tailback Troy Bruce, especially when he made the 2020 team as a sophomore.
Bruce led the Eagles to a 9-4 record and the third round of the AHSAA playoffs. Over the course of a truncated 2021 season, Bruce piled up 198 carries and 1,600 yards with 26 touchdowns. Most importantly? He didn’t fumble over the course of the entire season.
That’s with the first game of the season against Wenonah being canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Voters can justify their All-State selections any way they want, but for Bruce to not make even an honorable mention in the state just seems like an incredible oversight to me.
Leeds’ Tanner Chambers was (correctly) named to the 5A All-State team, but the Green Wave’s C.J. Douglas wasn’t selected. Douglas had great size and speed, and he was the biggest hitter in the Leeds defensive backfield.
Consider senior tailback Rametrius Yelverton, too. Yelverton was a stud at running back for the Green Wave in a run-first offense. He ate up yards and scored at will during much of his team’s 10-win season.
In Moody’s most successful campaign in several years, senior linebacker Matthew McDonald had 131 tackles and five sacks over the course of nine games played. McDonald was the tip of the spear for the Blue Devils’ defense and could have (maybe should have?) made the team.
In 6A, I’m going to point out two names that should have absolutely made All-State, and they’re both Pinson Valley kids. B.J. Diakite was a tremendous presence on the defensive line. The only guy I can compare him to locally is a slimmer Hunter Osborne. But a guy who absolutely got overlooked is T.J. Metcalf, a sophomore who had 115 total tackles, four interceptions, eight pass-breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The scary thing about Metcalf is that he’s only going to get better.
In Wednesday’s copy of The Tribune, we’ll be releasing our own picks for the All-Tribune Team, and it will be no surprise that many of these names will be recognized there.
The All-Tribune Team is a little bit of a different animal than the ASWA recognition, because it takes athletes from all three classifications of the seven teams we cover (7A, 6A, 5A) and put the most deserving players on the first team, second team and honorable mention regardless of classification.
And here’s the thing: I know we’re going to miss some players, just like the ASWA did. Unfortunately that’s just how it happens. Sometimes it’s simply oversight. Sometimes it’s because another kid is flat-out better.
But then again, sometimes we sportswriters get it wrong. Honors like the All-State team generate discussion, as much for who was left off as who made the team. Lord knows I’ve been wrong before, and will be again. And I’m certainly not the only one. But hopefully Wednesday we’ll get at least some of our All-Tribune Team right.
Bobby Mathews is sports editor for The Tribune. Reach him at bobby.mathews@trussvilletribune.com or on Twitter: @bobbymathews.