The coaching staff from the University of Michigan football program descended on Antioch High School, Thursday evening, to work with approximately 180 prep football players from around the Bay Area.
With coach Jim Harbaugh energetically coaching stations and leading the camp from behind his megaphone, young players were treated to a very hands-on coaching staff, who made it clear they were there to work with all athletes, not just a select few they may have been keeping their eyes on.
Turning every drill and performance station into a competition, the college coaches challenged kids for the complete two hours, providing constant feedback for improvement. One player who stood out in every drill and position grouping was De La Salle two-way lineman Isaia Taotua, who is entering his senior year for the Spartans.
Taotua won’t be found on any top recruit boards, due to his five-foot, seven-inch frame, but he repeatedly impressed the Michigan line staff with his explosiveness and ability to apply both fundamental and advanced techniques in the one-on-one drills. One person who would not have been surprised by Taotua’s impressive showing was his own high school coach.
“(Isaia’s) one of the strongest kids on our team,” said De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh. “He started on the defensive line some last year, and is expected to be a two-way starter this year. He’s also class president, a likely team captain, and a top rugby player.”
Entering the one-day camp, a lot of the buzz was about the Michigan staff coming to watch and work with Najee Harris, Antioch’s standout running back who is committed to the University of Alabama. Harris did just light work in a small running back group, but his teammate, junior Omari Harris, continued to show why he is starting to get some major attention. Omari Harris, no relation to Najee, made it clear he has put in work over the off-season, having added 10 to 15 pounds of muscle to his frame.
The less-heralded Harris already has an offer from Nebraska, but appeared poised to certainly attract more attention throughout his upcoming junior campaign. The host school continued to show off its depth at running back, as junior Dalaan Green was also one of the most athletic running backs in attendance, and seems like he can be a change-of-pace option for the Panthers in the 2016 season.
Harbaugh worked a lot with the quarterbacks at the camp, and saw a few local quarterbacks stand out in the route tree drills and goal post accuracy competition. Antioch sophomore Will Karnthong, who the Panthers’ staff projects as the starter for the coming season, won the accuracy competition, edging out Mitty’s Nick Alftin and Liberty’s Matt Marchetti. Alftin missed the route tree portion after driving up from San Jose, but Marchetti and Karnthong also performed well in that portion of the camp.
For the second time in two weeks, St. Francis-Mountain View senior Cyrus Habibi-Likio drew plenty of attention from the college staff running a camp. The Washington State commit got praise from the Wolverines’ coaches during early drills and competitions. Other linemen who stood out, aside from Taotua, included Clayton Valley’s Jalen McKenzie and Antioch’s Justin Kennard. McKenzie was overpowering, with his large frame and tenacity, while Kennard more than held his own at tackle. Kennard may actually project to play center at the next level, but will often man the tackle spot for the Panthers this season.
At the end of the day, Harbaugh had some quick and very poignant advice for all the players in attendance.
“If you want to play at the next level, put really good tape together, starting after your first three games of the season,” Harbaugh said. “And second, outwork everybody. It’s that simple, refuse to be out-worked.”
With his whirlwind nation-wide schedule, the lead man at Michigan is certainly following his own advice.
