Missouri junior already one of the best

One of the good things about the NIKE Training Camps is that it gives many underclassmen a chance to see where they stack up against some of the best senior talent. That was the case for St. Louis DeSmet Jesuit star athlete junior Wes Kemp.

Kemp, who measured in at 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, looked great at Friday's Columbus NIKE Training Camp, but a slightly tweaked groin kept him from starring in the one-on-ones and running his best times. Still for Kemp, it was a great opportunity to see where he stacks up.

"I learned there is more competition outside of St. Louis," Kemp, who managed to still run a 4.70 40-yard dash time despite the injury, said. "Back home, I'm the big fish in a little pond, but on the national scene like the camp here it's a whole different story because everybody is just as big and just as strong as you.

"This showed me that you have to stay hungry and humble."

Kemp averaged almost 25 yards a reception as a sophomore, putting him on the map as quite possibly the top prospect in the Show Me State for the class of 2008. He was hoping to show coaches and observers at last Friday's camp that he was for sure No. 1 but he said that injury slowed him down too much, and he wasn't able to do one-on-ones.

Nonetheless, there's little doubt the strong, physical and fast receiver will be a big-time prospect to keep your eye on next fall.

"I'm very excited to be known as one of the top players in Missouri, but I just want to try and stay humble," he said. "This really made me hungry because I know now what it's like on the national scene. I'll take that back to St. Louis and keep working hard and try to be one of the best in the nation."

The recruiting attention has already started.

"I get letters every day from," he said. "I really like Notre Dame, Stanford and Mizzou, too. Mizzou says that I'll be an early offer guy. My dad, my brother and my sister went there, so there's some pressure to go there. I just want to pick a school that I'll fit in the best at."