Auden Tate catches a touchdown pass for Wharton in a 2014 game against King. Tate and former Wharton quarterback Chase Litton have both declared that they will be entering the 2018 NFL Draft. (Photo: Andy Warrener)
In 2013, the last year Wharton High’s football team went to the playoff, Wildcats’ quarterback Chase Litton was throwing passes to wide receiver Auden Tate.
Next year, they may both be on NFL rosters.
Tate, a starter for Florida State at wide receiver last season, and Litton, the starting quarterback at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, have both declared for the 2017 NFL draft, scheduled for April 27-29 in Philadelphia.
The former Wildcats just completed their junior years in college, passing on their final years of eligibility.
If they ended up drafted, as expected, that would make three members of the 2012 Wharton football team, including Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vernon Hargreaves, on NFL rosters.
Tate will forego his senior season at FSU after catching 40 passes for 548 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns in 2018. At 6-5, 225, he has all the measurables NFL scouts want these days in a wide receiver. He has very good speed and hands, exceptional height and a physical style that gives him an edge against smaller defensive backs in the red zone.
Auden Tate
Shoulder and foot injuries limited his playing time at FSU in his first two seasons. However, a solid junior campaign and the changing of the coaching staff at FSU nudged him to go pro.
CBS Sports ranks Tate as the No. 7 wide receiver in the upcoming draft. A mock draft at DraftUtopia.com has Tate going 10th overall in the first round to the Los Angeles Rams, while other mock draft “experts” have him being selected in the first three rounds.
USA Today ranked Tate as the 39th best prospect in the draft.
One mock draft, WalterFootball.com, has Tate going 77th overall to Cincinnati, with Washington taking Litton a pick later.
At 6-6, 235-pounds, Litton also has many of the tools NFL scouts drool over, including a lively arm to go with his height.
Chase Litton
Litton graduated from Wharton a year earlier than Tate, and was a three-star recruit (Rivals.com, 247Sports) who initially committed to hometown USF and reportedly had offers from LSU and Western Kentucky, but settled in on Marshall, where he was a three-year starter.
He became one of only two quarterbacks in school history to complete at least 60 percent of their passes in three straight seasons.
Litton’s draft prognosis, however, is not as rosy as Tate’s, as he is coming out in a quarterback-heavy year and with some scouts feeling he could benefit from an additional year of college.
Although both former Wildcats were very good basketball players in high school, it looks like football has turned out to be the right choice for both of them.
First Watch Wesley Chapel manager Kerri Hagerman is proud that First Watch has been voted as having the “Best Breakfast in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel” by Neighborhood News readers.
When it comes to places to grab a hot and healthy breakfast in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, our readers left no choice that their favorite place to do so was First Watch.
While the area doesn’t have a wealth of breakfast options, readers still managed to name 20 places they would call their favorite. But, it was First Watch, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza in Wesley Chapel, and then everyone else, as the Bradenton-based chain garnered 56.5 percent of the votes. No other style of restaurant dominated their category in the Best of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel the way that First Watch did.
But that is of little surprise to anyone who has waited in line — and who hasn’t? — to dine there.
“I think it is multiple things,’’ says Kerri Hagerman, the manager for the Wesley Chapel location, which happens to be the fourth-ranked performing First Watch of more than 300 locations nationwide. “One of the biggest reasons is that we focused on quality as a company — quality of the food, quality of the service and the quality of thepeople we have working for us.”
Hagerman says it all leads to achieving the company’s mission statement: “You First.”
The restaurant offers a unique menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch items, like its popular avocado toast, lemon ricotta pancakes, a “chickichanga” burrito with whipped eggs, chicken, chorizo sausage, various cheeses, a mild Veracruz sauce and a variety of skillet hashes.
Every made-to-order menu item is made with the promise of fresh, and often local, ingredients.
The Tampa Bay area, including the Wesley Chapel location, also is First Watch’s test market for limited time offerings. Every 10 weeks or so, five new items are colorfully displayed on the chalkboard at the front of the restaurant. If they end up being a hit, they make it onto the regular menu. So, items that some across the country are experiencing for the first time now, the Wesley Chapel location featured a year ago.
Items currently being featured: a Mediterranean tomato stew called Shakshuka with Moroccan red harissa stew topped with cage-free poached eggs, a supergreen frittata wrap, an acai bowl topped with fruit and granola, rainbow toast featuring ricotta cheese-covered brioche toast topped with berries, mango and local honey and a blue booster drink with white grape juice, blueberry, lemon and basil.
Hagerman says First Watch’s juices, like the popular Kale tonic that was tested here but is now a regular menu item, are always big hits. While the restaurant has a reputation for innovative healthy foods, there also is plenty for those looking for something more traditional.
“We do serve healthy foods, but we also have a large variety of indulgent items as well,” Hagerman said. “There’s is definitely plenty for those looking for something heartier as well.”
Those of us who have been in New Tampa for the last 20 or more years recognize that certain restaurant locations just can’t seem to find a successful concept to stick around long-term. And, while Kobe Steakhouse seems to have finally stabilized the freestanding space in front of the Pebble Creek Collection that first opened as Harris & Co., there’s little doubt that the space first occupied by Good Fellas in the plaza now known as the Shoppes of Amberly still has not found a long-term winner.
Since Good Fellas, the space has been Crabby Bill’s, a New Tampa Oyster House and Sushi Tsu Japanese Steakhouse, all of which had some success but didn’t stick around as long as some of us had hoped (especially Sushi Tsu), but now, the most recent eatery at 15363 Amberly Dr. — Casa Ramos Mexican Restaurant — which opened in 2013, also has gone the way of the dinosaur.
The family-run chain of more than 20 upscale Casa Ramos and Azteca restaurants at one time had 40 locations in Oregon, Washington state and Orlando, although we were not able to get in touch with anyone about why Casa Ramos closed sometime around the first week in January.
Mellow Mushroom Opens On SR 56
Even though I’ve never been the biggest chain restaurant fan, I am really enjoying the new Mellow Mushroom that opened last month as the anchor tenant of a new plaza on S.R. 56, across from the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO).
Only open a few days at our press time — Aspen Dental, T-Mobile and Mattress 1 all opened a week or two earlier (with Men’s Wearhouse, Great Clips and Noire Nail Bar all set to open shortly) — Mellow Mushroom (25662 Sierra Center Blvd.) already is attracting crowds with its thin- and crisp original (thicker) crust pizzas, delicious meatballs, salads, oven-baked wings and the most spacious bar area near TPO this side of Ford’s Garage.
For more info, stop in, call Mellow Mushroom at (813) 948-7337 or visit MellowMushroom.com.
Congrats Go Out To…
The Dimmitt Automotive Group and its new Audi Wesley Chapel dealership on S.R. 56 in the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) on S.R. 56 (at 2500 Lajuana Blvd.).
The Dimmitt family hosted an awesome VIP event on Jan. 18 which included the dignitaries shown to the right: (l.-r.) Pete Hamilton, the southern region president of Audi of America, Dimmitt Auto co-president Peter Dimmitt, Cian O’Brian, the executive VP and COO of Audi of America and Audi Wesley Chapel GM Allen Majewski. Not pictured is Dimmitt CEO Scott Larguier, who hosted the event.
For more info about Audi Wesley Chapel, visit AudiWesleyChapel.com or call (813) 607-3100.
We also congratulate the expanding Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCC) for its move to its new office at1868 Highland Oaks Blvd, Suite A-1, in Lutz (not a misprint!).
For membership and upcoming event info, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com or call (813) 994-8534. — GN
A year ago, Judy McFarland was in her early sixties, working out five days a week for at least an hour a day. The problem was that she wasn’t seeing the results she wanted.
Two years ago, Kate Green (before & after photos on this page) — also in her early sixties — had never worked out. Earlier in her life, she had lost 50 pounds by dieting, then put the weight back on — twice. She had put 50 pounds on again and wanted to find a way to get that unwanted weight off and keep it off, for good this time.
Now, both women say Samantha Taylor Fitness has changed their lives.
Judy lost 31 pounds and 36 inches in just four-and-a-half months.
Kate lost the 50 pounds she wanted to lose… and then kept losing. Kate says she has dropped from 170 pounds to 110.
“Samantha completely turned my life around,” says Kate. “I was on the verge of being an ill-tempered old woman, but now I’m having a blast – horseback riding, zip lining, and off-roading in my new Jeep.”
The Wesley Chapel location of Samantha Taylor Fitness is across the street from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd, above The Hungry Greek and OTB Café.
Wesley Chapel is one of Samantha’s five fitness studios, including her first location in nearby Land O’Lakes, plus the location she opened about a year ago in Carrollwood, a new location in Westchase, and a location in Palm Harbor that will open in February.
In 2018, Samantha (right) says she plans to open a new Wesley Chapel location, behind Buffalo Wild Wings on S.R. 56, near I-75. The current Wesley Chapel studio will move to the new location.
As the company continues to grow, Samantha says that translates into more women like Kate and Judy whose lives are being transformed.
“We’re saying that 65 is the new 40,” Samantha says. “We’re teaching women a way to eat that they love. It’s not a diet, not a pill, not shots; just understanding how to eat, how to work out their muscles for tone, and develop a healthy lifestyle they can keep for life.”
While many women in their 60s think they have to accept that their bodies will decline because they’re getting older, Samantha says that’s just not true.
At all locations, Samantha offers both personal training and Fit Body Boot Camp programs. Programs include fitness training and nutritional counseling for women only, helping them to “age backwards,” as Samantha likes to say.
“I feel like I’ve found this fountain of youth,” says Kate, “and I’m having so much fun. I wake up in the morning with more energy than I know what to do with, I work out, then I come back energized for the rest of the day.”
Judy agrees, “I feel like I’ve got the energy of a teenager and I just turned 62 a few days ago. I’ve had such a transformation – people think I’m 35 years old.”
Personal Training Or Boot Camp?
Whether a client wants personal training – the most customized and private option — or boot camp classes, both programs start with a completely free, no-obligation consultation called a “Body Transformation Analysis” to determine goals and plan a fitness program.
Personal training can be done in one-on-one, semi-private, or small group sessions. In addition to personal training sessions, each client also meets with an assigned results coach monthly, to be sure they’re progressing.
Clients who choose the boot camp option attend regular or beginner Fit Body Boot Camp sessions, which vary in cardiovascular intensity levels. Several classes are offered every day, and women choose three or more times each week to attend.
“We are getting women in amazing shape,” says Samantha, who is a Certified Personal Trainer who began her career 25 years ago and launched her own business 18 years ago. During that time, she estimates that she has trained 6,000 local women. Samantha uses her experience as a personal trainer, seeing what works and what doesn’t with her many clients, and her years of intensely studying the human body to coach women in fitness and healthy eating.
Kate Green is rightfully proud of the way that Samantha Taylor Fitness Studios has transformed her body, after dropping 60 lbs. and keeping it off.
“Most of the people who come to us have done all the diets,” says Samantha. “The shakes, pills, protein diets and calorie deprivation diets. They’re shocked they can eat the way I show them, they love the food, and they lose weight.”
Kate agrees. “Her eating plan is the best I’ve ever been on. I can have bacon and eggs and cheese – things I couldn’t have on other diets I was on,” she explains. “I’ve found her way of eating something I can maintain long term.”
Judy also enjoys the food and doesn’t mind the adjustments she’s made to her nutrition. “I don’t feel like I’m on a diet,” she says. “I feel like I’m just eating better – high protein, moderate fat and low carbs.”
Samantha says many of her clients see more than just weight loss — they’re getting healthier as well.
“They are preventing diseases such as heart disease and diabetes,” she says. “Some women no longer have to take cholesterol or blood pressure medication, and no longer suffer from muscle pains and aches.”
Judy’s Story
Judy (before & after photos on this page) says she went from working out eight or nine hours each week to just three 30-minute sessions at Samantha Taylor Studios.
So, how is it that she lost 31 pounds by working out less?
“The nutrition adjustment made a big difference,” she says, “plus the quality of training and the intensity of the workouts. After 30 minutes, my body is burning but feels so energized.”
She credits the trainers at Samantha Taylor Fitness Studios, who she says are equipped and experienced to help people succeed.
“Any of us can do what we set our mind to do, and what seems to be impossible is very possible,” says Judy, “especially with the kind of support and resources that Samantha’s organization provides.
The Six-Week Challenge
Beginning on Monday, January 29, Samantha will start her next six-week “Body Transformation Challenge,” where she gives away thousands of dollars in prizes, including a Grand Prize of a cruise for two for the woman who loses the most weight (as a percentage of her total body weight).
Participants in Samantha’s last 6-week challenge lost a combined total of 1,215 pounds and Samantha says she always hosts a big party to celebrate.
To register, or for more information, go to 6weekBTC.com.
Samantha also does a regular segment on “Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend,” which airs on WFTS-TV, the local ABC affiliate. She brings guests on the show, sometimes clients, and shares nutritious recipes, which she says are delicious.
For recipes and to view segments of the show, including Kate’s story in her own words from when she was Samantha’s guest on “Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend,” visit SamanthaTaylorFitness.com.
The Wesley Chapel Samantha Taylor Fitness studio is located is at 2653 BBD Blvd., Suite 205 (second floor). For more information, visit SamanthaTaylorFitness.com or call (813) 377-3739.
Old Saint Nick brought good tidings and cheer to the Miner household, even if the big fellas was a day late.
On December 26, the Miner family was notified that their son Jordan, a defensive back and offensive playmaker for Wiregrass Ranch High’s football team, was selected to be a member of USA Football’s U19 US National Team.
The national team brings in top high school athletes from all over the country and flies them in to Arlington, TX, where Miner has been preparing for tonight’s game against Team Canada at 8 p.m. on ESPN 3.
“It feels good that all of my hard work has paid off,” Jordan Miner said. “I’m really looking forward to playing for my country and with some of the best talent around the world.”
Joining Miner on the All-American team is childhood friend and former Wesley Chapel High standout Isaiah Bolden.
Bolden and Miner have been friends since the sixth grade, but were never able to play together as they played for crosstown, rival middle and high school teams. They will finally get the chance to be teammates, even if it’s only for one game.
Bolden, originally a Florida State University oral commitment before flipping to the University of Oregon, followed former Ducks head coach Willie Taggart back to FSU and signed with the Seminoles during the inaugural early signing period last month.
Miner, a firm Penn State commitment, signed with the Nittany Lions.
“Jordan has been following high school football for a long time,” John Miner, his dad, said. “He had two goals for high school, one was to sign with a Division 1 school and the other was to be an All-American.”
The Bull baller had an outstanding season for Wiregrass Ranch in 2017, and his contributions were felt all over the field. He finished with four interceptions and 39 tackles on defense, and on offense rushed for 432 yards and six TDs, caught 17 passes for 215 yards and three TDs, and even completed five of seven passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
On special teams, he averaged 26.3 yards per kick return and 19.2 yards per punt return.
“We needed him (Miner) more on the offensive side of the ball this year and Jordan was offering to take over more responsibility there,” said Wiregrass Ranch head coach Mark Kantor. “It helped us fix things to where teams had to worry about him at many different positions.”
It also helped the Bulls make the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Bulls won their first playoff game ever, 17-10 over Lake Nona.
