9 thoughts: Windham completes shutdown season, awaits college offers

There's (Darrelle) "Revis Island" and then there's "Windham Island." I'm not sure which was more lonely in 2015.

During Northwest's magnificent turnaround season, Tito Windham, helped the Rangers by practically cutting the field in half with his coverage skills.

As quarterback Gardner Minshew pointed out, Windham probably missed out on some post-season accolades because his statistics just weren't very impressive. The redshirt freshman had 33 tackles, one interception, 10 pass breakups, 11 passes defended and returned a fumble against Gulf Coast for a score in the MACJC title game. Good but certainly not stellar. As was evidenced during Sunday's Mississippi Bowl, his stats were lacking because teams didn't dare throw at him much when the game was on the line.

"You really can't throw at him. He really got snubbed for all of the first-teams and everything. He didn't really have any stats because nobody threw at him," Minshew said after earning the Mississippi Player of the Year trophy.

Added Northwest coach Jack Wright: "At that position, when you're able to scare teams to go the other way, that's part of your job. He played really well."

2. All alone

There were times Sunday that Windham almost looked bored. He'd get the call from the sideline, walk up to the line to press the receiver and then the play would go the other way.

"It's been like that the whole year," he said. "They don't try me until at the end of the game when they're desperate - but they're still not successful, as you can see."

3. What's next?

The former Oklahoma enrollee said he's unsure what will happen next for him. He said he'll graduate in May so he's going to let the recruiting process play out. Out of high school, Windham was courted by Florida State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss and the Sooners, among other programs. This time around, Windham has been getting looks from smaller schools like UL-L and Florida A&M, but he remains hopeful that his game film catches the attention of a larger school.

"We'll see where I go," he said.

4. Tough weekend

The Coast had two chances to bring home a football state championship over the weekend but came up empty handed. Resurrection went up against the one of the fastest teams in the state -- maybe regardless of classification -- in Hollandale-Simmons and St. Stanislaus couldn't claim revenge against Noxubee County. Below are four accolades from the weekend. But, before getting to those, here's some way-too-early teams to watch out for this time next year: St. Martin, George County, Picayune, Pascagoula, St. Stanislaus and Resurrection.

5. Offensive performance

Oxford quarterback Jack Abraham eclipsed his own school record by completing 35 of 52 passes for a whopping 550 yards with four touchdowns in the Chargers' 45-41 shootout loss to Wayne County. The Tulane commit had a chance to put Oxford ahead of Wayne County on the next to last play of the Class 5A championship on Saturday but was called out of bounds as he dove for the pylon. Abraham ended up hurting himself on the play and as a result he will miss the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game this weekend in Hattiesburg.

6. Offensive play

Perhaps the most exciting play of the weekend came in the Class 3A title game between Charleston and Collins. Charleston held a 32-26 lead with under 30 seconds remaining. Instead of kicking the ball deep, Charleston squib kicked it up the middle. Calvin Keys scooped the ball, immediately made a couple of cuts, found the Collins sideline and followed a caravan of blockers to the end zone.

The ensuing two-point conversion broke the tie to give Collins the 34-32 victory.

7. Defensive performance

It's hard to look past Jeffery Simmons' impact in the Class 4A title game. Noxubee County's defensive end constantly disrupted the high-powered St. Stanislaus offense. Although he finished with four tackles and 3.5 sacks, the senior was unrelenting in his pursuit of SSC quarterback Myles Brennan. I feel confident in saying if the Rockachaw QB had more time to set his feet and throw the 44-23 outcome would have been a bit different.

8. Defensive play

In a game that featured plenty of offense, it was the final defensive stand that will be remembered in time. Following Abraham's dive, Oxford had time for one last play. The Chargers direct snapped the ball to Ole Miss commit D.K. Metcalf who scrambled to his left and looked like he might have the edge in space. Wayne County's Denzell Bonner closed in quickly and tackled the standout athlete for no gain to preserve the win.

9. The (Other) Patrick's Picks

For entertainment purposes ... It's far out, but here's my picks for the SEC's bowl games: LSU (-7 1/2, according to MGM Resorts International) should roll Texas Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl ... Is it an upset if Memphis up-ends Auburn (-3) in the Birmingham Bowl? ... MSU (-5) shouldn't have a problem beating N.C. State in the Belk Bowl ... Which Texas A&M (-3) shows up against Louisville in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl? If Kyle Allen is clicking, I like the Aggies ... Alabama (-10) is a motivated team. The Tide is a big favorite over Michigan State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic -- as it should be ... Tennessee (-9) finished the regular season strong. Northwestern will be the best team UT has faced since it lost at Alabama on Oct. 24. It's close, but the Vols win the Outback Bowl by a TD ... Florida has been floundering since it lost QB Will Grier. Jim Harbaugh finishes Year 1 at Michigan (-4) on a high note with a 10-point win in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl ... The Rebels (-7) make the most of their first Sugar Bowl berth since 1970 with a 14-point win over Oklahoma State ... Georgia (-7) shouldn't have a problem with Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl ... Arkansas (-11) will have its way with Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Expect a blow out.

As always, thanks for reading.

Patrick Ochs, a Sun Herald sports reporter, can be reached at pochs@sunherald.com or followed on Twitter at PatrickOchs.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 9:50 PM with the headline "9 thoughts: Windham completes shutdown season, awaits college offers ."