Chadron State Eagles take flight for traditional football camp at McCook

Brett Burton/McCook Daily Gazette Jim Wiese, the defensive back coach at Chadron State, directs drills at the football camp. Wiese said this was the best turnout he ever had for the defensive back portion of the camp. One hundred and sixty five football players attended the Chadron State Football Camp last week at the McCook High School practice field.

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Traditionally, every year McCook has made their run to the Class B State football finals the offensive line has been the x-factor. Smaller bodies moving larger ones are what makes the battle in the trenches a sight to see.

McCook football coach Jeff Gross preaches technique, fundamentals and repetition to his players nearly every day during practice.

Brett Burton/McCook Daily Gazette Chadron State head coach Bill O'Boyle explains to campers the importance of keeping their eyes up during the blocking drills.

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"I felt like things went really well. We primarily focused on the offensive line and defensive backs. Chadron State does such a great job technique wise at those two positions, so we bring them in and it has paid great dividends," Gross said.

Chadron State head coach Bill O'Boyle was the camp instructor of the offensive linemen.

O'Boyle, along with some current players from Chadron conducted drills and taught the basic fundamentals for being successful on the offensive line.

"Since this is an offensive line and defensive backs camp, we are focusing on lots of technique, including footwork to help our campers become better football players," O'Boyle said.

McCook will be replacing some key bodies lost from last year's offensive line, but Gross feels like McCook's depth will play a big role for the 2005 season.

"In my mind, we have about 10-12 viable candidates for six starting positions on the line, which creates some good depth issues," Gross said.

With younger and inexperienced players on the offensive line, Bison fans may wonder about the protection the backfield will receive.

"After our weekend summer camp at Kearney, we definitely knew we had a lot of work to do technique wise. I felt like the kids did well at this Chadron camp," Gross said.

"I know we are going to be young and make some mistakes up front, but I feel like we will put a quality line on the football field in front of a very dynamic backfield. The line will definitely not be a weak link and will hold up their end of the bargain."

Chadron State assistant coach Jim Wiese conducted the portion of the camp directed at the defensive backs and also stressed the importance of technique.

"I had the defensive backs work on their stance and backpedaling. The guys really improved during the two day camp and I felt like we got a good base started for next season," Wiese said.

With 165 campers from seven different schools attending, this camp had one of the largest turnouts.

"I think this was the largest showing I have ever had for defensive backs. We had 70-80 guys, where in the past we have had around 35-40. The kids got a lot of reps in and I couldn't be happier with how well they did," Wiese said.

For the Bison, they will have more experience in the secondary which should shut down opponents with their hard-nosed style of play.

"We have Tony Purvis, Jeff Klug, Josh Cherry and Ryan Bedore all coming back. We should be very solid in the defensive backfield," Gross said. "To be a defensive back, you must have great technique and speed and everyone knows we have lots of speed."

According to Bill O'Boyle, he uses this camp to look at potential Eagle football players that could contribute to his program.

"These camps help us a lot with our recruiting process because we get to see kids we normally wouldn't look at. It is tough for us to watch games during the regular season, since we play on Saturday and are so far away," he said. "It gives me a chance to watch these athletes up close in person."

Overall, Gross felt like the camp was a great success and credits Chadron State with the tremendous instruction they give his players.

"Chadron State started this camp in 2000 and in the last five years we have won a lot of football games. We attribute much of that success to what they teach our players," he said.