On Saturday, the first annual 304 Elite Camp was hosted at Parkersburg High School and went extremely well. West Virginia specific talent spent much of the hot May day going through positional drills, 1v1s, and many reps of 7v7 with a slew of college coaches in attendance. Here’s our takeway:
A/AA Came to Play
Talking to the camp director, his main goal was to allow smaller school players to compete and show their worth against big school competition. What we saw were several quarterbacks tossing some stellar balls all day long.
Cason Payne of Point Pleasant was a pure standout possessing size and had a tight spiral while being an uncommon lefty. Jacob Hartman of Petersburg has one of the most developed frames and skillsets we have seen all off-season. More unknown QBs, Caden Rohrbrouogh of Lewis County and Austin Isaacs of Midland Trail had coaches talking throughout the day as well.
Sherman High had three standouts alone with linemen Layne Daniel and Justin Hawkins- both with elite size. JT Hensely scored more than anyone on the day in 7v7 at wide out but is poised to be the quarterback this season. Poca and Summers County also had great performers in multiple positions.
Cementing Player Rankings
The much argued linebacker rankings were put to hush for those in attendance. Jermain Snodgrass of Wheeling Park and Drew Joseph of South Charleston were all over the field and most importantly, stood out in individual and team with excellent angling. Mike Bartram of Wayne and Luke Jackson of Ravenswood were constistent with good wrap ups and a few forced fumbles. Brocton Blair of Huntington showed he deserved more in the rankings with superior pass coverage all day long.
The skill players backed us up but also caught our eyes with some new names. Owen Chafin of Spring Valley showed off his hands multiple times and Curtis McGhee of Wheeling Central and Quisean Gray of Capital gave us a look at their defensive back skills opposed to their known offensive prowless. Kaden Rice of Morgantown was a player heard of but not seen and stood out greatly at wide receiver alongside Antonio Parsons of Fairmont Senior and defensive back Amari George of Riverside.
Talking hog mollies, Martinsburg’s Brandon Moran, Woodrow Wilson’s Colton Wright, and Capital’s Jonathan Kennedy all had stellar days and backed up their places on our Player Watch. The same can be said for Midland Trail’s Hunter Jones and Parkersburg’s Ryan Creech. Dalton Geter of Hurricane caught our eye and found himself as a new addition on the list.
What’s to Come
As we conversed with the 304 Elite staff, we truly know that these folks have nothing but positive intentions for the youth of West Virginia. They have a lot of talent and knowledge for the state. There is a lot of passion here and everyone will continue to see it resignate in upcoming events.
The 2018 304 Elite Camp was incredibly well run with its scheduling and assitance to media, players, coaches, and parents. It is affordable and all costs went strictly towards covering the event. Not only that, but there were top tier coaches working the drills with dozens of college coaches in attendance.
We heard that multiple camps would be worked towards hopefully but also adding that they aren’t sticking solely to football. They are having 304 Elite Basketball Camp coming up soon in July in Charleston with plans to cover and help every sport they can. These are some great people with awesome visions, and we can’t wait to see them boom! 2018 304 Elite was a big-time success!
Thank you for covering our event and the complimentary article. We agree that we share the same vision which is exposure and opportunities for WV athletes. We look forward to promoting your efforts as best we can. Keep up the excellent work. Athletes keep working and stay committed to dedicated effort of improvement! ~ 304 Elite Football Staff and Dylan Thomas Photography