Measuring Up to Yardstick : Recruiters Evaluate Ventura County Football Prospects

OXNARD —  Jim Newton, a 6-foot-8 offensive lineman from Newbury Park High, was certainly tall enough to turn heads Wednesday at the second Ventura County football combine at Rio Mesa High.

Unfortunately for the lanky junior, only his stomach was turning as he prepared to run the 40-yard dash.

“It’s kind of scary, actually,” Newton said.

Who could blame him?

With a gathering of college recruiters looking on, the last thing Newton wanted was a performance that could hinder his chances of getting a scholarship.

It turned out to be a disappointing day for Newton, but Buena Coach Rick Scott, one of the combine’s organizers, said 95 juniors who participated shouldn’t consider it a make-or-break event.

“Nobody is going to get a scholarship based on what they do here,” Scott said. “But it gives [recruiters] a reason to come back in December and look at game film. Before they offer a kid anything, they’ll look at four or five game films.”

That will come as a relief to Newton. Although he has the body frame major colleges are looking for in an offensive tackle, he ran below expectations in the 40--his best time in three attempts was 5.4 seconds--and weighed a skimpy 225 pounds. He he was able to bench-press 185 pounds only twice.

Players also were tested in the shuttle agility run and the standing vertical leap.

“My bench-press is way off,” said Newton, who explained that he has been unable to lift weights since playing for Newbury Park’s basketball team because of family obligations. “It’s tough because so many of these other guys are more muscular than me.”

One of the strongest was Buena lineman Brandon French, who had the best bench-press with 24 repetitions. But at 6-1 and 270 pounds, he lacks ideal height.

However, Scott pointed out that the presence of coaches from smaller schools such as Cal Lutheran, Whittier and Azusa Pacific could help open doors for players like French--good high school athletes who lack the size required by Division I schools.

Some of the fastest 40-yard times were turned in by running backs Jeramie Jackson (4.5) of Ventura and Courtney Palmore (4.4) of Oxnard, and defensive back Patrick Reddick (4.4) of Newbury Park. Jackson and Palmore each jumped 31 inches.

Coaches from 32 colleges attended the combine, including representatives from UCLA, California, Washington, Northwestern, Cal State Northridge and Harvard. The Ivy League school known more for academics than football is conducting spring recruiting for the first time.

Harvard assistant Jay Mills said the combine is helpful because it provides coaches with the transcripts of all players.

Other recruiters praised the combine for being well-organized and small enough so they could get a good appraisal of players.

“The coaches in this county are on the cutting edge in putting this together,” said Arizona assistant Marty Long.