South Florida high school football players had another opportunity to showcase their talents while soaking in knowledge from one of football’s all-time best.
NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens was in attendance at the second-annual MRE (Major Recruiting Exposure) Showcase on January 30, and told his story about being under-recruited while giving words of encouragement to those aspiring to be in his shoes.
Owens, who wasn’t a star in high school and attended a small school at The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, emphasized that he never gave up om his dreams and ensured that he wouldn’t be outworked.
“In order to get where you want to be, I have something that I call the three D’s: desire, dedication and discipline,” Owens said. “Everyone has the desire to be or do something in life. In order to get to your ultimate goal, whatever that may be, you have to dedicate yourself and you have to have a level of discipline.”
The showcase featured 50 student-athletes ranging from the class of 2021 to 2024, who participated in station drills based on position and one-on-ones. Coaches from Ave Maria University, ASA Miami College and Advance Prep Academy were in attendance.
Last year, the showcase had a huge turnout, as over 100 players attended, including North Dakota signee Makai Lovett, former American Heritage linebacker Jaheim Webb and former Immaculata-La Salle linebacker Lafonzo Ruffin Jr. School’s such as St. Thomas University, Southern University, Livingstone College, Advanced Prep Academy, ASA Miami and Southern Nazarene University took part in evaluating the players. Four-time Pro Bowler Brian Orakpo also spoke to the players about the recruitment process.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many schools were be unable to attend due to the ongoing recruiting dead period — which ends on April 15. Nonetheless, MRE Recruiting founder Ernesto “Ernie” Munguia is determined to get the players all the help they need to garner a college scholarship.
“Having a guy like Ernie, a young guy, seeing the passion that he’s instilled in himself to put something like this on, it was a no brainer for me to come out and speak to you guys,” Owens said.
Here are the top performers from the showcase.
Miami Edison WR British Mitchell Jr. — Nobody had a more eventful afternoon that Mitchell. He stood out on every drill and converted on every single one-on-one, making some big time catches and taking home the offensive MVP award. After a solid season at Chaminade-Madonna, the class of 2023 product is in for a big junior season at Edison.
Miami Northwestern WR Daverrick Jenkins — Was unstoppable on all of the one-on-ones. At 6-foot-2, he runs with long strides and made his receptions seem effortless. He already holds offers from Penn State, Mississippi Stcate, Arkansas State amongst other schools. Now that the class of 2022 prospet is transferring from Hallandale to Northwestern, expect his recruitment to take off.
Immaculata-La Salle OL Luis Bodden — Dominated on all of the lineman drills and one-one-ones, this being named named the MVP. At 6-foot-1, 285-pounds, Bodden was bigger, faster and stronger than his peers.
Immaculata-La Salle DT Dairo Melendez — Excelled in the one-on-ones and was the most physically imposing defensive tackle at the showcase.
