Marcus Benjamin @_benjaminmoney
Former Miami Dolphin and NFL Pro bowler Chris Chambers and South Florida recruiting insider Larry Blustein combined to display South Florida’s finest football talent at the sixth annual South Florida Combine at Ives Estates Park in Dade County. Over 200 athletes participated in this event that kicked off the off-season.
“It’s the first combine of the next recruiting cycle and gives them an opportunity to see what they have to work on for the next six to seven months,” said Blustein commonly referred to as “Blu.” “The purpose is to get these kids out there, a lot of these kids aren’t out there yet and these colleges are getting a chance to see them. The purpose is to get them exposure throughout the state.”
Schools from all over the tri-county area participated in this event Saturday morning. The activities started with the forty yard dash and the shuttle run and ended with one on one drills where players can really showcase their talent against their peers.
“The guys came out, they had fun, they competed,” said Chambers. “Coaches did an excellent job and you are not going to find this type of camp in too many places in the country.”
Some of the players in action were Cardinal Gibbons quarterback Nik Scalzo, transfer from Miami Central and now at Chaminade-Madonna running back Willie Davis, American Heritage Linebacker Andy Garcia and Quarterback Edwin Rhodes just to name a few.
The unofficial fastest time at the combine was a 4.25 by running back/slot receiver Alejandro Andino from Cypress Bay.
“I’m trying to get an even faster time,” said Andino. “I want to develop my speed for college and I go to a lot of places to train and I have a lot of coaches training me with my speed.”
Chambers and Blustein are looking to expand this combine as the event continues to grow.
“Let’s start with Florida, let’s maybe move to Orlando, maybe move into the Tampa/Jacksonville area and if it catches fire maybe move it to my hometown in Cleveland, Ohio, I think we have a good thing going,” said Chambers.
The group plans to have future seven on seven tournaments to further showcase South Florida football talent.
“We are going to have another one of these in April and a lot of these kids will come back and we’ll see how well they’ve done,” said Blu.
Videos and photos can be found on bleechr.com.
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