mountie. I’ve watched Mitchell football for 30 plus years. There’s not a player on last years roster at linebacker who’s a ligit 230. John Phillips played linebacker in the 80s. You ever met him? They clocked 40 times back in the day a guy named Greg mcmurray still has the fastest 40 time ever clocked. The school was way bigger back then. The kids were every bit as fast. You ever met Jaime Miller, Travis Pitman, or Jason Jones. That’s 3 linemen on the same team that would be more athletic than any lineman on any team in the 2000s and they weren’t the biggest linemen on those teams. The Elkins kids, brunette and Barnett were just as fast or faster than any kid in the 2000s. Back in the 80s and 90s Mitchell played big boy football. They’re wasn’t any split playoff divisions and teams like Murphy, swain, and Asheville were putting kids in the nfl. Mitchell was putting kids in d1 schools. Kids today weight train differently, but you can’t compare the talent level produced from a school with 800 kids to a school with 500. The training kids do today adds bulk, but not anymore speed and not anymore strength. Now when you talk about college football Alabama/Clemson and 280 llb defensive ends yes that’s different, but Mitchell doesn’t have any of those type athletes and neither does any small school in these mountains. Kids in the 80s and 90s were every bit as strong and fast. There was more of em too at every position. Jonathan Atkins would’ve been unbelievable in high school during any era and so would have those other guys mentioned. Freddy Burleson and mcmurray were faster than anybody you’ve ever seen play in the whc ever. Mcmurray played at N.C. state and was a track star as well.