Dutra and Comer

About 5 years ago, Elliot Dutra and Jayme Comer would have had to rely on 1-day summer camps and game tape videos to "sell themselves" to college coaches. Each would have the same goal of garnering a D-1 scholarship. Elliot plays at Whiteland High School in Indiana and Jayme plays for his father at Brownsburg High School in Indiana.

Fast forward to 2007 and 1-day combine camps for high schools. Last week, both Dutra and Comer and many other kids from around the Midwest traveled to Chicago to take part in one of NIKE'S 1-day combines. Earlier this month, Marqueis Gray from Ben Davis did the same thing, only he went to West Lafayette to participate.

Just like the NFL combine that is held for players seeking to improve their draft status, these NIKE combines run the same drills for high school players. And just like the NFL, the biggest test is the 40-yard dash. The faster you run, the better.

Elliot Dutra is 5'10" 180 pounds. He plays against pretty good competition in Central Indiana. He's a RB on offense and a DB on defense, and last season he ran for over 1,000 yards. Before the NIKE camp, Elliot was getting light interest from MAC schools and an occasional letter from Indiana and Purdue. At the NIKE camp, he ran a 4.4 and earned MVP honors, now all the Big Ten schools are salavating, wanting a shot at this kid. Indiana is right there for his services, and time will tell if this kid can be a Hoosier. The staff likes him at DB, probably corner, but running a 4.4 really has opened up the opportunity for Elliot to get a Big Ten scholarship.

Jayme Comer is 6'2" 220 pounds. He's the son of a coach and plays LB on defense. Just like a lot of coach's sons, he is like a coach on the field. Unlike Dutra, Jayme was getting more interest from Big Ten schools, and Indiana, however no scholarship offers yet. Jayme planned to do the 1-day summer camp curcuit and see how much interest he could muster up. The Indiana staff has been impressed with Jayme for awhile, but no offer. They did secure him a spot at one of their day camps in June, and the thought process was they would offer him, if he performed well.

Jayme went to Chicago and ran a4.65 40. Now, the 6'2" 220 pound has 1 scholarship offer on the table and more soon to follow. The IU staff really likes Jayme at MLB. He has size and speed and toughness. Jayme also earned MVP honors at Chicago, just like Elliot. It's amazing what 1-day combines can do to the stock of a high school player.

Also for those that don't know, MarQueis Gray did outstanding at West Lafayette. He went from a possible 4-star recruit to a kid that's possibly a 5-star kid and has a real shot at the Elite 11 camp in California. The IU staff want a QB this fall and they are looking at Gray as their "A" option. Time will tell how this one will turn out, but you can bet that it won't be anytime soon for any of these 3 kids.