I think it's fair to say that Mike Riley's first Friday Night Lights Camp was a success this evening. Here are some quick thoughts and observations before a full notebook coming later on.
***There were roughly 200 campers at tonight's camp.
***2018 Beatrice, Neb. tight end prospect Cameron Jurgens was definitely one of the top prospects at the camp this evening. Physically, Jurgens is built as well as any of his older counterparts and no one could cover him in one-on-ones. He was receiving a lot of attention from the coaching staff throughout the camp and especially afterwards. Don't be surprised if an offer comes his way soon. Jurgens will also be in attendance for Big Red Weekend tomorrow.
***Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was the top name in attendance. He showed why he's a highly sought after prospect for the class of 2017. He's a very polished receiver given his age and has very good hands. No one at the camp could really stay with him and when he didn't come down with the ball it was usually because it was a bad throw.
***2018 wide receiver Brian Hightower of Calabasas, Calif. certainly passed the eye-test to start the camp off as he is all of 6-foot-3, 180-pounds. Once the camp started Hightower showed that he was a very fluid athlete for someone his size and that he had sure hands. He runs very well and is only going to get better as he continues to develop and get stronger.
***2017 Bellevue West offensive lineman Tyler Ciurej was among the better looking underclassmen at to the camp tonight. Ciurej is strong and showed good feet. He's going to be a name to know in the state for next year for sure.
***2016 Traverse City (Mich.) West offensive tackle Jake Cerny was one of the better true tackle prospects in attendance. Cerny has a handful of offers on the table, but not one from the Huskers yet.
***The fastest camper of the night was by far Cameron McKinley a wide receiver from Beaumont (Texas) Westbrook. The 2016 prospect reportedly ran a 4.38 handheld 40-yard dash. He was so fast on his second run that they had him run another just to make sure that they didn't screw up the time. They didn't...he's fast.
***2016 Miami linebacker commit Greg Simmons of Ft. Pierce (Fla.) Central was on his unofficial visit to Nebraska during the camp tonight and looked to be having a great time hanging out with the current players and with linebacker's coach Trent Bray. Simmons came on the visit with his high school coach.
***Keyshawn Johnson Sr. had a good opportunity to catch up with head coach Mike Riley today. Johnson Sr. also told me that he was able to spend some good time with recievers coach Keith Williams today and during the camp tonight and he referred to Williams as "my guy". The two obviously have a good relationship as does Williams with Johnson Jr.
***Dan Hoppen's Observations***
***The wideouts were among the impressive players I witnessed. Jacob Brown, a senior from Paradise Valley in Arizona, stood out in particular. It didn’t matter who was covering him – the 5-foot-11 receiver got open. He didn’t appear to have top-end speed, but his quickness and hands were both tremendous.
***One wideout who could take the top off was Cameron McKinney, a senior from West Brook, Texas. Several coaches came over to watch his 40-yard dash, which was so fast it had current players Joshua Kalu and De’Mornay Pierson-El yelling and saying, “He’s nasty!” McKinney was a blur that made the best catch of the one-on-one period, abusing a helpless defensive back for a deep touchdown that had receivers coach Keith Williams sprinting down the sidelines.
***Other receivers that stood out – Jerome Hawkins, a sophomore from Blue Springs South in Missouri is short (5-foot-8), but he can fly and is very quick in and out of his breaks. Mclane Mannix of Midland Christian HS in Texas looked like a Jordan Westerkamp clone and played like him as well.
***Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was obviously impressive, though he was victimized by some poor throws by the quarterbacks. When the ball was on target, no defensive back had a chance against him.
***Sophomore Bryan Hightower, who traveled with Johnson, looked like a college sophomore physically, but he understandably has some growing to do. He’s raw, but there is obvious potential there.
***The only quarterback that really stood out to me was Jack Strong, who showed he could zip in a tight pass or put some touch on a good deep ball. He connected on his throws far more frequently than anyone else I saw.
***At linebacker, Steven O’Malley of Cherry Creek, Colo., stood out the most. At 5-foot-11 and 219 pounds, he looks the part already. He’s got great footwork and was fast in and out of his breaks. He’s a bit raw and seemed confused during the sled drill, but he’s got great potential.
***Another standout was junior Ian Rudzik of Ulysses HS in Kansas. He had good size and was very impressive on the sled, knocking it off kilter more than most linebackers. He won the state shot put champion in Kansas and had good communication with the Bo Pelini staff. That chatter died down a bit when Mike Riley was hired, but I expect it to pick back up.
***Jacob Matthew of Millard North and Barrett McDonald of Millard South were a few local linebackers who showed well.
***None of the defensive backs looked great, but Noah McWell of Sioux City West in Iowa was the best. He’s got great size at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds and was by far the most fluid of the cornerbacks. He got beat a few times, but he didn’t get discouraged and recovered well.
***There were roughly 200 campers at tonight's camp.
***2018 Beatrice, Neb. tight end prospect Cameron Jurgens was definitely one of the top prospects at the camp this evening. Physically, Jurgens is built as well as any of his older counterparts and no one could cover him in one-on-ones. He was receiving a lot of attention from the coaching staff throughout the camp and especially afterwards. Don't be surprised if an offer comes his way soon. Jurgens will also be in attendance for Big Red Weekend tomorrow.
***Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was the top name in attendance. He showed why he's a highly sought after prospect for the class of 2017. He's a very polished receiver given his age and has very good hands. No one at the camp could really stay with him and when he didn't come down with the ball it was usually because it was a bad throw.
***2018 wide receiver Brian Hightower of Calabasas, Calif. certainly passed the eye-test to start the camp off as he is all of 6-foot-3, 180-pounds. Once the camp started Hightower showed that he was a very fluid athlete for someone his size and that he had sure hands. He runs very well and is only going to get better as he continues to develop and get stronger.
***2017 Bellevue West offensive lineman Tyler Ciurej was among the better looking underclassmen at to the camp tonight. Ciurej is strong and showed good feet. He's going to be a name to know in the state for next year for sure.
***2016 Traverse City (Mich.) West offensive tackle Jake Cerny was one of the better true tackle prospects in attendance. Cerny has a handful of offers on the table, but not one from the Huskers yet.
***The fastest camper of the night was by far Cameron McKinley a wide receiver from Beaumont (Texas) Westbrook. The 2016 prospect reportedly ran a 4.38 handheld 40-yard dash. He was so fast on his second run that they had him run another just to make sure that they didn't screw up the time. They didn't...he's fast.
***2016 Miami linebacker commit Greg Simmons of Ft. Pierce (Fla.) Central was on his unofficial visit to Nebraska during the camp tonight and looked to be having a great time hanging out with the current players and with linebacker's coach Trent Bray. Simmons came on the visit with his high school coach.
***Keyshawn Johnson Sr. had a good opportunity to catch up with head coach Mike Riley today. Johnson Sr. also told me that he was able to spend some good time with recievers coach Keith Williams today and during the camp tonight and he referred to Williams as "my guy". The two obviously have a good relationship as does Williams with Johnson Jr.
***Dan Hoppen's Observations***
***The wideouts were among the impressive players I witnessed. Jacob Brown, a senior from Paradise Valley in Arizona, stood out in particular. It didn’t matter who was covering him – the 5-foot-11 receiver got open. He didn’t appear to have top-end speed, but his quickness and hands were both tremendous.
***One wideout who could take the top off was Cameron McKinney, a senior from West Brook, Texas. Several coaches came over to watch his 40-yard dash, which was so fast it had current players Joshua Kalu and De’Mornay Pierson-El yelling and saying, “He’s nasty!” McKinney was a blur that made the best catch of the one-on-one period, abusing a helpless defensive back for a deep touchdown that had receivers coach Keith Williams sprinting down the sidelines.
***Other receivers that stood out – Jerome Hawkins, a sophomore from Blue Springs South in Missouri is short (5-foot-8), but he can fly and is very quick in and out of his breaks. Mclane Mannix of Midland Christian HS in Texas looked like a Jordan Westerkamp clone and played like him as well.
***Keyshawn Johnson Jr. was obviously impressive, though he was victimized by some poor throws by the quarterbacks. When the ball was on target, no defensive back had a chance against him.
***Sophomore Bryan Hightower, who traveled with Johnson, looked like a college sophomore physically, but he understandably has some growing to do. He’s raw, but there is obvious potential there.
***The only quarterback that really stood out to me was Jack Strong, who showed he could zip in a tight pass or put some touch on a good deep ball. He connected on his throws far more frequently than anyone else I saw.
***At linebacker, Steven O’Malley of Cherry Creek, Colo., stood out the most. At 5-foot-11 and 219 pounds, he looks the part already. He’s got great footwork and was fast in and out of his breaks. He’s a bit raw and seemed confused during the sled drill, but he’s got great potential.
***Another standout was junior Ian Rudzik of Ulysses HS in Kansas. He had good size and was very impressive on the sled, knocking it off kilter more than most linebackers. He won the state shot put champion in Kansas and had good communication with the Bo Pelini staff. That chatter died down a bit when Mike Riley was hired, but I expect it to pick back up.
***Jacob Matthew of Millard North and Barrett McDonald of Millard South were a few local linebackers who showed well.
***None of the defensive backs looked great, but Noah McWell of Sioux City West in Iowa was the best. He’s got great size at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds and was by far the most fluid of the cornerbacks. He got beat a few times, but he didn’t get discouraged and recovered well.
