The annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis is one of the largest and most celebrated events on the football landscape. Star college players running 40-yard sprints and doing agility and position exercises in hopes of getting noticed by pro coaches.
But before any of those players got to that point, they needed to be noticed by a college coach as they were among the thousands who play high school football every year.
More than 100 players got that chance and were seen by dozens of college coaches Thursday as part of a combine-style standout event at Battle Creek Central’s CW Post Field.
Hosted by Bearcat Head Coach Lorin Granger and his staff, BCC invited football players from 14 schools throughout Southwest Michigan to a Spring Evaluation Showcase.
“It’s free and a great opportunity for these kids to be seen,” Granger said. “If a kid can’t go to a college campus or camp, which all costs money to pay for camp and travel, it helps that kind of kid. And here you are seen by the same as many coaches as if you had attended 50 camps in one summer.”
The BCC showcase was part of an organized three-school action that ran throughout the day on Thursday. All under the same management, there was an 8am show at Chelsea High School followed by a stop in Jackson before the day ended at the BCC.
These showcases reflect what has been happening in the Detroit area for years, led by local high school coaches.
“We wanted to emulate what Detroit did in terms of ratings,” Granger said. “They can do it because they have 12 schools within five minutes of each other. But if we want to do something like that for our area, it’s too difficult to ask the college coaches to come here and then maybe all the way to St Joe. So we tried to consolidate and bring several coaches together in one place.
“Detroit did their thing on Tuesday and Wednesday and we were hoping that a lot of coaches would just stay in state an extra day and come here today. We hope to have 60 to 70 college coaches here today.”
In addition to the BCC football players, other teams were also represented, including Harper Creek, Pennfield, Olivet, Galesburg-Augusta, Olivet and Colon, as well as schools from the Kalamazoo area such as Portage Northern, Kalamazoo Central and Mattawan.
According to colon trainer Robbie Hattan, the advantage for a small school is great.
“Schools our size, especially 8-man football schools, don’t always have the opportunity to present their children like that,” Hattan said. “It gives our kids a chance to step in front of some scouts and show we can play with the big boys.”
The BCC football field has been broken up into various stations, including a 40-yard dash, Kegel drills, and individual position drills. Almost all of the players were high school students and juniors looking to attract attention ahead of next fall’s college season.
Harper Creek’s Logan Wood, who didn’t have much playing time at his preferred quarterback position a year ago as a junior, is hoping events like that at BCC coupled with a great senior year will help him achieve his dream of becoming a varsity athlete.
“There are several schools here with a lot of good talent,” Wood said. “It’s like a rabbit, you see someone in front of you, you want to chase that and get that and try to have some good times and get noticed.”
Contact Bill Broderick at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick