Football: This and that from the All Poly Camp
Just got back from watching the All Poly Camp at Bountiful High. It was -- and continues to be -- quite the gathering of high school football talent and top college coaches.
It was rather striking to see all the different uniform and helmet colors and, of course, well-known coaches such as UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow and BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae running drills and teaching techniques.
Camp organizer Alema Te'o said some 270 players participated today, and Friday's total should surpass 300. About 40 coaches helped out.
Last year, 49 kids who participated at the camp signed with Division I programs.
Before they even stepped on practice fields, however, the players took courses on ACT and SAT testing, goal setting, and what it takes to pass the NCAA clearinghouse.
"We teach them that if they can't qualify [academically], they can't play, no matter how good they are," Te'o said.
The term All-Poly does not mean only Pacific Islanders need apply. The camp is open to all ethnicities; however, the majority of coaches are of Polynesian descent.
Chow was scheduled to speak at the close of Thursday's afternoon session. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall is on the docket to speak Friday.
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The player a lot of camp observers wanted to see, linebacker Manti Te'o of Punahou High in Hawaii, was there, and he didn't disappoint. The rising senior who is listed as one of the top five recruits in the entire country by several national sources looked good, although he said school just got out for him a few days ago and he felt a little rusty.
"This is the first [summer] camp I've been to," he said. "Some of these other guys are in better shape."
Te'o said he had 32 scholarship offers at last count, and will start narrowing his list to five or so by the time Punahou's season starts in the fall. Utah and BYU have both offered, and he spent time talking to both BYU's Robert Anae and Utah's Kalani Sitake on Thursday.
I'll have more on Te'o in a later post.
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Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo, the big lineman who has offers from some of the top schools in the country -- LSU, USC, Notre Dame and Miami, to name a few -- was at the camp, but did not participate in any of the physical drills. Su'a-Filo said he and his father decided it would be better to sit this one out to avoid injury.
Next week, he will participate in UCLA's camp on Monday, Stanford's camp on Tuesday and USC's camp on Wednesday, he said.
Su'a-Filo, 6-4, 280, said he currently has 22 offers.
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Word around the camp was that quarterback Jake Heaps, the jurnior-to-be from Skyline High in Washington, plans to attend the camp on Friday.
One of the better quarterbacks who participated on Thursday was Kimo Makaula, Te'o's teammate from Punahou.
Makaula, a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder who looks more like a linebacker, said he has one offer so far, from UNLV. He said BYU and Utah have expressed some interest, along with Washington State and Hawaii.
It was rather striking to see all the different uniform and helmet colors and, of course, well-known coaches such as UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow and BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae running drills and teaching techniques.
Camp organizer Alema Te'o said some 270 players participated today, and Friday's total should surpass 300. About 40 coaches helped out.
Last year, 49 kids who participated at the camp signed with Division I programs.
Before they even stepped on practice fields, however, the players took courses on ACT and SAT testing, goal setting, and what it takes to pass the NCAA clearinghouse.
"We teach them that if they can't qualify [academically], they can't play, no matter how good they are," Te'o said.
The term All-Poly does not mean only Pacific Islanders need apply. The camp is open to all ethnicities; however, the majority of coaches are of Polynesian descent.
Chow was scheduled to speak at the close of Thursday's afternoon session. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall is on the docket to speak Friday.
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The player a lot of camp observers wanted to see, linebacker Manti Te'o of Punahou High in Hawaii, was there, and he didn't disappoint. The rising senior who is listed as one of the top five recruits in the entire country by several national sources looked good, although he said school just got out for him a few days ago and he felt a little rusty.
"This is the first [summer] camp I've been to," he said. "Some of these other guys are in better shape."
Te'o said he had 32 scholarship offers at last count, and will start narrowing his list to five or so by the time Punahou's season starts in the fall. Utah and BYU have both offered, and he spent time talking to both BYU's Robert Anae and Utah's Kalani Sitake on Thursday.
I'll have more on Te'o in a later post.
------------------------------------------
Timpview's Xavier Su'a-Filo, the big lineman who has offers from some of the top schools in the country -- LSU, USC, Notre Dame and Miami, to name a few -- was at the camp, but did not participate in any of the physical drills. Su'a-Filo said he and his father decided it would be better to sit this one out to avoid injury.
Next week, he will participate in UCLA's camp on Monday, Stanford's camp on Tuesday and USC's camp on Wednesday, he said.
Su'a-Filo, 6-4, 280, said he currently has 22 offers.
-------------------------------------------
Word around the camp was that quarterback Jake Heaps, the jurnior-to-be from Skyline High in Washington, plans to attend the camp on Friday.
One of the better quarterbacks who participated on Thursday was Kimo Makaula, Te'o's teammate from Punahou.
Makaula, a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder who looks more like a linebacker, said he has one offer so far, from UNLV. He said BYU and Utah have expressed some interest, along with Washington State and Hawaii.
3 Comments:
Stinks that Chow and Bronco get an official forum to pitch their programs. Did they have to apply? Who chooses the speakers?
Kyle is scheduled to speak in the restroom area Saturday. Everything is kept fair...and balanced.
I wish we had a realistic chance at Manti, but who are we kidding. Its okay, as long as we recruit Texas well, we should always compete in the conference.
Go Utes!!!
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