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Audition time at football combine
WNY high schoolers show their skills to college coaches
By Mary Jo Monnin -- News Sports Reporter
Updated: 05/06/08 9:48 AM
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- North Tonawanda's Mark Christopher was among the 235 high school juniors working out at the combine.
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Scott Drosendahl is certain he could be a productive college quarterback someday. He just has to convince a college coach of that.
The All-Western New York quarterback found a stage Saturday as one of the participants at the Western New York combine for high school juniors. The sixth annual event was held in the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse.
The combine was sponsored by the WNY Football Alliance and Buffalo Bills Youth Football.
High school coaches put the players through position-specific drills so the college coaches could evaluate quickness, athleticism, explosiveness and footwork.
“The combine was a great experience to be looked at by college coaches,” said Drosendahl, who threw for 1,658 yards last season for East Aurora. “The drills went pretty well for me. It raises your level of competition when you’re going against some of the big schools. It’s good experience to get around and see other quarterbacks.”
This is the second year the combine has strayed from the pro format of testing players in the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical leap and shuttle run. Bert Smith, a returning 1,000-yard rusher from Amherst, said the current format serves him better.
“I’d rather show coaches some type of skill other than speed. They want to see speed and power, but I want to show them what I can do with the football,” said Smith. “We want to prove we got some players from Amherst that are just as good as players from other teams.”
Welcome to Buffalo State
Buffalo State coach Paul Shaffner was among the 20 NCAA Division II and III coaches at the combine.
Division I-A and I-AA coaches were prohibited from attending following a recent rule change by the NCAA.
Understandably, Shaffner, the fourth-year coach at Division III Buffalo State, liked the call. No one embraces the hometown kids more than Buffalo State. In 2007, the Bengals’ 83-man roster included 42 players from Western New York (50.6 percent). Erie Community College’s roster was 22.4 percent local (15 of 67).
“This is our breeding ground, this is our lifeblood,” Shaffner said. “I can’t tell you how many kids we’ve recruited that have been at this combine. I would say three-quarters of the young men we recruit have participated in this combine.”
Shaffner was watching a drill designed for linemen. The coach running the drill instructed the players to finish with “a burst.” Shaffner watched closely as only two or three of the 20 boys finished the drill correctly. “Now that’s what we look for,” he said.
While all 235 players at the combine dream of playing football on scholarship, very few will. Across the state, just 18 players who played in 2007 were signed by NCAA Division I programs.
A combine for Division II and III coaches fits Western New York’s dynamic. Blue-chippers are scarce, but the opportunity to play football on the college level isn’t. Western New York always lands its share at Brockport, Cortland, St. John Fisher, Ithaca, Alfred, Rochester, etc.
“More than any other part of the country, within our area, we’ve have a saturation of Division III schools,” said Lancaster coach Len Jankiewicz, who ran the combine with Eric Jantzi of North Tonawanda. “There’s a chance within a 200-mile radius to play at a very competitive level. Some programs are ready to explode on a national level and the bulk of their
rosters are filled with kids within 100 miles of the school and a good number are from Western New York.”
Striving to be Elite
Three Western New York quarterbacks have secured invitations to Saturday’s Elite 11 quarterback regional competition at Penn State.
Kyle Hoppy (Orchard Park), Delano Fabor (St. Francis) and Dae-Shaune Clark (Williamsville South) were recommended by local performance coach Demeris Johnson.
The four-day camp is one of six being held around the country. After the regional tryouts involving 50-60 players, the list will be cut to 11. They will be invited to the Elite 11 quarterback camp July 23-27 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
