KDMC hosts scouting combine
Published 6:46 pm Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Steve Robertson of Scout.com talks to the players during a break Wednesday afternoon from the KDMC Brookhaven Combine. (Photo by Dylan Rubino)
Brandon Lewis of Bogue Chitto runs the 40-yard dash during Wednesday morning at King Field. (Photo by Dylan Rubino)
Michael Stallings of Ole Brook runs the 40-yard dash Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Dylan Rubino)
Rising Brookhaven senior offensive lineman Trace Clopton goes through offensive lineman drills Wednesday morning at King Field. (Photo by Dylan Rubino)
Dell Thigpen of Wesson runs the three cone drill Wednesday morning at King Field during the KDMC Scouting Combine. (Photo by Dylan Rubino)
High School football players throughout Mississippi and Louisiana got a chance to showcase their abilities in front of several scouts Wednesday morning.
King Field at Brookhaven High School was the host site of the KDMC Mississippi-Louisiana All-American Scouting Combine.
The event was a joint hosting effort between King’s Daughters Medical Center and Steve Robertson of Scout.com as an effort to give football players in Southwest Mississippi and portions of Louisiana a chance to prove themselves to be scouted by college football programs in the state.
The day started off Wednesday morning with meetings with the scouts and local coaches. The players then split up into position groups to participate in the 40-yard dash, shuttle runs, three cone drills and more.
The combine was held in Brookhaven last year and after the success KDMC had last year, Robertson wanted to keep the event in Brookhaven for one more year.
“I always wanted to do this combine in Southwest Mississippi,” Robertson said. “We wanted to do something good for the kids of Southwest Mississippi. Philosophically, myself and KDMC had a similar outlook to this event and it’s been a very good partnership for us.”
After the tragedy that struck the Ole Brook community with the death of Jordan Blackwell, Robertson thought about pushing the combine back a week to let the community mourn. After talking to Brookhaven head coach Tommy Clopton, the decision was easy to keep the event as scheduled.
“We left the decision up to the Brookhaven players and coaches and they were pretty much unanimous that they wanted to do it,” Robertson said. “It was a good opportunity to get these kids together for the first time and have a workout. What everybody would want from us is to move forward and do some things to celebrate life.”
The combine showcased the talents of some of the top prospects in the area, but what the event was really meant for was to give recognition to some players that aren’t recruited as much and give them a chance.
Co-Lin assistant coach Jason Guthrie took notice of some of the players that weren’t even on his radar when it comes to recruiting.
“We’ve certainly seen some guys we had on our radar that shined and some guys that we didn’t have on there that really stood out,” Guthrie said. “That’s really the main purpose to see these guys perform. When we’re out here watching the kids perform at these schools, it’s the perfect opportunity for them and us.”
Some recruited players in Brookhaven and throughout south Mississippi have been heavily recruited by Division I programs, something Robertson has taken note of.
Brookhaven is slowly becoming a hotbed for college football recruiting.
“There’s a lot of talent down here and I’ve always felt like Southwest Mississippi was kind of an under-recruited area,” Robertson said. “My hope is that we shine a light on some of these guys and give them an opportunity somewhere.
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