It’s been a busy offseason for Corbin Laisure.
The former standout high school athlete at Sullivan East and Science Hill got married in May. He’s been taking classes and working out in Boulder, with the Colorado football team. And, last week, he jumped on a plane and flew back home to help Charlie Browder at his football camp.
I-81 Sports had a chance to catch up with Laisure during his morning in Kingsport at Browder’s camp.
“It’s awesome,” Laisure said of being part of the Colorado program, which is led by Deion Sanders. “My teammates, it’s a really special group of guys, a really dedicated brotherhood that we have. It’s really become a family over the last couple of months of the offseason. It’s been really awesome getting to experience the culture out there.”
Laisure saw the field in three games last season. Under NCAA eligibility rules at that time, that meant he could redshirt. He logged 13 snaps total on the kickoff return team and had eight snaps on the offense against Arizona.
“Right now I fit in however the coaching staff feels like I need to,” Laisure said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’ll be a utility knife, however they can use me.”
Laisure has a new position coach. Colorado hired Josh Niblett in January. Niblett made the jump to the college ranks after 26 years as a head coach at the high school level. Niblett replaces Brett Bartolone, who stepped down to become offensive coordinator at Nevada.
“Since I’ve got there, I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger. I’ve definitely gotten a lot better technique with my blocking. I’ve also gotten a lot better with my routes. We’re always getting extra work in, always working on the extra details within our routes and within the game.”
Even though he was a true freshman who ultimately took a redshirt, Laisure said he traveled with the team to every game except the contest at Houston. That included road trips to TCU, Utah, West Virginia, and Kansas State. When asked to identify his favorite stadium from 2025, he didn’t hesitate.
“Folsom Field is my favorite spot,” he said, tapping the home venue for Colorado. “It’s an electric energy and the fans are super supportive, especially when we’re playing good and we’re scoring, they can definitely be a game changer at Folsom. We have a great community in Boulder that loves football.”
Speaking of Browder, he was named first-team tight end on the Southern Conference preseason team, released on Tuesday. Browder was one of five ETSU players to make the first team and among nine total all-conference honorees.
Elsewhere in college football, VMI senior Ben Shrewsbury (Jonesborough/Daniel Boone) might be the best specialist in the entire Football Championship Subdivision heading into the 2026 season. On Wednesday, Shrewsbury was named to the first team of the FCS Football Central Preseason All-America Team. Shrewsbury also got named first-team punter on the preseason All-Southern Conference Team earlier this week. Shrewsbury has experience as a punter and kicker for the Keydets.
Pro Basketball
The NBA Summer League is in the books and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Greeneville) was one of the standouts. In four games for the San Antonio Spurs, Gillespie averaged 16.0 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.3 rebounds.
Air Alamo, a Spurs news and fan site, sang Gillespie’s praises after he outplayed Darryn Peterson, the No. 2 overall pick, in the Spurs’ Summer League victory over Utah last Saturday. Gillespie’s line against the Jazz’ summer squad: 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting (3 of 3 from 3) with five assists and two steals.
Gillespie was one of 11 former Vols in the Summer League, which wrapped Sunday with Golden State’s squad winning the championship. The other Vols were Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic, Jr., who joined Gillespie on the Spurs; Chaz Lanier (Detroit), Felix Okpara (Washington), Nate Ament (Milwaukee), Kennedy Chandler (Chicago), Keon Johnson (Orlando), Tyreke Key (Toronto), Jahmai Mashack (Memphis), and Jaden Springer (Dallas).
Staying in pro basketball, but moving to the other side of the world, Jack Browder (Kingsport/Dobyns-Bennett/Carson-Newman) continues to put up huge numbers in Australia in the NBL1 for the Perry Lakes Hawks as the regular season approaches its conclusion. Browder currently is averaging 29.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. The NBL1 is a semi-pro league run by the National Basketball League, Australia’s top professional league. Browder’s college career may not be done either; he’s one of 12 college basketball players from the state of Tennessee suing the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, since the governing body switched to a “five in five” eligibility model earlier this summer.
Pro Baseball
Gage Peterson (Jonesborough/David Crockett) has made it official and signed with the Washington Nationals, who selected him in the seventh round of the MLB Amateur Draft earlier this month. Peterson wasn’t alone; the Nats announced on Wednesday that 18 of their draft selections had signed contracts.
The latest big-league stint for Landon Knack (Johnson City/Science Hill/ETSU) with the Dodgers did not last long. Knack was optioned to Triple-A on Tuesday, after yielding five runs in five total innings of work since making his 2026 debut on July 11, just before the All-Star break.
Rangers outfielder Evan Carter (Elizabethton) is showing signs of a hot streak at the plate. Heading into tonight’s game with the White Sox, Carter was hitting at a .319 clip in his past seven contests, with an .876 OPS. Carter’s hitting .273 thus far in July, with two home runs, four RBIs, and a stolen base. Even with the better success in July, Carter’s 2026 numbers (.191 avg, .643 OPS) leave something to be desired. He’s almost strictly a platoon player at this point, batting just .135 against left-handers in 37 at-bats spread across 34 games, as compared to 198 at-bats against right-handed pitching.