There was a sea of black, orange, yellow, even Bullard gray and the kid brother of one former Norte Dame commit clad in blue who all made the drive from the Fresno/Clovis area to set foot on College of the Sequoias.
With no Tulare or Visalia kids taking part, the Fresno and Clovis scene took advantage at the Giants' sprint turf practice field, as they looked to not only show what they could do in front of former NFL and college football players, but in front of the man that has produced nearly 30 different Division-I prospects and NFL players, Tony Perry.
The same coach that molded the likes of Ricky Manning Jr., Courtney Viney, Devin Ross, Rob Golden, Clifton Smith, and most recently highly touted Central-Fresno prospects L.J Moore, Hatari Bryd, and Johnny Johnson was looking for the next set of Central Valley players ready to showcase their talents on the gridiron, at the 2012 DB Guru Skills Camp.
Perry, who has been known for bringing the Valley star power from his former players to even the highly touted prospects, once again provided plenty of competition at each position.
For quarterbacks, three from the area were present, but the main headliner had to have been Edison-Fresno's Khari McGee. The 6-foot-3 McGee showed off his quick feet during latter shuffling drills, but was equally impressive with his deep ball during the one-on-one drills. McGee currently has five offers on the table, but he wasn't the only Tiger who stood out.
In fact, for linemen, junior Yasmin Haynes showed some stunning agility and quickness during drills. Haynes was one of the 2014 selections hand-picked by Tony Perry and his staff to participate in the Semper Fi Proving Ground Combine, a camp where the best talent gets their chance at playing in the U.S Marines All-American Bowl.
An even more impressive lineman was another class of 2014 potential star Gage Garabedian of Clovis West. Playing in the shadow of his much-heralded teammate Chad Specht (Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada offers), the 6-foot, 250 pound Garabedian showed some smooth feet for an interior offensive linemen. His athleticism helped steal the show for the linemen at the skills camp. Garabedian looks to be next in line at a school that's been known for being a Division-I factory in football thanks to his athleticism and stunning quick feet.
But speaking of athleticism and being quick, a wide receiver with the surname of Quick blew the competition away in front of his Central coaches, including Mr. Perry.
Class of 2014 wide receiver Michiah Quick burned up the football turf and defensive backs worse than the triple digit heat at College of the Sequoias. It didn't matter if it was the latter drills, cone drills, or going one-on-one and fighting jams, the only time the 5-foot-11, 170 pound Quick slowed himself down was when Perry and the coaching staff had him walk over to the front, and get recognized for his selection to the Proving Ground Combine.
Quick, who holds seven different offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Norte Dame, UCLA, and Cal, simply beat cornerbacks with his footwork and breaks, especially on out routes. Quick even told one defensive back "you should stick to offense" after going against him.
Quick wasn't the only Central star who stood out in front of some of his coaches. Fellow 2014 rising junior Nick Wilson showed off his athleticism, and even his receiving ability at the camp. Wilson, who led the Grizzlies with 649 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season, will join Quick and six other Grizzlies at the prestigious combine.
Switching over to the defensive side of the football, even with the star-studded Grizzly defensive backs on hand, it was some city of Clovis stars who caught the attention of the coaches.
For one Buchanan prospect, his defensive back coach Bernard Hicks (Cal safety) boasted about the play of 2014 safety Adam Soseman. Hicks was even overheard saying that with the kind of performance Soseman had, the tall 6-foot-2, 190 pound safety would have competed with fellow Golden Bear defensive backs.
But what was it that got Soseman to blow so many spectators away? For one, his impressive tall stature. But also factor in his hands, hip direction, even leaping ability when snatching interceptions up. He will most definitely become a prospect to watch in the Central Valley for the Bears.
While Soseman proved to be worthy enough to gain an invite to the Proving Ground Combine, Clovis High senior C.J Broussard also proved he's pretty raw too.
Broussard, who helped spearhead a very quick and aggressive Cougar defense last year, showed off his fast feet, but also an ability to bump at the line of scrimmage. The 5-foot-11, 175 pound Broussard held up very nicely going against a deep receiving group at the camp thanks to his aggression level. So far, Azusa Pacific is his lone offer, but had some good praise from the defensive back guru Tony Perry.
Other city of Clovis stars present were the Sunnsyide twin brothers Errian and Eric Wingfield. Errian, the running back, actually stood out with his ability to catch out of the backfield. He did though show off that low center of gravity and track speed that made him rush for over 2,000 yards in 2011.
As for Eric, the aggressive hitter showed off that same nasty streak during one-on-one drills, even getting way too aggressive and jamming receivers to the ground. The other Wingfield was even caught with an awkward back pedal when playing cornerback on a few occassions. Still though, his aggressive nature caught the attention of one College of the Sequoias coach in a good way.
Finally, an underrated but impressive prospect was San Joaquin Memorial quarterback Nick Kinder. The 6-foot-1 Kinder, who holds no offers as of now but has received heavy interest from Portland State, some interest from Sacramento State, and even became the recipient of some letters from Dartmouth, Cornell and Brown University of the Ivy Leagues showed off his arm and smarts in Visalia.
Kinder showed an effective short ball, but also went deep on numerous occasions and went mainly with a three-step drop. Kinder wasn't intercepted once and showed some smart reads when going against zone or press man coverages.
Here are the complete list of players hand-picked by Perry to compete in the Semper Fi Proving Ground Combine:
DB Andre Chachere, Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West
DB Kevion Foster, Fresno (Calif.) San Joaquin Memorial
C Gage Garabedian, Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West
DT Yasmin Haynes, Fresno (Calif.) Edison
RB Trelani Johnson, Fresno (Calif.) Central
WR P.J. Magdaleno, Fresno (Calif.) Central
DB Elijah Moody, Lakewood (Calif.)
DB Dehlon Preston, Fresno (Calif.) Central
WR Michiah Quick, Fresno (Calif.) Central
DE Anthony Shepard, Fresno (Calif.) Edison (2015) (younger brother of Tee Shepard)
DT Teshawn Smallwood, Fresno (Calif.) Central
S Adam Soesman, Clovis (Calif.) Buchanan
RB Nick Wilson, Fresno (Calif.) Central
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