Plant City having a presence at the annual Under Armour Combine is nothing new. But this year, two of the area’s best juniors got to experience it from a new perspective.
Plant City’s Sawyer Dawson and Strawberry Crest’s Austin Carswell made the trek Jan. 2, to Tropicana Field — with sideline passes, granting them the same level of access as the media.
“They were definitely good enough to be there,” Gerald Dickens says. “It’s just that the camp was filled up. You’ve got kids from all over fighting for 150 spots in the combine — it’s tough to get in.”
Dickens, who runs NextLevel Sports Academe, wanted to get Dawson and Carswell off to a good start in 2014 in any way possible. So, even though they didn’t get to participate in the drills and exercises this time, the two young men still got a good takeaway from the trip.
ROLE REVERSAL
As two of the area’s more prominent prospects, Dawson and Carswell are used to being scouted at their games. But, in those situations, they’re busy on the field — not paying much attention to the guy standing by the 20-yard line, scribbling furiously into his clipboard.
At the combine, they got a first-hand look at top prospects, such as Sickles’ Ray Ray McCloud III and East Lake’s George Campbell. And, being competitive people, it wasn’t easy to be flies on the wall.
“I didn’t like being on the sideline,” Dawson says. “I just wanted to go out there and show what I can do, to go and compete.”
Although it wasn’t the boys’ first choice, being on the sideline was better than not being there at all.
“What stood out to me was the type of environment they had, and the drills they were doing,” Carswell says. “Everything was bigger and faster than in normal camps. On the sideline, I could see what was going on and how the kids were being judged, from the coaches’ standpoint.”
Whatever they can do to get noticed, to become bigger fish in the huge pond of the recruiting world, they’re willing to do. Part of that involves speaking to the media, and being on the sidelines helped them get a little more personal with reporters.
“MEDIA FRENZY”
As one of the biggest combines in the country, thanks in part to the All-American Game that follows it, the Under Armour combine is a big deal. And, as one of the first major recruiting-related events of the year, all of the big names in sports media are trying to get out to the Trop.
“The combine kind of kicks off the exposure tour,” Dickens says. “You’re trying to get your athletes in front of the media — it’s ESPN, Rivals.com, you name it. … It’s a big media frenzy.”
There were also a few ex-NFL players present, including Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders, who coached defensive backs at the combine — meaning that, had the NextLevel boys gotten to participate, Carswell would have worked directly with “Neon Deion” himself.
So, with sideline passes, it was quite easy for Dawson and Carswell to find reporters. They mingled with the sports scribes, talking and getting head shots taken — whenever they weren’t scouting the field for competition. In a stadium full of four- and five-star recruits, it was a good way for these two to get noticed.
The combine kicks off an exposure tour that lasts through the entire offseason, which is where Dickens and NextLevel can help. Groups like NextLevel are, essentially, the middle man between the athletes and the media. So, when the reporters decide where they want to go, NextLevel brings the athletes to them.
“We’re looking at the Nike SPARQ Combine next,” Dickens says. “We’re waiting to hear from other media sources to determine what camp we should go to next. There may be some things we do between now and the Nike camp.”
For example, NextLevel showed up at Big County Preps’ Ignite Combine last weekend, and two Plant City athletes — teammates Dawson and T.J. Chase — won MVP awards.
Although Dawson and Carswell are grateful for the opportunity to attend the Under Armour combine, they would like to get back on the field with the top prospects at the next one.
“I really wanted to go compete against them,” Dawson says. “I was thinking, ‘I could hang with these guys.’”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
THE LOWDOWN
Sawyer Dawson
DB, Plant City
2013: 87 tackles, 3 INT (76 return yards), 2 blocked punts, 1 blocked FG
2014: Returning for senior season
Austin Carswell
DB/QB, Strawberry Crest
2013: 80-168, 930 yards (.476 completion percentage), 13 TD, 7 INT (8 games played).
2014: Returning for senior season — likely moving back to DB with Tristan Hyde’s return.