DAILY LEADER / JAMES O. COVINGTON / KDMC certified athletic trainer Christian Johnston measures De’Martre Collins of Bude at the 2015 Miss-Lou All American Combine Wednesday.

Kentwood senior Shyheim Carter entered the building with all eyes on him, while McComb sophomore Gykeithen McCray left the building with a life-changing performance.

The 2015 version of the Miss-Lou All-American Combine sponsored by Kings Daughters Medical Center featured players and coaches from Long Beach to Louisville that participated in Wednesday’s event held at the spacious KDMC Performance Center in Brookhaven.

Directed by Scout.com recruiting expert Steve Robertson, the combine was headlined by Carter, a 5-Star recruit (Alabama commit), from nearby Kentwood, La. The fleet-footed defensive back drew an offer from the Crimson Tide last summer, before the rest of the nation followed suit with offers coming from Florida State, LSU, Michigan, and Notre Dame to name a few.

“I’m 100% to Alabama,” said the 6-foot, 180-pound Carter. “I came to the Miss-Lou Combine to compete today, and to get ready for Nike’s event ‘The Opening’ in July. As a Louisiana boy, I wanted to test myself against some of Mississippi’s best.”

Carter did not disappoint, as his first 40-yard dash attempt drew a cast of stopwatches that clocked him with an electrifying 4.35. He also backed that up with a 10.1 in the broad jump and drew rave reviews in the L-cone drill.

For Carter, he’s already one of the nation’s top high school football players but others also made their mark too.

“This event is geared towards finding the hidden gems each and every year,” said Robertson, who graded and tweeted about the top performers he saw. “South Mississippi always has some talented athletes, names like Jamie Collins and Gabe Jackson that’s in the NFL, Walter Payton and Lance Alworth that are in the Hall of Fame, and Brett Favre a future Hall of Famer.”

The last two Miss-Lou combines have been showcase events that helped two former Ole Brook Panthers in Leo Lewis (Mississippi State) and Fred Trevillion (San Diego State) gain scholarship offers. Lewis was rated the nation’s top inside linebacker in the 2015 Class and named an Under-Armor All-American.

“Look at Leo and Fred, this event helped them,” added Robertson. “Each and every year we hold three of these in the State (Brookhaven, Canton, Tupelo) and kids get noticed that wasn’t noticed before.”

De’Martre Collins, whose Franklin County bloodlines run deep, was one prospect that made the most of the opportunity. Collins ran a 4.50 in the 40-yard dash, and was a finalist in the ‘Fastest Man Challenge’ at the combine. The rising junior accounted for 12 touchdowns last year at quarterback. He’s expected to play slot receiver and defensive back as a junior at FCHS.

“I enjoyed today,” said Collins, whose older brother DeHendret Collins starred at Ole Miss and cousin Jamie Collins is a Super Bowl Champion as the New England Patriots starting linebacker. “My goal was to do enough to get noticed. I hope I did that.”

North Pike rising senior QB Juwan Adams, who is recieving offers from Louisville, Memphis, La Tech, and Troy State, came to the combine to hopefully gain an SEC look. Adams, a 6-3, 195-pound dual-threat QB is considered one of the top signal callers in the state this season.

“To me Juwan Adams could be the top QB in the state,” said Robertson as he addressed players following the combine. “He’s really put up some numbers at North Pike.”

Still the day belonged to McComb linebacker GyKeithen McCray, who came into the combine a virtual unknown and left it a social media darling.

McCray ran a hand held 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, and followed that up by winning the ‘Fastest Man Challenge’ by clocking a laser-timed 4.41 in the 40 to end his day. He looked cat-quick in cone drills, and was the best at his position at every drill.

At 6-3, 205-pounds, McCray’s future will be forever changing from this point on. His name is now on the board as prospect in the 2017 Class of several D1 coaches, just by today’s combine.

McComb rising senior defensive end KeDerrion Mason, a 6-4, 240-pounder enjoyed the day by showcasing his talents too. Mason is currently locked in a recruiting war between Mississippi State and Missouri.

Others that showed well included Franklin County rising senior LB/FB Chris O’Quinn and Jackson Prep rising junior QB Dylan Torrence.

Thunderstorms kept the event from going outside at Ole Brook’s King Field, as 1-on-1 drills were canceled.

“All in all, you hoped to have 1-on-1’s but the heavy rain kept that from happening,” added Robertson. “Today was a good day still. We saw some quality rising seniors in the 2016 Class that have offers and also found some hidden gems too. The kids seemed to enjoy it. I can’t say enough about the first class job KDMC does with this event and how each and every year it gets bigger and better.”