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[fear the ibis]

Thanks in advance.


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[proshares]

One of my favorite offseason events every year is the EA Sports Elite 11 QB Camp in southern California. It is a great chance to see not only the top upcoming high school senior quarterbacks but also a half-dozen or so college QBs who help run the camp. The camaraderie is excellent, and you often get a great window into some of these young talents.

Monday was the first day of the camp. There was a late-afternoon throwing session for the campers, a few promising underclassmen, the college QBs and New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who comes to this event every year since his mentor, Bob Johnson, is the lead coach. After that, there was dinner and then, since it's the opening night of the four-day event, everyone filed into the film room. One by one they are called up to the front to introduce themselves, talk about the system they run back home (almost all of the campers say they run at least 75 percent of their snaps out of the shotgun) and give some detail about them that most people don't know.

Most of the high school QBs appeared nervous to get up in front of their peers and the college guys. They swayed from side to side. They kept tapping their hands almost throughout their four- to five-minute presentations. You might expect big egos when it comes to kids who have been anointed as "four-" and "five-star" prospects, but if they've got them, they fade for the time being. The two kids who sounded the most relaxed in front of the group were Archie Bradley, a dual-sport star from Oklahoma, who said that after sports he'd like to work as an ESPN analyst, and Adam Pittser from Illinois, among the least heralded of the campers.

At one point Bradley was asked how fast he can throw a baseball. He said 97 mph matter of factly; this generated the only "ooohs" of the night.

Pittser's story is different; he plays in a Delaware Wing-T offense. As a result, he usually only gets to pass the ball maybe five to 10 times per game. Some of the heads in the room turned and looked at each other like the kid just revealed he's trying to overcome some personal tragedy. He said he didn't expect much recruiting interest -- a QB who is rarely seen throwing? -- so he hustled in the June camp circuit and tried to get noticed at MAC schools. It worked. He has offers from almost every school he performed at. He said he's hoping to get an offer from a bigger school so he can play at the highest level possible. The six college QBs each nodded their heads as they listened to the way he has approached his recruitment.

When it's time for the college guys to speak, Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson was called up first. Johnson began by talking about how he was a basketball recruit and a backup high school QB until the starting quarterback missed a class. Johnson got his shot and proceeded to complete almost every pass that game. He spoke about personal growth and leadership more than anything. He's learning here too, he said.

"I saw how Sanchez was learning stuff from Bob [Johnson] today," he said.

Truth be told, Johnson speaks better than almost every college guy I've ever covered; he is a better speaker than most of the coaches and most of us who cover them, too. Listening to him talk about how he had to mature after his father, a former Aggies' receiver-turned-school principal, died, you find yourself thinking about how proud his family must be about how he's turned out. He walked back to his seat to applause. I felt bad for the guys who had to speak after him.

Each of the QBs who followed handled themselves well. TCU's Andy Dalton's story was about having to split time as a high school junior and not having much recruiting interest till TCU gave him an offer two weeks into his senior year. Miami's Jacory Harris came up and gave a fully-developed speech, emphasizing three key points: patience, character and motivation.

"As the quarterback, you are the face of the program," he said. "Little kids look up to you. Grown men look up to you."

Kirk Cousins from Michigan State told a story that I thought resonated more than any other this night. It was his story of perseverance that began with him breaking his ankle in his first varsity game during his junior season of high school. He said he had zero offers when he played his last high school game. In early November, Western Michigan and Toledo offered him. Those were the choices he was mulling over during Christmas. Then, a new coaching staff came in at nearby Michigan State, and highly touted MSU commit Keith Nichol opted to go to Oklahoma.

A high school coach in California who had seen Cousins play told an old college buddy -- MSU assistant Dan Enos -- about Cousins, and the Spartans offered the Holland, Mich., native. However, a few days later, he learned MSU was signing another, more highly touted, QB in his class. Cousins' demeanor through all of this was very modest: He would work to get better; he "wasn't quite there yet."

He said the part about him not being quite there yet or a work in a progress a few times, echoing Harris' point about patience.

In Cousins' freshman year at MSU, he was put on the scout team because the two QBs in his class were ahead of him on the depth chart. Rather than take that as a negative sign, he embraced the opportunity.

"It was a great thing for me," he said. "What I needed was reps, and every day I was going against our best players."

Cousins was told that, after the season, the depth chart would be wide open again. Great, he thought, but then he learned Nichol was transferring back from OU.

Getty ImagesKirk Cousins looked impressive at Elite 11 -- both as a speaker and a thrower.

"But that's OK; I'll just keep competing," Cousins said.

Last year, Cousins emerged as the Spartans starting QB and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten. Nichol is set to play some receiver and will get work running some Wildcat for MSU.

"It's all about your attitude," Cousins said, underscoring his story. "Whatever your passion is, find it and go do it."

The first question he was asked was from Jeff Driskel, who has committed to the Florida Gators.

"How do you impart leadership when you're on the scout team and just a freshman?" he asked.

Cousins said you can be a leader from the scout team. He approached things as if the scout team was "his little pod" to command.

"Build relationships with these guys, because some day these younger guys are going to be starters, and you're going to be going into battle with them on a much larger stage," he said.

Mizzou's Blaine Gabbert went up and used the blackboard to show his mindset, writing down the letters "FEPWDM," which means "for every person whoever doubted me," Gabbert said. Translation: Even though Gabbert came to Mizzou as one of the rare five-star guys and was called "five-star" by some of folks in the program early on, he plays -- and prepares -- like he always has something to prove.

Tyrod Taylor, the last college QB to speak, went into detail about how trying it can be to share time as a quarterback. I suspect that perspective was one a lot of campers in the room hadn't mulled over too much until Taylor explained how it worked for him.

It really was an eye-opening night for a lot of folks in the room, myself included.
[h3]Around College Football On July 20, 2010[/h3]
• A few additional impressions from the first day of the camp: Cousins and Dalton were very sharp and threw the ball even better than I'd heard.

• Of all the campers, Driskel stands out physically. I realize he hasn't won much in high school, but he just looks like a big-timer.

• Forget about offers or stars for a moment. Pittser was one of the top seniors out here. He has good size and he throws the ball really well. His father told me that Pittser has been working with former NFL QB Jeff Christensen (father of one-time Iowa QB Jake Christensen), and it looks like it's really paying off. He's smooth. Pittser seems like the kind of QB who ends up in the MAC and blossoms into a star there, although I suspect some bigger name school will jump on him soon.

• The high school QB who may have generated the most buzz of the group was 2012 quarterback Zach Kline, who is at the camp as a ball boy. Every year there are a few promising younger QBs who come as ball boys and get to throw, and the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder from San Ramon, Calif., is one who made the most of the chance. (He can lift too, via this video.) A few of the people I spoke with agreed that Kline looked as good as most of the seniors, if not better.

I spoke with Kline last night. He said he's worked with former Cal coach Roger Theder for years.

"I've been going to him since I was in the fifth grade," Kline said.

Keep an eye on Kline. I suspect you'll hear a lot more about him soon.

 

[proshares]

One of my favorite offseason events every year is the EA Sports Elite 11 QB Camp in southern California. It is a great chance to see not only the top upcoming high school senior quarterbacks but also a half-dozen or so college QBs who help run the camp. The camaraderie is excellent, and you often get a great window into some of these young talents.

Monday was the first day of the camp. There was a late-afternoon throwing session for the campers, a few promising underclassmen, the college QBs and New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who comes to this event every year since his mentor, Bob Johnson, is the lead coach. After that, there was dinner and then, since it's the opening night of the four-day event, everyone filed into the film room. One by one they are called up to the front to introduce themselves, talk about the system they run back home (almost all of the campers say they run at least 75 percent of their snaps out of the shotgun) and give some detail about them that most people don't know.

Most of the high school QBs appeared nervous to get up in front of their peers and the college guys. They swayed from side to side. They kept tapping their hands almost throughout their four- to five-minute presentations. You might expect big egos when it comes to kids who have been anointed as "four-" and "five-star" prospects, but if they've got them, they fade for the time being. The two kids who sounded the most relaxed in front of the group were Archie Bradley, a dual-sport star from Oklahoma, who said that after sports he'd like to work as an ESPN analyst, and Adam Pittser from Illinois, among the least heralded of the campers.

At one point Bradley was asked how fast he can throw a baseball. He said 97 mph matter of factly; this generated the only "ooohs" of the night.

Pittser's story is different; he plays in a Delaware Wing-T offense. As a result, he usually only gets to pass the ball maybe five to 10 times per game. Some of the heads in the room turned and looked at each other like the kid just revealed he's trying to overcome some personal tragedy. He said he didn't expect much recruiting interest -- a QB who is rarely seen throwing? -- so he hustled in the June camp circuit and tried to get noticed at MAC schools. It worked. He has offers from almost every school he performed at. He said he's hoping to get an offer from a bigger school so he can play at the highest level possible. The six college QBs each nodded their heads as they listened to the way he has approached his recruitment.

When it's time for the college guys to speak, Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson was called up first. Johnson began by talking about how he was a basketball recruit and a backup high school QB until the starting quarterback missed a class. Johnson got his shot and proceeded to complete almost every pass that game. He spoke about personal growth and leadership more than anything. He's learning here too, he said.

"I saw how Sanchez was learning stuff from Bob [Johnson] today," he said.

Truth be told, Johnson speaks better than almost every college guy I've ever covered; he is a better speaker than most of the coaches and most of us who cover them, too. Listening to him talk about how he had to mature after his father, a former Aggies' receiver-turned-school principal, died, you find yourself thinking about how proud his family must be about how he's turned out. He walked back to his seat to applause. I felt bad for the guys who had to speak after him.

Each of the QBs who followed handled themselves well. TCU's Andy Dalton's story was about having to split time as a high school junior and not having much recruiting interest till TCU gave him an offer two weeks into his senior year. Miami's Jacory Harris came up and gave a fully-developed speech, emphasizing three key points: patience, character and motivation.

"As the quarterback, you are the face of the program," he said. "Little kids look up to you. Grown men look up to you."

Kirk Cousins from Michigan State told a story that I thought resonated more than any other this night. It was his story of perseverance that began with him breaking his ankle in his first varsity game during his junior season of high school. He said he had zero offers when he played his last high school game. In early November, Western Michigan and Toledo offered him. Those were the choices he was mulling over during Christmas. Then, a new coaching staff came in at nearby Michigan State, and highly touted MSU commit Keith Nichol opted to go to Oklahoma.

A high school coach in California who had seen Cousins play told an old college buddy -- MSU assistant Dan Enos -- about Cousins, and the Spartans offered the Holland, Mich., native. However, a few days later, he learned MSU was signing another, more highly touted, QB in his class. Cousins' demeanor through all of this was very modest: He would work to get better; he "wasn't quite there yet."

He said the part about him not being quite there yet or a work in a progress a few times, echoing Harris' point about patience.

In Cousins' freshman year at MSU, he was put on the scout team because the two QBs in his class were ahead of him on the depth chart. Rather than take that as a negative sign, he embraced the opportunity.

"It was a great thing for me," he said. "What I needed was reps, and every day I was going against our best players."

Cousins was told that, after the season, the depth chart would be wide open again. Great, he thought, but then he learned Nichol was transferring back from OU.

Getty ImagesKirk Cousins looked impressive at Elite 11 -- both as a speaker and a thrower.

"But that's OK; I'll just keep competing," Cousins said.

Last year, Cousins emerged as the Spartans starting QB and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten. Nichol is set to play some receiver and will get work running some Wildcat for MSU.

"It's all about your attitude," Cousins said, underscoring his story. "Whatever your passion is, find it and go do it."

The first question he was asked was from Jeff Driskel, who has committed to the Florida Gators.

"How do you impart leadership when you're on the scout team and just a freshman?" he asked.

Cousins said you can be a leader from the scout team. He approached things as if the scout team was "his little pod" to command.

"Build relationships with these guys, because some day these younger guys are going to be starters, and you're going to be going into battle with them on a much larger stage," he said.

Mizzou's Blaine Gabbert went up and used the blackboard to show his mindset, writing down the letters "FEPWDM," which means "for every person whoever doubted me," Gabbert said. Translation: Even though Gabbert came to Mizzou as one of the rare five-star guys and was called "five-star" by some of folks in the program early on, he plays -- and prepares -- like he always has something to prove.

Tyrod Taylor, the last college QB to speak, went into detail about how trying it can be to share time as a quarterback. I suspect that perspective was one a lot of campers in the room hadn't mulled over too much until Taylor explained how it worked for him.

It really was an eye-opening night for a lot of folks in the room, myself included.
[h3]Around College Football On July 20, 2010[/h3]
• A few additional impressions from the first day of the camp: Cousins and Dalton were very sharp and threw the ball even better than I'd heard.

• Of all the campers, Driskel stands out physically. I realize he hasn't won much in high school, but he just looks like a big-timer.

• Forget about offers or stars for a moment. Pittser was one of the top seniors out here. He has good size and he throws the ball really well. His father told me that Pittser has been working with former NFL QB Jeff Christensen (father of one-time Iowa QB Jake Christensen), and it looks like it's really paying off. He's smooth. Pittser seems like the kind of QB who ends up in the MAC and blossoms into a star there, although I suspect some bigger name school will jump on him soon.

• The high school QB who may have generated the most buzz of the group was 2012 quarterback Zach Kline, who is at the camp as a ball boy. Every year there are a few promising younger QBs who come as ball boys and get to throw, and the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder from San Ramon, Calif., is one who made the most of the chance. (He can lift too, via this video.) A few of the people I spoke with agreed that Kline looked as good as most of the seniors, if not better.

I spoke with Kline last night. He said he's worked with former Cal coach Roger Theder for years.

"I've been going to him since I was in the fifth grade," Kline said.

Keep an eye on Kline. I suspect you'll hear a lot more about him soon.

 

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Preciate it

 

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[pharelfor3]

nice article

 

[pharelfor3]

nice article