T H e H A R B IN G E R Issue 2 September 15, 2014 Shawnee Mission East Prairie Village, KS smeharbinger.net
RIGHT NOW Football player receives Division I offers after successful junior year season
S
enior Kyle Ball stands inside the Iowa State practice facilities awaiting instruction in June, four hours away from home. The Iowa State University coaching staff divides close to 200 high school football players into groups A through G by skill level. The players have not performed a single drill when they receive their groups. Coaches running the camp and over 30 other school representatives present have already read the stats, watched the film and started to evaluate every big name on the field, before Ball even crossed the border into Iowa. His 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pound stature and junior stats earn him a spot in the top group. As he moves with other players to start warm ups for a day of football camp, more than 30 coaches from area programs gather around the group A players to observe. “When we warmed up, they were talking to all of us in our line and basically ignoring everyone else in the camp, ” Ball said. “They were watching you the entire time.” After Ball’s junior year, he began to receive mail ranging from personal letters signed by coaches like Bill Snyder to mock magazine covers with his face photoshopped onto a college uniform. Then recruiting officers visited the East weight room to speak with him about their schools. When summer came, Ball was invited to area recruiting camps held by universities to allow coaches and recruiters to see the region’s top prospects. * * *
story continued on page 29
written by Daniel Rinner
photo by Annie Savage
HEALS THROUGH TRACK pages 16-17 INSIDE: SENIOR
SEVEN WONDERS OF PV page 21
WHAT LANCERS WANT page 15