While his Thornton Academy teammates were doing drills on one of the hottest days of summer, quarterback Austin McCrum was at the other end of the practice field, working on his throws.
McCrum was lofting one long pass after another. Then he tested his accuracy by trying to hit the goalpost’s crossbar from 15 yards, accomplishing it several times in a row.
Being a quarterback is about doing drills. There’s the footwork on drops, handoffs and moving in the pocket. There’s short throws, medium throws and long throws. There’s reading defenses, and knowing when to fit a pass into tight coverage and when to throw it away.
McCrum has been doing similar drills since he started attending quarterback camps as a freshman. His first was a clinic run by Quinton Porter, the former Portland High and Boston College quarterback.
“I’ve worked with Quinton right up through the ranks,” said McCrum.
Many high school quarterbacks in southern Maine have worked with Porter, including Noah Nelson, who recently graduated from Falmouth and will play for Bowdoin College, and former Thornton quarterback Eric Christensen.
These days, quarterback camps are part of the movement toward specialization.
“There’s camps for any specialty you want,” said Windham Coach Matt Perkins. “There’s running back camps, kicking camps, linemen camps and team camps. They’re all out there.”
Perkins brings his team to the Central Connecticut State University camp – a little different in that teams scrimmage one another.
“It gives our guys a chance to play teams we will never see,” said Perkins. “The competition is pretty fierce. You have to deal with an opponent’s size and speed. It’s quick whistles, so it’s safe. At the end of the camp you play for a team championship.”
South Portland also attended the Central Connecticut camp.
MANY REASONS TO GO CAMPING
High school players attend quarterback camps for two primary reasons: They’re looking to improve their skills, and to get noticed.
There are numerous college coaches at the camps, not just the ones from the host school. Prices to attend can range from $50 for one-day clinics to $500 for a week.
“The biggest thing is that they get a lot more individual work,” said Alex Rotsko, Marshwood’s head coach and co-director of the Northeast Football Quarterback and Receiver Camp in Byfield, Massachusetts.
“The campers do more drills in their first session than they probably do in a whole season with their high school teams. We cover footwork, pass drops, throwing motion, passing drills, reads and coverages. We try to cover as many different things as we can.”
“It’s been huge in my development as a quarterback. I wouldn’t be going to a Division I school if I didn’t go to the camps,” said McCrum, who will attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, next season.
“The reality is that if you’re from Maine, you’re not going to get noticed unless you go to camps. I’ve been to a lot of one-day camps. They’re like a prospect camp for all positions. It’s really more of a showcase. They put you through drills to evaluate you. I’m going toe-to-toe with all the other quarterbacks and making the same throws. Sometimes there are a lot of quarterbacks at these camps and sometimes there’s only me and one other guy.”
McCrum also said camps are a good way to network.
“You get to know kids from other states and see how they play. We all talk about where each of us might end up playing in college.”
During the Boston College camp, McCrum was offered a scholarship to Lafayette, and he verbally committed.
Lafayette is a member of the Patriot League. Mickey Fein, a former University of Maine quarterback, is the offensive coordinator for the Leopards.
Porter’s camp was an offshoot of the one he started several years ago with Mike Bailey, the former Portland High coach.
Porter is a good example of how quarterbacks can get noticed at camps. Prior to his junior and senior seasons, Porter attended camps at the University of Kentucky, Purdue and Northwestern.
“Boston College didn’t know anything about me until I went to these camps. That’s why I had to go to camps,” he said.
The first thing Porter works on with his quarterbacks is their footwork.
“The feet dictate everything,” he said.
THEY TEACH WHAT YOU NEED
Quarterbacks Bailey Sawyer of Westbrook, Jack Bryant of Falmouth and Connor Upham of Morse have attended several camps. Sawyer is a junior and is beginning his third season as the starter, Bryant is a sophomore starter, and Upham is a junior starter.
Upham has attended one-day caps at UMaine and Bowdoin, and overnight camps at Boston College, Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, and the New England Elite Football Camp at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.
“I’m not looking to play big-time college football,” said Upham. “I would like to play in either Division II or III. I’ve learned a lot at these camps and you get to see the competition from out of state.
“Camps are about working on your mechanics. During the season, you don’t get a chance to work that much on mechanics. It’s all about getting the team going. After I get back, I work on the things I’ve learned. Going to football camps is something I really like doing.”
Because of the camps, Upham said his quarterback play is a lot more fluid and he’s able to get the ball out quicker.
“Hopefully it will transition to the season,” he said.
Bryant has attended the Complete QB Camp in Massachusetts and Rotsko’s Northeast Camp.
“You get a lot of reps throwing the ball,” said Bryant, who threw for two touchdowns in a scrimmage against Greely. “My goal is to be as good as I can. I would like to play football in college.”
Sawyer worked with Porter last winter. He also attended the Boston College camp for a week and the one-day UMaine camp this summer.
“Everything you need to be a successful quarterback, they teach you,” said Sawyer. “They teach you from a college standpoint, which is a very high standard. You learn to play at a high intensity. They work on your footwork and make sure it’s correct before you throw.”
Sawyer hopes his work at the camps will translate into more accurate throws on the move and on deep balls this fall.
Times have changed since quarterback Mike Rutherford of Portland won the Fitzpatrick Trophy in 1982.
Rutherford is now an assistant coach with the Bulldogs, working with quarterbacks.
“There were no organized quarterback camps when I was in high school,” he said. “My father got Tommy Thornton (the former Cheverus High and Boston University quarterback, and Cheverus head coach) to work with me before regular practice. I don’t think it can hurt a kid working with the top college coaches. Any camp can’t hurt.”
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