Elite Camp marks 40th successful season for O-D
By Terry Massey07/23/08
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. | Offense-Defense Elite Camp wrapped up on Wednesday on the campus of Coastal Carolina University, capping the 40th successful season for O-D's summer football camps.
Held just down th road from the company's corporate headquarters, O-D hosted 60 of the top players from its Youth/Prep and Select camps, with the seniors competing for a chance to play in the third annual O-D All-American Bowl, which also will be held at CCU's Brooks Stadium on Jan. 2, 2009.
``We were very impressed by the quality of players we had come out of our camps this summer,'' said O-D president Rick Whittier. ``A lot of these kids weren't necessarily top 100 caliber coming in, so they got the opportunity to play their way into the bowl game. We definitely found some sleepers.''
Among them were Titusville (Fla.) High senior wide receiver Willie Haulstead, who accepted an invitation to play in the O-D Bowl on the spot after impressing coaches with his hands and athleticism.
``I've been to a lot of different camps this summer and this one was definitely the best as far as the level of competition that was out here,'' said Haulstead, who recently committed to Florida State. ``The talent level that was out here just made me have to work that much harder, and the coaching here was great.''
Another diamond in the rough that may have been unearthed was defensive tackle Bryan Davis of Lithia Springs (Ga.) High. Possibly making the switch to defensive end in his senior season and beyond (he has made visits to Georgia, Georgia Tech and FSU), he showed the skills to play both slots.
``This was a great opportunity for me to work on some things I need to work on before the season,'' said Davis, who also accepted a bid to play in the O-D Bowl. ``Coach (Bill) Urbanik was awesome.''
Urbanik was just one of the many coaches on hand with NFL experience. Longtime O-D coaches Richard Solomon, Tony Collins and Nate Newton, to name a few, liked what they saw from the camp.
``We had some talented kids out there, several of them qualified to play in the bowl,'' said Solomon. ``You could have one heck of a high school football team with that group, and I'd love to coach them.''
Another emerging star to come out of the camp was Richland Northeast (S.C.) High's Jamal Mtshali, who has played just one season of high school football when he transfers to Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy this fall. His size and speed assure a smooth transition from defensive line to linebacker.
Another Palmetto State product who leaped onto radar screens was Carolina Forest (S.C.) High's Drew Herring, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound beast of an offensive lineman who impressed coaches with his talent.
Others to turn heads at the camp were a pair of Georgia running backs (Carrisseian Gilbert and Michael Patrick), a Florida receiving duo (Dez Cooper and Tyler Bass), and a trio of linebackers – two from out West - Shane Wombles (California) and Nathan Bayles (Wyoming) - and Anthony Curto (New York).
O-D will be monitoring the senior seasons of all the Elite Camp particpants, as well as other top players around the nation, before finalizing its roster for the O-D Bowl, which moces the CCU from the historic Orange Bowl in Miami. O-D will select 88 of the nation's top seniors to take part in the game.
