LAKELAND – There are tons of options during the summer offseason when it comes to camps. You can virtually go anywhere you want in this country during the months of May, June and July nowadays and find yourself an opportunity to get better. Sunday’s Xecutives Event at Southeastern University gave us all we could have possibly wanted and then-some as the athletes from around the Bay Area stopped the show and turned the heat up even more underneath the late-June sun. There were enough talking points to build an entire novel when you take the action from the position groups, the 1v1’s, the 7-on’s and coaching that went with it.

Best Xecutives ever?…
We think it’s safe to say that. Sunday’s event set the standard from the performance-level, to the coaching and even beyond to the organizational and logistical standpoints. Let’s start with the players; from the very beginning once they were out of their warm-ups the action was first class. The QB’s/WR’s/TE’s responded perfectly to the challenges from the gauntlet, to the modified drills that saw the OL/DL’s doing 1-v-1’s with the QB/WR/TE/DB’s simulating pass rush. The coaches were active from the opening whistle (more on that momentarily) and in the end were as much fans of these young men’s performances as they were evaluators. The event (although a little on the toasty side) was without weather issues and each drill and station began-and-ended precisely at the time they were supposed to, but let’s not kid ourselves…this event was a success because everyone (parents included) came together for the sole purpose of competition and getting better at something. No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon if it can’t be spent next poolside with a cold glass of lemonade than to be on a sweltering football field with hundreds of people wanting to achieve the same goals.

We mentioned the coaching that took place…
Derrick Brooks. That’s pretty much it. Well, okay let’s expand a little more. Even folks that have been in this business for a hot-minute or grown up around this game get a little woozy when a member of the NFL’s Hall of Fame blesses you with their time. It was surreal to see how actively engaged Mr. Brooks got with these young men and to see the looks on their faces when he was taking his time to share that knowledge and passion with them. Words cannot possibly describe the joyous reactions from him when he saw the light come on with some of these players. Brooks was running around and present at every station and drill at some point during the day barking out instructions and showing kids the love they deserved when they made plays. We’ll say this…that intensity that ALL of us whether ‘Noles or Bucs Fans have come to love and respect was present and accounted for and those kids devoured it like a steak from The Palm. One thing we’ll also say is that thank goodness we didn’t have to be one of those guys that had to play against him back in the day. We can see why that same joyous enthusiasm and intensity would easily translate into a trip to the hospital or injured reserve if you ain’t bringing the same tools to the job site as he does. Thank you, Mr. Brooks. That was special.

Tyler Mirabella, Glass Wilson V, Darrell Cook, & Kwest Fluitt…
…Are why we love doing this. Of course there’s plenty of other players and coaches involved that fit into this category, but if you want concrete-specific examples then here’s why. Mirabella was spotted getting a workout in on Sunday night following a grueling four-day stretch with his Steinbrenner squad in Orlando and then the event with BCP on Sunday. Cook tweeted out a picture of himself the next morning explaining that with weaknesses exposed, it was time to get back to work immediately. Wilson V was present just 48-hours after losing his grandfather and you really wouldn’t have known a thing was wrong unless you were to ask him. Fluitt was slightly tardy to the event, but with good reason. He had emergency oral surgery first thing Sunday following the loss of a tooth during 7-v-7 play the day before. We are pretty positive that we could find PLENTY of these instances of sacrifice on a daily basis. And we definitely can get caught up in the negative things that happen in this sport more-so than the positives, but when chances like this arise to say thank you to these young men for doing what they do it’s imperative they see what we see. They are like the real estate moguls of HSFB; instead of location, location, location…they achieve success because their “properties” contain intangibles, intangibles, intangibles.

The “younger” guys grew up a little…
We’ve started talking a little bit about the members of the class of 2017 and 2018 and how they could literally and figuratively change the game in the next few years, but there’s some younger guys that aren’t quite there just yet who could join that list fairly soon however. There was definitely some maturation taking place along with some eyes wide open at the level of the competition that showed up in Lakeland. There’s certainly some physical development that will need to take place over the course of the next two seasons, but that’s usually the case with majority of prospects in some fashion. The most intriguing thing to watch will be a matter if “when” not “if” the light comes on with several of these young men. When it does, you’ll be the first to know and they will add to an already stacked list of juniors.

Speaking of those 17’s…
So we’ve alluded (albeit nameless at this time) to the 2017’s that are gonna do some work in the not-so-distant future. Some of the guys already doing work and reinforcing the claims this class is potentially as special as we’ve ever seen earned their spots as MVP’s and honorable mentions. Tre McKitty, Bryce Miller and Decalon Brooks were all worthy recipients, but they’ll have competition in the overall rankings come this time next season and perhaps as early as this fall if the progression continues. Of course there’s Devan Barrett at CB from Tampa Catholic, but guys like WR Daquon Green from Tampa Bay Tech, Hilsborough’s Zachary Carter and Lake Gibson’s AJ Deshazor are just a few of the ’17’s coming for dinner with intentions of eating all the food. These guys are just the tip of the iceberg and it looks like the juniors on rosters all across the Tampa Bay Area are putting scouts and media members on notice immediately.

But wait, there’s more…
Yes, it’s somewhat of a slippery slope to start putting the 2018’s out there for consumption. But a few of these guys have forced the issue it seems by virtue of a combination of frame and skill set. Cambridge Christian’s Richard Gouraige is on the precipice of becoming a nationally-rated DE prospect while Strawberry Crest QB Tate Whatley is going to light up scoreboards for the coming years. Northeast WR Jalynn Williams already holds an offer from Miami, while Crystal River CB Tyrek Scriven is going to turn heads early-and-often. That’s all for now, though. Those young men know they’ve got a TON of ball left to play and to get any further ahead would be slipping down that slope we mentioned at the beginning.