THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080598
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
The college coaches said jump. They said run. They said lift.
To each command, more than 100 high school football players gathered in Norview High School's gym Tuesday afternoon responded the only way they could - ``How high? How fast? How much?''
Easy. The higher, the faster, the heavier, the better.
This was the second Tidewater Coaches Corner Football Combine at Norview. Meat on the hoof, so to speak, high school style, which on this day was forced into cramped quarters by the rain.
Under cover, the flesh market hummed with aspiring college football players in jerseys, shorts and sneakers performing fundamental athletic feats - shuttle run, vertical leap, broad jump, bench press, a 20-yard sprint to replace the washed-out 40-yarder - for the edification of recruiters from 28 colleges.
Notre Dame was there. So was Elon. Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Navy, Norfolk State and Clemson. Chowan, Marshall and Towson State.
Men with notepads and sweep second hands on their watches, who mingled among the talent with nary a word, but the occasional well-placed glance, to hopefuls from Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake schools.
You speak to a high school kid in May, you give the NCAA license to come down on your college with all its wrath. Such are the limitations in football recruiting these days - one in-person evaluation in May, one in October and November combined and no actual contact until December.
Given that time squeeze, mini-versions of the famous NFL combine are springing up everywhere, and more each year, to help recruiters by providing high school eligible players mass exposure.
Virginia Beach has staged a combine for a few years now. Maury coach Bob Pennenbacker took his cue from the Beach last year and, along with former Norview coach Will Robinson, organized the Norview bash.
They have one in Northern Virginia, in Maryland, in Pittsburgh, among other places. Sunday in Los Angeles, nearly 600 players turned up for an extensive combine that included quarterbacks throwing and linemen blocking.
The Virginia High School League prohibits football drills at combines. But top prospects like Indian River's James Boyd, perhaps the state's hottest recruit next season, and Norview's David Martin were free to run and leap in what looked like a densely populated gym class.
They, like everyone else, were there to display sheer athletic tools, especially quickness and speed. ``You can't always get that off tape,'' Virginia assistant coach Tom O'Brien said. ``You always want to see for yourself.''
Not that the presence of Boyd and Martin were exactly required. Boyd, the Braves' quarterback, already has eight Division I scholarship offers. Martin, a lanky receiver, is at five and counting.
But this was a showcase, and young, confident athletes thrive on showcases. So they joined a bunch of their teammates, with little thought that slipping in the shuttle run, as Boyd did for instance, would hurt their stock.
``I ain't worried about that shuttle run,'' Boyd said. ``Some people this might help and some it might hurt. Some people might not be good at stuff like this, but are just good football players.''
Everybody knows Martin can jump. He just wanted to know how well, to challenge himself to improve. ``It gives me something to reach for,'' Martin said.
Bigger and better is Pennenbacker's goal for the combine, too. With the continued sponsorship of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Pennenbacker hopes to invite the Peninsula schools next year and push the turnout to well over 200 athletes.
As it was, each high school and college coach in attendance Tuesday will receive a computer printout with the height, weight, grade-point average, times, leaps and lifts of the 115 or so players who participated.
Clearly, few secrets remain in modern-day recruiting. For kids and colleges, combines are just another way to make sure every stone has been overturned. ILLUSTRATION: Tidewater Coaches Corner Football Combine
The flesh market hummed with aspiring college football players in
jerseys, shorts and sneakers performing fundamental athletic feats.
[Color Photo]
LAWRENCE JACKSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Harry Levin, an offensive guard/defensive tackle at Maury High
School, turns it on for a bevy of college coaches.
by CNB