February 5th, 2010
When players weren’t running, jumping, lifting or drilling last weekend, they were buzzing about the rumors that Greenville head coach Jim Phillips, one of the National Athletic Combine’s directors, was headed to Dobie.
So far, nothing’s official. Stil, it looked like a foregone conclusion. Though Greenville went from 2-8 to 6-4 in two seasons under Phillips, the enticement of a Class 5A job in the Houston area looked like too much to turn down.
It won’t be easy at Dobie. Already, one coach took the job with the Longhorns — even addressing the players — before withdrawing from the position. Should Phillips head to Pasadena, he’ll have to repair some wounded egos along with all the other changes that are part of taking the helm.
We wish Phillips luck in whatever he decides.
Tags: Dobie, Greenville, Jim Phillips
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February 4th, 2010
Here are a few notes from last weekend’s National Athletic Combine event in Kilgore, during which we tested over 100 kids total spread over Saturday and Sunday.
– The five fastest times in the 40 came from Christian Sibley of Kilgore (4.63); DeMarcus Brown of Henderson (4.67); and three athletes who recorded 4.68-second 40s: Kendall Sanders of Athens, Ladarius Anthony of Kilgore and Chris Bailey of Diboll.
– The event was the subject of stories by two TV stations (Tyler’s KLTV and CBS 19, also of Tyler) and a newspaper (Longview News-Journal), with David Smoak of Smoaky.com (formerly of KTBB radio) making an appearance as well.
– Twenty-three schools were represented on Saturday, and 12 more on Sunday. Players came from as far away as Louisiana.
– The buzz around the combine was the possible exit of Greenville head coach Jim Phillips for Pasadena Dobie High School. Phillips is one of the directors of the National Athletic Combine.
Tags: east texas combine, Kilgore Combine
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January 28th, 2010
The excitement is growing as National Athletic Combine nears its first event of 2010, the East Texas Region combine.
We’ll be at the Kilgore High School indoor practice facility at 711 North Longview Street. We’re expecting 60-70 student-athletes to participate both Saturday and Sunday, and they’ll get tested with the latest technology and state-of-the-art tools not previously available in the evaluation of high school athletes.
Check-in is at 7 a.m. with the combine starting at 8 a.m. We’re anticipating going until at least mid-afternoon with drills, sprints, jumps and reps, then after lunch we’ll conclude things with position-specific drills. Check our Facebook page next week for footage, news and quotes from the big weekend.
Our next event will be the North Texas Region combine Feb. 20-21 in Prosper.
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January 28th, 2010
The Senior Bowl is the primary showcase for the best seniors eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft. As usual, a considerable number of the 100-plus players making up the North and South rosters are from Texas. Here’s a look at those local to the Lone Star State:
NORTH
Danario Alexander, Missouri, WR (Marlin)
Daryl Washington, TCU, LB (Irving)
Sean Weatherspoon Missouri, LB (Jasper)
SOUTH
Ciron Black, LSU, OT (Tyler)
Perrish Cox, Baylor, CB (Waco)
Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas, LB (Hallsville)
J.D. Walton, Baylor, C (Allen)
Jeremy Williams, Tulane, WR (Baytown)
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January 25th, 2010
Florida head coach Urban Meyer doesn’t lose a lot of recruiting battles. One player who did elude his recruiting pitch, however, is Florida State cornerback Patrick Robinson, who despite being wooed by the Gators wound up in Tallahassee.
His story, told after he was interrupted in his studying of the Senior Bowl’s South team playbook, illustrates the value of going to camps.
“I attended a Nike Camp in Miami, and also a camp at (the University of) Florida,” he said. “They offered me (a scholarship) at Florida as a junior. Florida had recruited me hard, but when I was at the camp, that’s when I earned my scholarship offer.”
Tags: Florida Gators, Patrick Robinson, Senior Bowl, Urban Meyer
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January 21st, 2010
UCLA WR Terrence Austin, a late entry to the rosters for the 2010 East-West Shrine Game being played in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., this weekend, is a strong believer in the power of combines for spreading the word about a player’s talent.
“My sophomore year in high school, I got introduced to combines,” he said from the practice field Wednesday. “My coaches told me all the time to go to them, but my parents told me not to worry about it. They said I wasn’t ready, and if I went down there and ran a bad time, it would get around and it would be hard to get noticed anymore, so I sat back and watched.
A year later, combines were becoming so prevalent that his parents relented, and he’s glad they did.
“My junior year, everybody was going to Palo Alto and Los Angeles with combines, so I went,” he said. “I went in with two scholarship offers, but after that, a lot more schools started offering.”
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January 19th, 2010
Everyone from the school counselor to your parents tells you grades are important. From experience, California cornerback Verran Tucker, a member of the West squad at the 2010 East-West Shrine Game, can tell you exactly why they’re important.
Tucker took the road less traveled to the cusp of NFL stardom, going from Fairfax High in Torrance, Calif., to El Camino College before finally landing in Berkeley. He said that though everything worked out for him, it wouldn’t have happened that way if he’d taken care of business in high school.
“Grades are important,” he said in an animated, but cordial, way. “I know that’s what everybody always says, but you really don’t understand it until you’ve been through it. Until you have to take the (junior college) route, or you have to do extra instruction, or you miss a game, you don’t understand it.”
Tags: East-West Shrine Game, Shrine Game, Verran Tucker
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January 18th, 2010
The National Athletic Combine goes to Orlando, Fla., this week to take in practices for the 2010 East-West Shrine Game. While here, we asked BYU QB Max Hall, who is expected to be drafted in the middle rounds after a storied career in Provo, what he would tell a high school junior looking to improve his chances for a scholarship.
“Nowadays, it’s all about gettting exposure,” said the personable Cougar. “You got to go to a lot of camps, as many as you can. But you also have to make sure you’re a leader on your team, and of course perform well. That gets you to the next level.
We’ll have looks from more players as the week goes forward.
Tags: East-West Shrine Game, Max Hall, Shrine Game
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