Weather, prospects highlight final NIKE

EUGENE, Ore.-Approximately 400 prospects from 33 states, two Canadian provinces, and one territory worked out during sometimes rainy and sometimes sunny weather conditions Saturday for the Eugene NIKE camp at the University of Oregon. The camp was held using Autzen Stadium and the indoor Moshofsky center.

The event was the last stop on what was a very successful NIKE camp tour, and despite occurring during a dead period where coaches couldn't attend (unless they had a son in the camp), the talent level was still very high.

"I think it went well," noted StudentSportsFootball.com recruiting analyst Greg Biggins. "We had two fields as opposed to the four we normally have. We had a lot of good numbers and had some pretty good kids."

The top SPARQ rating in the camp went to Adam Kravitz of Olympia (Wash.), whose rating will place him among the top ten in the entire country. Kravitz was impressive all around and can expect his stock to skyrocket after his performance over the weekend.

Some players who made a name for themselves at the camp included Quentin Carter, who has three offers from Colorado State, Utah, Oregon State at this point in the recruiting process. Carter, the No. 7 overall prospect in the state of Nevada, enjoyed the camp, despite blowing out a pair of shoes during the testing portion. He said, "That's the nicest camp I've ever been too. I felt I did real good in the one on ones and I think I can say I was showing my skills."

Raymond Fry of Mariner and Gabe Miller from Lake Oswego also had solid camps. Biggins said of the trio, "Carter was definitely a sleeper who had a good camp. Raymond Fry, he was a player and (Gabe Miller) from Lake Oswego was definitely a top player."

He added, "Overall the talent level was a lot better than what we thought going in. We had kids from Georgia, Hawaii and California plus a lot of the top kids from the Northwest. There was no Jonathan Stewart this tear, but the talent was better depth wise than last year."

One of the minor difficulties the camp had logisitically was limited field space as Oregon's practice fields, where the camp is usually held, were closed for renovation. However as Biggins noted, "It still went really well. We had one group on the stadium field all day and it flowed real well."

At quarterback, a couple of players really stood out. One was Kevin Riley of Beaverton High School, who threw the ball very well and has shown that the top quarterback in Oregon is going to be a two-horse race between himself and Cody Kempt, who also had a good showing in Eugene. Riley however has been very impressive throughout the camp circuit.

Another player that stood out according to Biggins was Ingraham's Jeffrey Solomon. Biggins said, "Solomon also worked out with the receivers. He looked great running routes but also had one of the best arms in the camp." Also showing strong at the position was Class of 2007 signal-caller Jason Munns, a 6-foot-5 athlete from Southridge High School in Kennewick, Wash.

The running back position was led by a few athletes from the state of Washington - Hudson's Bay speedster Ezra Dickerson, Lakes' Craig Garner and Mead's Skylar Jessen. Jessen had one of the top shuttle times in the camp, despite his ankle still not being 100 percent, at 3.97 seconds. His 40 time of 4.6 was slower than last year's 4.47, but Biggins noted that Jessen "is a big time player. He is legit. Ezra also had one of the better camps overall."

Another Class of 2007 athlete showed well here, Kennedy RB Nate Williams. He said, "It was a great experience. I learned a lot and was taught a lot. I saw there were some aspects of my game I need to work on and I'm going to go back and work on that. It will push me to work harder."

The line crop was real solid with plenty of top athletes, led by Chris Bush of Rogers High School in Puyallup, Wash. Also impressing Biggins were underclassman Miles Wade, as Biggins noted, "I saw him kill some people in the one on ones. He's an underclassman that is going to be a monster. I also thought the Chris Guarnero kid was very good. He definitely looks the part."

Overall, the linebacker crop wasn't particularly strong, however, Gabe Miller looked good both with the tight ends and with the linebackers. But the player that really stood out was Class of 2007 player Tanner Shuck from national powerhouse Jenks, Okla. - he will be one to watch in recruiting circles next year.

Three defensive backs really stood out above the rest. Fry really jumped out despite a lack of size, but has the speed to keep up with anyone. Chad Peppars out of Loyola High School in Los Angeles dominated as did Simeon McCrae out of North Salem, Ore.

The camp was a rousing success and Biggins expects there to be a camp at Eugene for a while into the future. He said, "There is a lot of talent in the Northwest, and this camp doesn't just draw from Oregon. We had a lot of kids here from Washington as well as some kids from as far away as Alaska, Montana and even Samoa."

For detailed results of the Eugene Nike Camp, including every 40 time, vertical jump and bench press mark, you must visit StudentSportsFootball.com StudentSportsFootball.com. Student Sports is the organizer of all Nike Training Camps.