Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
High school football standouts from across Utah have been gathering twice a week throughout April participating in the Mountain West Elite spring football camp at Salt Lake Community College.
Coaches and players from the NFL as well as from colleges and high schools are coaching about 140 prep football standouts and players in a high-paced collegiate camp structure. It’s the second year of the program under the direction of camp co-founders Coach Riley Jensen and Coach Alema Te’o.
“The combined 100 years of experience the Mountain West coaches bring to the camp offer a new and exciting experience for the players,” Jensen said. “We’re extremely high-paced, which simulates a collegiate style of drills in real football situations. It makes the kids think and react at a higher level.”
This year's spring camp is the largest high school camp of its kind, attracting top Utah athletes as they prepare for a highly anticipated 2013 fall high school football season. According to the Elite coaching staff, standouts from the 2013 Elite class include players on the radar of many Division-I collegiate programs, such as Utah, BYU, Utah State, Weber State, Arizona State, Idaho, UNLV, University of Oregon, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State.
Offensive and defensive standouts
Baron Gajkowski (Lone Peak) QB
Nate Kusuda (Northridge) QB
Tyler Fox (Layton) WR
Spencer Romney (Pleasant Grove) WR
Dylan Murdock (Lone Peak) WR
Jonah Trinnaman (American Fork) WR
Isaiah Kaufusi (Brighton) WR
Jade Luker (American Fork) WR/DB
Nate Heaps (American Fork) TE
Paxton Merrill (Freemont) TE
Kavika Fonua (Syracuse) S
Braxton Gunther (WoodsCross) S
Houston Lacey (Northridge) CB
Matt Criddle (Lone Peak) CB
Bradley Quick (Bountiful) LB/DL
Zac Dawe (Pleasant Grove) DL
Korey Rush (East) DL/OLB
Robert Ercanbrack (Sky View) LB
Te’o, camp co-founder as well as president of the Polynesian Coaches Association and founder of All Poly Sports, said, “These kids come here to compete with the best Utah has to offer.”
Te’o said Elite brings many of the top collegiate prospects from the state to one camp where they can size up the competition and improve their skills. “The camp structure and our coaches bring out the best in them. The talent is outstanding.”
Judging from this year’s camp, this fall should bring some great football competition when these athletes square off for their respective division and state titles.
