LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — "Where are you from Blue Mountain? Blue Mountain yeah. Do you know Pottsville? Pottsville yeah. Pottsville yeah around there," said football player.
They came from all parts of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.
For the spring football combine at John Henzes Veterans Memorial Stadium in Peckville home to the Valley View Cougars.
More than 100 high-school players here to get measurements in the broad jump, times in the shuttle drill, then 1 on 1 evaluations.
"Everybody is just chomping at the bit to get back out on the field again, and get football going to some kind of normalcy. And it is great for the kids. We are out here competing. They are doing a great job. You can see all the smiles. There is a lot of energy out here, and that was really our goal when we started this camp," said George.
Thomas Chermansky from Western Wayne has 8 Division I offers and has put on 30lbs of muscle in the last few months. This was a chance to get reps and get noticed locally.
"It feels good to be back out here. You know we are all testing and we are all seeing where we are at. So we are hoping to get our numbers and get ready for the season," said Thomas.
Not only is this combine good for the kids it's also great for the coaches. There are 40 different colleges and universities here taking a look at these athletes.
"Really it is great for the local kids. Even kids from outside the area because we haven't had college coaches in our buildings since before the pandemic so you are talking what 14-16 months," added George.
"Oh it is a great time. To be able to not only compete in football which is only a couple of months down the corner, but also to be able to do it in front of Division III and II colleges with the COVID year it is hard to be able to get any exposure. So to be able to get exposure while having fun is unbelievable," said Adam.
"What is it like seeing this and having all of these college coaches here? It is great. i never had this experience before so it is one of my first times. How do you think that you are doing? I think that I am doing pretty well for now and we will see what happens when I do the 1 on 1's," said Robert.
Opening night for high-school football is August 27th.
Steve Lloyd Newswatch 16 sports Lackawanna County.
