State of Florida weekend primer 

Over the last 20 years the Tampa Bay area has grown significantly in population, and as families settled in communities around Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, their children began to play sports. Sometimes a surge in prospects in one particular area can be attributed to the simplest things, but even with the population growth, it took a couple of programs to really help grow the area into what it has become.

The programs at Seffner (Fla.) Armwood and Tampa (Fla.) Plant can take credit for much of the success of the area. Armwood won state championships in 2003, 2004 and 2011 (the last championship was vacated by the Florida High School Athletic Association in the spring) and made it to the final game in 2005 and 2010. The Hawks had several top prospects come through the program like former Under Armour All-American Petey Smith (Alabama), Torrey Davis (Florida), Eric Smith (Auburn), Matt Patchan (Florida), Eric Striker (Oklahoma), Matt Jones (Florida), Josh Grady (Vanderbilt) and Cody Waldrop (South Carolina).

Plant won state championships in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011 while also making the finals in 2010. Much like Armwood, Plant could not have accomplished so much without talented performers like Robert Marve (Miami, Purdue), Aaron Murray (Georgia), James Wilder Jr. (Florida State), Drew Madhu (Stanford), Orson Charles (Georgia), Eric Dungy (Oregon) and Philip Ely (Alabama).

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