By Joe Medley, East Alabama Sports Today
PIEDMONT — Cole Austin showed Piedmont’s in capable hands while the Bulldogs won the Piedmont Passing Camp 7-on-7 Saturday.
Munford lived its #For51 T-shirt slogan, reaching the final two days following late teammate Rodney Gilliland’s funeral.
Those two teams emerged from the nine-team field on the Field of Champions, which Piedmont beating Munford 20-10 in the title game.
For Piedmont, the latest summer showcase was the latest chance to show how what Austin can do while working with Jacksonville State commitment and record-setting receiver Rollie Pinto.
Pinto put on a show, outrunning and outjumping competition. He caught a touchdown bomb early in the semifinal against Randolph County, a 32-10 Piedmont victory. He made a one-handed catch in traffic against Munford then caught a jump-ball touchdown in the corner of the end zone.
Pinto set the Alabama High School Association record with 1,826 receiving yards last season while working with then-senior quarterback Cole Wilson. Now, he’s working with Austin, a sophomore widely considered to be a rising star athlete at Piedmont.
And here’s the thing … Austin didn’t get to showcase all of his talents in a 7-on-7.
“He did good, but he can’t just throw the ball.” Pinto said. “He can run it. He’s gonna be a scary player.”
If Piedmont can run the ball behind an offensive line that returns three starters, then Pinto won’t have to fight through dense coverage.
A 7-on-7 is a passing show, however, and Austin showed his chops Saturday. The bomb to Pinto against Randolph County hit Pinto in stride. Pinto’s jump-ball catch in the corner against Munford came on what had to be a jump-ball pass against tight coverage.
“I’m excited to play with him,” Pinto said.
Third-year Piedmont coach Jonathan Miller said Austin is right where the coach expected his heir-apparent quarterback to be.
“He’s right where we thought he would be,” Miller said. “He got a good pit of work last year. He’s obviously a sophomore, but he’s a very mature kid. He can handle a lot. He’s going to be a great quarterback for us.
“He did a good job out here spreading it around and getting to five or six different guys today. He did a good job just getting the ball where it needed to go.”
Two other teams from Cherokee County also participated in the event. Sand Rock went 3-3 and reached the quarterfinals. Spring Garden was 0-5 for the day.
