Missouri State HS football camp observations

As I walked on the Plaster Sports Complex track last night, all the same feelings rushed back. There were the coaches. There were my fellow media members. There were the die-hard fans in the crowd (about 200 of them). It was fun to think that high school football is less than a month away — yes, the regular season starts on August 27.

And while we will have much more on high school football as the season approaches, I wanted to share a few observations from Missouri State’s high school football camp last night.

• We have to start with Hillcrest junior Dorial Green-Beckham, right? He wasn’t tough to spot as he was the tallest player on the field at 6-foot-6. The camp started with individual drills by position and Green-Beckham, who already has “close to 25″ scholarship offers and likely counting, and was the most fluid, whether it was running routes or picking up and putting down his feet through the various obstacles, he made an impression without catching a ball. He was obviously the focal point during 7-on-7 drills, but he’s going to have to get used to it. Of course, the main question with Hillcrest is how are they going to get Green-Beckham the ball. We will see, but coach John Beckham said the quarterback job is between Stuart Andress (Jr., 5-11, 170) and Matt Futrell (Jr., 6-1, 170).
• Oh, and just so you know, I’m 6-foot-3, and Green-Beckham’s “little” brother Darnell is every inch of 6-3 — as a true freshman. He he has one-fourth the skill of his older brother, Ozark Conference secondaries will have zero chance of sleeping at night.
• Glendale looks like they have convinced that outstandingly athletic sophomore class — you know, the “Baby Birds” that debuted last year in basketball — to play football. The most imposing was sophomore Cameron Johnson, who was listed at 6-2 last season. Not only did he look taller than that, he looked like he’s bulked up. It may have just been the pads, but if he’s going to line up at wide receiver — which is expected as Glendale is going back to the spread offense this season — Glendale will now have a weapon. As for his football skills, I know nothing about that, but if his basketball athleticism translates to football, the Falcons will be in any game.
• Sound byte: When I asked Glendale offensive line coach Joe Shantz about Johnson, this is what came out:

Me: Joe, who is that? Is that Cameron Johnson?

Shantz: (Ignores question)

Me: Joe, is that Cameron Johnson? He looks huge.

Shantz: Oh yeah, he looks good in pads.

Me: No wonder you’re going back to the spread.

Shantz: Bwahahahahahahah! (and runs off, getting back to work)

• Looks like that secret won’t keep.
• The most “Who is that guy” buzz came from new Glendale lineman Kinjo Omar, who the News-Leader’s Matt Schoch reported is recently in town from Seattle and playing football for the first time. Why is this important? He’s 6-4 and 300 pounds. Apparently he picked up the game just three years after moving with his family from Saipan, a tropical island in the western Pacific Ocean near Guam. He even had the cool Troy Polamalu look with the hair flowing outside of the helmet. If he can help generate some type of pass rush or pass protection, he’ll be an instant fan favorite.
• I’m sure there was much more going on at the camp worth noting, but at a camp like this, where smashmouth football isn’t really included, etc. — this was more passing drills, including 7-on-7 drills with no offensive linemen – teams like Parkview and Central didn’t get the same “wow factor. But take nothing away from Parkview, which returns running backs Darin Francis and Blake Williams, as well as quarterback Cory Faz. If Parkview can find a way to not turn the ball over and stop people on defense, the Vikings could possibly win more game than they lose, which would be a monster step for coach Wes Beachler’s program.
• The teams involved were Central, Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo and Parkview, Republic and Strafford.
• For more coverage of the event, the News-Leader’s Matt Schoch wrote this and this and newly promoted KSPR Sports Director Mike Scott, put together this piece.

Here are some clips of last night’s 7-on-7 passing drills. Enjoy.

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