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Little, Cooper among linemen award winners

BALTIMORE - Sometimes second place pays off big. That certainly was the case for Team Stealth, which turned a trio of second-place finishes into a Big Man Challenge Championship at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour in M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
The Big Man Challenge is an endurance test for the guys in the trenches and Team Stealth gutted out a strong showing in every event, finishing no lower than third in any of the five Big Man Challenge events.
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Individually, Rivals100 defensive linemen Julian Rochester and Antwuan Jackson repeat as Big Man Challenge Champions at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge after claiming the title a year ago.
"It was fun this year because it was kind of easier," Rochester said. "I don't want to say it was easy because the competition was still great and I got to go against some great talent last year. So we came in and I had a bit of an advantage because I saw what great talent is.
The overall OL and DL MVP awards take into account the entire camp performance from the beginning of Saturday morning until the completion of the Big Man Challenge.
It was a tight competition for both but it was hard to deny the efforts of five-star offensive tackle Gregory Little and Rivals250 defensive end Jonathon Cooper.
Little was strong during the morning position drills, one-on-one drills, and the Big Man Challenge in the evening. He showed technique, and he played with strength.
"It means a lot," Little said. "I just tried to put on for Texas and I wanted to show what Texas football is like. I just had a lot of fun meeting a lot of people and doing what I do best."
Cooper was one of the fastest and strongest on the defensive line. He did not lose a one-on-one rep during the Big Man Challenge and he made a strong impression throughout the day.
"That was amazing," Cooper said. "I didn't expect it at all honestly. I thought I did a pretty good job, but for me to win this means a lot."
Team Stealth was able to escape with the title after falling just short of Team Tumblr in the one-on-one tournament. The championship went to a sudden death tiebreaker rep between the nation's No. 1 player, five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, and Rivals250 offensive guard Michael Onwenu.
Lawrence was able to claim the title with a decisive win, giving team Tumblr the early lead with 24 points.
Team Stealth could have folded early, but with 21 points at the end of the one-on-one championship tournament, it dug deep.
Stealth finished second to team Swarm in the DL pass rush "club rip" drill, then won the OL pass pro shuffle drill. Stealth did have its worst performance with a third place finish in the OL/DL three-cone drill, but was able to bounce back for a strong second place performance in the OL/DL hoops figure eights.
At the end of all five events it was Stealth on top with 37 total points.
"I take it as we had a real good team with all our d-linemen and offensive linemen," Onwenu said. "So obviously we're the best team and we showed out today, and we all showed we deserve our fifth star."
Onwenu was joined on Team Stealth by offensive linemen Landon Dickerson, Matt Farniok, and Cesar Ruiz, and defensive linemen Marvin Wilson, Jackson, Rochester and Shane Simmons.
Team Tumblr finished with 35 points, after only recording 11 points over the final four events. Team Swarm came in third with 33.5 points and Team Flurry finished fourth with 29.5 points.
On an individual level, Jonathon Cooper of Team Swarm finished with the fastest time in the DL pass rush "club rip" drill with a 0.94. Cooper also claimed the fastest OL/DL hoops figure eights time after initially tying Josh Kaindoh of Team Flurry and Simmons of Team Stealth with times of 4.81. The three had a run off and Cooper blazed a 4.85 after Kaindoh and Simmons ran times of 4.94.
Kaindoh did finish with the fastest OL/DL three-cone drill with a 6.47, and Drake Jackson took the fastest time in the OL Pass Pro Shuffle Drill with a 4.97.
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