For 150 of high school football’s most elite athletes, last week was filled with copious amounts of free Nike swag, intense competition and tutelage from an array of NFL players.
“The Opening,” an invitation-only showcase, stretched from July 5-9 at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., and gave high school football a national television spotlight.
Included in the field were three players who have orally committed to UF: Boynton Beach High offensive tackle Jessamen Dunker, Citra North Marion High wide receiver Latroy Pittman and Stephenson High (Ga.) running back Mike Davis.
“It felt great [to be invited],” Dunker said. “It was an honor, definitely. It was a great experience to help me find out what I need to work on and everything.”
For the athletes, their time in Beaverton began with the Nike SPARQ (speed, power, agility, reaction, quickness) Rating National Championship.
The event used the combination of scores in the vertical leap, agility shuttle, powerball toss and 40-yard dash to name a top athlete. The title went to Geismar, La., safety Landon Collins, who also went on to win MVP of the event’s 7-on-7 tournament and holds offers from Alabama, Florida and LSU.
“For him to be as fast as he is with the weight he is carrying is really unbelievable,” Davis said of the six-foot, 199-pound Collins.
Davis, at 5-foot-9, 192-pounds, finished just outside the finals of the SPARQ competition, landing in 14th after admitting he had no idea what the competition was before arriving at “The Opening.”
Pittman, who ran a 4.64 40-yard dash and finished 68th, brushed off the importance of the combine.
“I was never a big fan of the testing stuff,” he said. “You have to show you’re an athlete on the field.”
Players were coached in SPARQ events by guys like Jerry Rice, Ray Rice and former Gators cornerback Joe Haden.
Meanwhile, linemen like Dunker worked on their technique in the trenches with San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Alex Boone and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
“When we were working on pass protection, [Boone] was telling me I was turning my hips a little,” Dunker said.
“He was basically telling me to keep my hips square and meet the defensive lineman at one point. … [Suh] was basically telling us if a defensive player is doing this, you do this. So I liked that.”
For the skill position players, Friday and Saturday brought an opportunity to display their game skills.
Coached by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson, Davis’ Vapor Carbon team went undefeated before losing in the championship game to Alpha Talon — a squad led by Tampa Berkeley Prep athlete Nelson Agholor and Melbourne Holy Trinity safety Marcus Maye, who was named to the Nike 7ON All-Tourney team.
Pittman said he felt like his performance with his Superbad squad showed he is “pretty much there” with the top guys in the nation.
With two touchdowns on the weekend, Davis seemed a little more confident.
“I believe I put it out there that I’m the best in the country,” the running back said.
Florida’s oral commits attended “The Opening” not just as participants but also as recruiters.
“The coaches from UF wanted me to go out there and recruit people,” said Dunker, who did not compete in Saturday’s lineman challenge because of a bruised hand.
“They had me and Latroy Pittman out there. We were recruiting everybody.”
Davis said he particularly targeted Maye and Miramar High cornerback Tracy Howard.
“I was telling them every day while I was there ‘You know, any day you want to commit to Florida, it would be nice,’” he said.
Both Davis and Pittman said Maye should be a lock for the Gators while Howard feels Miami is “on the rise.”
Pittman said Maye could orally commit to UF at Friday Night Lights on July 22 and also added an interesting twist in the less-documented courting of five-star speedster Agholor.
“Nelson told me if Maye will commit [to the Gators], he will commit [to the Gators],” Pittman said.
Gators wide receiver commit Latroy Pittman ran a 4.64 40-yard dash at Nike’s “The Opening” combine but he scoffed at his time saying, “I was never a big fan of the testing stuff. You have to show you’re an athlete on the field.”
