Lions QB airs it out

Wednesday marked the third and final day of the 9th Annual Atlanta Quarterbacks and Receivers camp. The camp was started by Walton High School Offensive Coordinator Tripp Allen and is held in Walton’s Raider Valley. The camp ran Monday through Wednesday morning of this week. I am a former Walton Raider myself and went to the camp in its first year as an 11th grade receiver. This is my second year coming to the camp as a coach.

Day 3 was an hour shorter than the first two days. Once the quarterbacks got over some initial stiffness, it was another day of players getting quality reps.

It was probable that Walton’s Alabama-bound quarterback Parker McLeod would be throwing the ball well throughout the camp, but several other quarterbacks stepped up to find success.

St. Pius X quarterback Jack Spear was impressive all three days of the camp. One might not expect a team known for running the triple option to look so good passing the ball, but 2012 see a much different Golden Lions’ offense. The lefty Spear is more suited for passing the ball than running the triple option, so the Golden Lions will let him air it out more this year, hoping that he finds some success.

The new offense has made it important to find guys who can be reliable targets for Spear this season. One player stepping into this role is Nick Ruffin, who played running back in the option last season.

Ruffin is excited about his new role and told me that he has always preferred playing wide receiver. There was a lot of athleticism in Ruffin’s game, and I couldn’t be more impressed with his receiver skills. He was one of the more notable receivers at the camp. Michael Sikorski will also play receiver for the Golden Lions next season and made some of the tougher catches throughout all three days of the camp.

When a brief one-on-one route-running session broke out towards the end of Day 3, it was Ruffin that accepted every challenge and jumped to the front of the line. One interesting challenge saw teammates square off as Ruffin faced defensive back Nick Glass, the leader of the Golden Lions defense. As Glass watched, Ruffin went diving out of the end zone trying to snag a pass, only to land on a giant blue pole vault cushion more than five yards out of bounds.

It was great to see the way this St. Pius X team competed with each other all week.

The Atlanta Quarterbacks and Wide Receiver Camp was a success with countless prospects picking up valuable tips and tricks from coaches and instructors helping out over the three days. The camp was an opportunity not just for quarterbacks and receivers to get on the same page as the 2012 high school football season quickly approaches, but also for athletes such as Tyren Jones and Glass to jump out to receiver and expand their overall skill set. Jones displayed excellent route-running abilities which could help him once he arrives in Tuscaloosa. Glass also showed that Mark Richt could be getting a potential two-way star in Athens on National Signing Day 2014.