It was in fact the biggest camp of the Year and perhaps the biggest ever. Despite the long lines and huge crowd of 700 campers the NW ELITE Football Camp sponsored by Adrenaline Fundraising was a total success. Not only did the boys get top notch coaching from scores of collegiate coaches they also got reps. Something that was hard to manage at a Camp of this size.
Camp Owners Cole Morgan (WSU-CWU) and Eddie Behringer (UPS) had no issues taking over for camp founder Jason Gesser. In fact they almost doubled the attendance and have already made plans for next year on the same date and will be taking sign ups before too long! The two were awash in coaches, staff, supporters, and top talent too as the camp took off. Before long 4 fields were full and it was on!
While no one could have watched the camp in it's entirety the staff from Rivals.com spread out including myself, NFL player and former Oregon Duck Damon Griffin, Glen Lewis of Blue Chip Sports Video, guest analyst and photo guru James Kielland, and a team of three other staffers. We were busy and so it will take some time to get these top kids their due.
Today we start with the review of the guys who won the NW Elite All Camp Awards.
David Ajamu of Shelton High came in as an unknown and left with the Camp TE MVP. This 6'4", 240 pound hard charger has soft hands, D-1 size, and a Wyoming offer in his pocket! Total sleeper who will now become in our view a highly sought after TE and DE. Great Job By David!
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Jake Gall (left) is on the Rivals.com/WashingtonPreps.com list of elite 2 way players. The Cle-Elum HS stud has displayed over and over he has the potential to be special. He won a RB MVP here and also gained his second offer as PSU offered him after Camp. On the Right is Danny Wilson of Bothell who made a huge move at the camp showing a fluid running style, the ability to catch, and some great top end speed. There is no doubt Danny is on his way and this Camp MVP is recognition of that fact. Boy Bothell HS where he plays is going to be one tough team this season!
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Darrin Laufasa was once again an MVP. The 6'2", 218 pound pure athlete went with the Linebackers and showed why he is considered such a hot prospect. Coach Gesser and Akey of Idaho have offered him and PSU Offered after camp. Wyoming and a host of Big Sky Schools are on him too. But the fleet footed stud who also plays running back is headed to WSU and other Summer Camps. It will be hard to imagine that he does not leave there with offers. Great kid and great result for him.
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On the left is Cour d' Alene HS stud Linebacker Chase Blakeley who won the second LB MVP. He is joined on his right by Mason Stone of Mount Lake Terrace who had a monster day beating out the likes of Tere Calloway for one of the DB MVP Awards. The Other DB MVP went to Graham-Kapowsin HS Junior Kahlil Dawson who also received his first offer at the Camp with Wyoming giving him a verbal offer. The last kid there on the right is 2015 grad and projected top recruit Chico McClatcher of Federal Way HS. Chico has mad skills across the board and continues to wow fans and coaches at these camps. He took Home the Rising Star MVP!
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The O'linemen put on a show for all to enjoy as the 1-1 battles were waging like a good old Hatfield and McCoys Feud! Winners named by the elite college coaching staff were Everett High School's Chris Miedema, the 6'8"-340 pound giant from Wenatchee and WSU commit Cody O'Connell (center), and from Oregon's Mountain View High School in Bend Chad Texas Bach. They all brought a little something different to the fray to earn their awards. Miedema has a big frame and is physical, O'Connell has obvious massive proportion rarely seen but is quick on his feet and aggressive, and Bach is a big lean body with technique few if any linemen showcase at the High School level. Bach is closing in on offers we feel from this Camp showing and Miedema cemented himself as a top linemen in the NW going forward.
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In the QB category it was tough. There were so many great looking athletes and so many of them threw the ball so well. In the end the awards went to Isaac Dotson of Newport High School who now has 5 offers led by WSU (left), and to 2014 Grad Nick Mitchell of Mt. Si HS in Snoqualmie, WA who showed off the Cannon where his arm used to be and accuracy too.
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The Wide Receivers were also a loaded bunch. Winning top awards are Kamana Adriano of Interlake High School who was crisp and aggressive in his efforts and the always flowing Michael Tate of Federal Way. Tate has an offer and has others closing in and Adriano based on what we heard is on his way now if he just puts the pads on and gets to some of the college camps. They are joined here by Camp Co-Founder Eddie Behringer.
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The Defensive Line MVP's were left to Right: 6'6", 285 Pound Desmound Thompson of Kennedy, Cody Moorhead of Hazen High, and Samson Ebukam of David Douglas in Portland, Oregon. Thompson was unstoppable and other then he has only played one season this Western Samoan is the finest D'End / Tackle in terms of physicality we have seen this year. Moorhead was a known entity but this camp raised his status and we see offers headed his way. Samson was perhaps the surprise of the day showing a quickness off the ball that had guys like Coach Tosh Lupoi of UW fired way up! Samson is going to receive some serious attention from at least the D-1 AA schools now.
Closing Thoughts:
Our Staff and football family wrote about this camp coming into it. There was no question it was set up to be the best Value of the year at only $75. Adding to that the Camp promised 17 schools and delivered on that promise.
The fact that the camp was well staffed and well run made for a smooth delivery and a great time. The Camp shirts were at least a $35 dollar value thanks to Adrenaline Fundraising who work with 70% of all High Schools in the Region; they are to be commended for their support. The fact is the camp delivered.
We rated it a Super Value coming in and now that is it over it goes up as a 5 Star Rating for Football Camps in the Pacific Northwest.
To see kids actually offered at the event and many many more earn themselves some notoriety was just as rewarding.
We will be back next year and hope to see all of you there too.
Look for positional summaries and indepth coverage and film to follow in the days ahead.
I am the Founder of the Northwest Prep Report. For 17 years I have led the way to the best of my ability to promote the best talent from the Pacific NW free of charge. It is my pleasure to continue to serve High School athletes from all over the Pacific NW and beyond. Formerly with Rivals.com my sites have now crossed over 8,000 stories, 7 MILLION Video Views, and 15,000 regular followers. Together with the best football people in the USA we pursue excellence for our NW athletes.