Ryker Jones, other top prospects, excited to showcase their football skills

Ryker Jones flew under the radar at Wyomissing last season. Not a surprise, considering he was playing inside linebacker behind a couple of All-State performers, Jack Miller and Tommy Grabowski.

When he got on the field to spell those seniors he made plays, helping the Spartans to another District 3 championship and a return to the PIAA Class 3A title game.

He’s eager to show college coaches that he’s ready to step up as a front-line player. That’s why he was at the Get Recruited Hamburg Showcase Thursday night, along with about 100 top football prospects from Pennsylvania and beyond.

The sophomore went through drills for about 90 minutes before more than three dozens college coaches, some from FCS schools such as New Hampshire, Merrimack College and Fordham; some from the PSAC, including Kutztown, Bloomsburg and Shippensburg; most from the Division III level, such as Hobart, Rochester and Catholic University, as well as Alvernia and Albright.

“It’s really helpful to get your name out here to all these coaches,” said Jones, “and it’s a good way to start off the summer football season.”

Jones, like many of the players on the field, will spend their spring and summer weekends attending similar showcase events, many on college campuses. Plenty of college scholarships are available but there’s a lot of competition for them, so exposure is a big key.

Jones plans on going to another half-dozen similar showcase events, at Penn State, Villanova and Delaware, and possibly at the University of Connecticut and West Virginia and some at Division II and III schools.

“As much as I can get my name out there, I’m going to,” he said.

These events are important for both the prospects and the coaches. They’re money-makers for the host colleges, especially critical for budgets for programs below the Power Five conference level. But they’re also a way for a small coaching staff with limited resources to get eyes on multiple players at one stop.

“You get to see them live, and move around and do some different things,” said Marcel Quarterman, the offensive coordinator at Kutztown University. “On tape, and in pads, guys can look one way but you want to see them in person, see how they’re built, see how they move.

“That definitely helps as you’re trying to evaluate and put it all together. Tape’s not the end-all, be-all; workouts like these aren’t the end-all, be-all. You try to gather as much information as you can (in recruiting). To be able to get out like this and see guys from different places is always good.”

Quarterbacks and receivers went through passing drills. Linemen worked on their footwork and technique. Running backs worked on blocking and pass-catching skills. Players were timed in the 40 and put through combine-like events to test agility, balance and cutting ability.

Players paid $100 to participate.

“Where else is a Division III (prospect) going to get seen by 40 schools in two hours,” said Hamburg athletic director Aaron Menapace, whose son Xander, the Hawks’ quarterback, has been receiving a lot of college interest. “The coaches are right on top of the drills, and they talk to the kids between reps and drills.”

“(Coaches) want to see a kid compete in person; they want to see his demeanor,” said event organizer Andrew Cohen of Get Recruited Consulting. “For a quarterback, they like to see the delivery, how the ball comes out. How fluid a receiver is. They’ll watch a player’s hips, and his general mobility. When they have tight hips it’s hard for them to change directions and move smoothly.

“When you’re recruiting a quarterback, it’s good to see him throw in person, it’s good to see his leadership, his communication skills,” Cohen said. “You also want to see his film so you can see how he throws under pressure, how he works within the offense that’s being coached to him at the high school.”

College coaches had the chance to interact with players before the event, during a college fair, and throughout the workouts. It’s important, Quarterman said, for recruits to see coaches at events such as this.

“Kids want to go to (schools) where they know they’re wanted, and (people are) interested (in them),” he said. “They want to get exposure, that’s why they come out to these things. They want to showcase what they can do athletically to a bunch of college coaches, get in front of as many eyes as they can and create opportunities for themselves. That’s why something like this is really good.”

Strength and speed are critical in order to play at the next level but that’s not the first thing college coaches look at when they begin recruiting a player. How a player performs off the field and in the classroom counts.

“It’s definitely the character first for us,” said Quarterman. “We like to contact the high school coach and make sure we’re recruiting a good person, somebody that we want to bring into our program that we think can be successful for us. You always want to make sure you’re bringing in the right kind of person.”

In addition to Jones and his Wyomissing teammate Drew Eisenhower, there were about 20 Berks players at the showcase, from Berks Catholic, Boyertown, Conrad Weiser, Gov. Mifflin, Fleetwood and Hamburg.

There were also players from Southern Columbia, Bloomsburg, Pottsville, McDonough in Baltimore, Mynderse Academy of Seneca Falls, N.Y., Saint Mary’s Ryken in southern Maryland, Appoquinink High School of Middletown, Del., Owego Free Academy, N.Y., and Myrtle Beach Collegiate Academy, in S.C. Even one from Canada Prep, in Ontario.

“The competition was really good today,” Jones said. “A lot of good kids, a lot of good athletes. It was really fun getting to work with them; it was fun getting to talk to kids that I played against. They’re all just really competitive and it’s a good experience.”

Jones will spend the next two months preparing for and going to similar events, as well as competing in baseball tournaments with the Berks County Bulls. He’s also an outstanding third baseman and college prospect in baseball.

He just completed a terrific season for the Spartans, batting a team-leading .382 and driving in 12 runs in 20 games. He led the team in one-base percentage (.470), slugging (.545) and OPS (1.015), as well as with 10 stolen bases. He did all of that while striking out just three times.

He’ll likely have a chance to play football or baseball in college; he’s not nearly ready to make that choice yet.

“I love football and I love baseball,” he said. “The decision’s probably going to come in my senior year.”