Houston and Collierville to rematch in the region final

Ryan Mitchell stood at home plate marveling at his hit as it sailed out of Whitehaven's baseball stadium.

He didn't make it to first until the ball hit the ground across the street.

While everyone in the stadium was trying to figure out where exactly the ball landed, Mitchell didn't take his eyes off of it until he saw it fall in the front yard of a house, parallel to the field.

His hit provided the final two runs in a four-run third inning that helped Houston defeat Whitehaven 10-0 in the Region 8-4A semifinals on Monday night and solidified a spot in Wednesday's region championship game and in Friday's sectional game.

"I feel like my home run gave us some momentum,” Mitchell said. “We just bounced back from there and kept putting up runs.”

The inning was important for Houston (34-7) for a couple of reasons. It not only gave junior pitcher Dean Mccalla some breathing room, but it was the latest example of how resilient Houston's young squad is.

Assistant head coach Collins Day filled in for Lane Mccarter in Monday's game because Mccarter was serving a one-game suspension after Houston violated a pitch-count rule during the district championship game against Collierville on May 12.

The Mustangs didn't look disturbed during the region semifinals and responded by playing like they normally do; something Day wasn't surprised about, even from from a young team.

“We put a lot of stock in those young guys,” Day said. “I told Ryan Mitchell about two months ago, ‘You're not a freshman anymore.' And he understood that and he doesn't play like one either.”

Day said Houston typically carries a younger team. So, it's no surprise the biggest pieces this season have been young stars.

Along with Ryan Mitchell's home run in the third inning, Donovan Mitchell added a two-run home run in the fifth. He also had a two-rbi single later in the third after Ryan's home run.

Ryan said the bond the team has will

the undisputed leader in all of college football.”

Cutcliffe, 67, had planned to coach a few more years, but Duke parted ways with him after last season. He considered opportunities on college and NFL staffs, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and deputy commissioner Charlie Hussey pitched this role to Cutcliffe.

Cutcliffe flew to the league office in Birmingham, Alabama, to consider the offer, and he meshed with the SEC staff.

The job invigorates Cutcliffe, but he admits to still feeling the coaching itch. That may never fully dissipate after a coaching career that dates to the 1970s, when Cutcliffe began as an offensive coordinator at Banks High School in Birmingham, his alma mater.

Cutcliffe credits his high school coaches with positively influencing his life after his dad died in a car accident when he was 15 years old. He wanted to pay that forward throughout his coaching career.

“Really, genuinely caring about people is an art. Some people really got it, and some people don't. He makes people feel really special,” said Marcus Hilliard, Cutcliffe's son who is an associate athletics director and chief of staff for Tennessee.

Coaching strategies still swirl in Cutcliffe's mind. Laying in bed at night, his thoughts are subject to interruption by ideas about offensive tactics. He plans to watch film throughout the season to stay current with the game.

Observing spring practices tempted him to offer instruction, particularly as he watched quarterbacks and wide receivers drills.

Cutcliffe is putting that coaching itch on the shelf because he believes in his role with the SEC.

“I hope, in some small way, I can contribute something to a game that has been so good to me,” he said.

That game underwent sweeping changes within the past year.

Notably, athletes can transfer more freely than ever, and athletes are permitted to profit off their fame through name, image and likeness deals with third parties.

Like many of the coaches with whom he interacts, Cutcliffe harbors concerns about NIL deals. He supports college athletes earning money through endorsements but differentiates that from pay-for-play recruiting inducements.

The NCAA also draws that line of demarcation, although the association has not attempted to enforce its rules that prohibit such recruiting inducements from boosters or the collectives they fund.

“The NCAA can't do it alone. You've got to remember, the NCAA is made up of all of these institutions. So, all of us, collectively, will have to address this,” Cutcliffe said. “A booster should not be basically a member of the staff, in my opinion. You don't want that to occur where a collective is trying to run the show.”

Amid all this change, Cutcliffe embraces an optimistic outlook for college football's future.

“If I was feeling negative, I wouldn't be doing this. I'd be fishing somewhere today, and you and I wouldn't be talking,” Cutcliffe said. “I'm a good bass fisherman, too.”

Fishing is on hold, while Cutcliffe aims to do his part for the sport he loves, in his new job with the long title.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at Btoppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.