NEW BERLIN – Milford Academy opens its football season Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Norwich High School when it entertains Atlanta Sports Prep. Again, the Falcons will flash some of the most talented football players in the nation. Many of the players use the Academy as a means to develop skills and gain notice from college scouts, while others are already signed as Division I players, and just need to raise their college entrance exam scores.
Syracuse University has taken advantage of Milford Academy’s close locale since the school relocated to New Berlin eight seasons ago. Top prospects Aston Broyld and Tyree Smallwood, both from New York State high schools, will likely join the Orange next season.
Broyld, already a robust 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, was the 2010 New York State Player of the year and led Rush-Henrietta to its first ever state football title. Broyld rushed and threw for over 1,500 yards last year alone. With his already prodigious size, some scouts project Broyld on the defensive side of the ball, although Broyld would prefer to remain at quarterback. “I’ve been a quarterback forever, but if it doesn’t work out, I’m open to play somewhere else,” Broyld said.
Broyld looked at several schools in the Big East, but ultimately decided to stay close to home to play for a Orange program that is coming off its best season in several years. “I just wanted to be in a program that is starting to build and be a part of something special,” he said. “I didn’t want to be in a program that was already built.”
Tyree Smallwood of Cornwall played just two years of high school varsity football rushing for over 1,000 yards each season, while leading his team to a 2009 sectional championship. Smallwood would prefer to stay a running back, but college scouts are also touting him at defensive back.
Smallwood felt his skills warranted a varsity spot in his sophomore year of high school, but the coaching staff at Cornwall felt it best to keep him on the junior varsity. “Yeah, that bothered me a lot,” Smallwood said of Cornwall staff’s decision. “Probably more than it should have. But that motivates me, and I stay motivated every day.”
At around 170 pounds, Smallwoo is probably on the small side as far as Division One running backs go. Still, putting on weight is not his aim during his stay at Milford. “(Syracuse) isn’t telling me to gain weight, they just want me to get better every day.”
Later this week, we look at Milford Academy players Montrell Dobbs, Jevonte Pitts, Carlos Carvajal, and Jerod Holliman, all of whom have Division One scholarship offers.