Bluegrassrivals

July 28, 2012

Skidmore named 3rd best in nation
Briar Jumper junior ranked nationally after participation in Schumann’s National Underclassmen Combine

By BRUCE W. SINGLETON, CJ Correspondent
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset — Ask any gardener.

If you want to enjoy the best tomatoes, you have to raise them yourself, right in your back yard. Good taste becomes a tradition. You come to expect it.

Ask any football coach.

If you want the best football program year in and year out, you have to grow it right in your own community. Winning becomes a tradition. You come to expect it.

Ask any college recruiter.

If you want to find the best players in the nation, you go to the camps where the best of the best compete for attention. You don't wait for the high school coaches to send you films of their golden boys. You can see for yourself.

But to get to the top, those players have to develop a commitment to excellence. They have to go to the gym in the off season, They have to go to the elite camps and then they have to perform like their whole career was riding on it.

Ask Kagen Skidmore.

Skidmore, a 6’2”, 280-pound lineman for the Somerset High School Briar Jumper football team, has spent the whole summer at those camps — six in total — climbing the ladder, doing his job as a lineman, and playing the sport he loves.

The effort is paying off. Schumann's National Underclassmen Combine has named him number 3 lineman in the country. As a result, he will be watched this year and next by recruiting services like Rivals.com and ESPN as they sift through high school player stats like miners panning for gold. Every college football program in the country uses those services, at least in part.

That is tall cotton.

That is rare air.

That is just about as cool as it gets.

Somerset football coach Robbie Lucas agrees.

“Skidmore is a big strong lineman with a great amount of potential,” Lucas said. “He is a very physical blocker with a nasty streak in him. He is extremely athletic for such a big kid.”

“His work ethic is starting to meet and exceed his natural ability,” Lucas added. “He is a better person than he is a player and that is saying quite a bit. Kagen is just a junior and should continue to garner interest from many coaches.”

High praise and great accolades for the big guy.

But with kudos come responsibilities.

And pressure.

“This is great, but humbling,” Skidmore said. “I mean, I was even a bit reluctant to do this interview.”

“My main focus is the team,” he said. “I can't think of anything but the state championship. I’m hungry for it. I can’t be any more hungry.”

Skidmore has already seen one State Championship when Meece Middle won the title in 2009. But a State Championship for the Jumpers would be the first in the program's history.

Skidmore, will be in the spotlight and under the microscope for the fans and the opposing coaches this year. And with the national attention to Skidmore will come national attention to the team he plays for.

But that’s what happens when you grow a program like Somerset has. From the time the kids are 8 years old, their dream is to put on that purple and gold and maybe, just maybe, deliver that first state championship in the program’s history.

Is it doable this year?

Does Somerset have the combination of skill and discipline to take advantage of the lucky breaks when they come along?

Have Coach Robbie Lucas’ three seasons, three final fours, and one trip to the carpet prepared this team for the next level?

Stay tuned.

The harvest comes 15 games from now.

http://somerset-kentucky.com/localsports...-in-nation

Congrats to Kagen!

Congrats to Kagen. Thanks for posting GC, great read for a Jumper fan.

RoShamBo Wrote:Congrats to Kagen. Thanks for posting GC, great read for a Jumper fan.

No problem! He definitely deserves some recognition for his hard work this summer.

Kagen has looked good at Practice and at the Camps this Summer. Cong: to a fine young man.

Good read. Heard kagen is really starting to hit the weight room hard. Kid could be 300+ lbs going into next season... Couple that with excellent athleticism for a big man and he can pretty much name his school at the next level. Somerset should be very good up front on both sides of the football this year with skidmore, slaughter, bridge, Jacobi Gilmore, stambaugh and company... This has the makings of something special.

Congrats!

Great kid. Both he and the Briar Jumpers are primed for a great season.

Thanks for posting GC, He has put in a lot of work since the end of last season. Not just to get stronger, but on his technique and footwork. Has ran as fast as 5.06 40 at camps this summer and had a shuttle times in the low 4's. Looking forward to a great season from the Jumpers this year, just 12 days till the first scrimmage and 18 days till opening kick-off.

I did not see his combine numbers posted anywhere in the article. I'm sure a lot of people would look forward to seeing them. I'm sure they are impressive.

Awesome stuff. Can't wait to see him in action soon!

Tica Wrote:I did not see his combine numbers posted anywhere in the article. I'm sure a lot of people would look forward to seeing them. I'm sure they are impressive.

I was wanting to see them, as well, but like you said, they weren't in there.

Did anyone ever find the numbers to share? The bench reps, the 40, shuttle and cone drills, and so on. I looked and did not see his results posted at 2012 NUC combines in Lexington, Knoxville and or Nashville. Perhaps I overlooked something or looked in the wrong cities.

you can go to national underclassmen combine website. look under u100 tab and it will give the results for each region. most ky players are in the midwest region results.

Tica Wrote:Did anyone ever find the numbers to share? The bench reps, the 40, shuttle and cone drills, and so on. I looked and did not see his results posted at 2012 NUC combines in Lexington, Knoxville and or Nashville. Perhaps I overlooked something or looked in the wrong cities.

He attended the NUC in Oklahoma. not sure if they benched there or not, but the combine he went to in Indianapolis he got 20 reps of 185... Kagen is about a 335 presser (or thereabouts) but really has just started lifting. Some notable numbers at various combines (as i don't know his exact numbers for the NUC) for Kagen: 5.04 40 yd. 4.76 shuttle. 30 inch vert. He is just scratching the surface of his potential, these numbers will be much improved across the board next year, but they're not bad right now as it stands. He has dominated one-on-one drills during all of his camps, losing only a handful through 7 camps now. Very good athlete.

He was measured at 6-1, 280 (NUC measures in socks)

His 'U100' NUC numbers:

1) 14 reps @ 185
2) 19.5 vertical
3) 5.34 40.
4) 6-1 broad jump.
5) standing reach 95.5

No doubt this kid will grow. No doubt he will get much stronger. And if he keeps at it, he is involved in a program that sends a lot of kids to play at the next level. So best of luck to him.

Thanks for the stats, guys!

JumperPride1 Wrote:He attended the NUC in Oklahoma. not sure if they benched there or not, but the combine he went to in Indianapolis he got 20 reps of 185... Kagen is about a 335 presser (or thereabouts) but really has just started lifting. Some notable numbers at various combines (as i don't know his exact numbers for the NUC) for Kagen: 5.04 40 yd. 4.76 shuttle. 30 inch vert. He is just scratching the surface of his potential, these numbers will be much improved across the board next year, but they're not bad right now as it stands. He has dominated one-on-one drills during all of his camps, losing only a handful through 7 camps now. Very good athlete.

Tica Wrote:He was measured at 6-1, 280 (NUC measures in socks)

His 'U100' NUC numbers:

1) 14 reps @ 185
2) 19.5 vertical
3) 5.34 40.
4) 6-1 broad jump.
5) standing reach 95.5

No doubt this kid will grow. No doubt he will get much stronger. And if he keeps at it, he is involved in a program that sends a lot of kids to play at the next level. So best of luck to him.

JumperPride1, the numbers you posted are quite a bit different than the official ones at the combine--especially the 11.5" difference in the vertical and a full three tenths of a second in the forty. Where were your numbers recorded? Still very good numbers for a player that is a young junior.

The vertical is really the only one I had a question about. I figured the other ones might have been from a combination of other combines.

Norm Peterson Wrote:JumperPride1, the numbers you posted are quite a bit different than the official ones at the combine--especially the 11.5" difference in the vertical and a full three tenths of a second in the forty. Where were your numbers recorded? Still very good numbers for a player that is a young junior.

The vertical was recorded at the university of tennessee and the forty came from the university of Louisville. He said he couldn't get a any footing at NUC to get the vertical he had been having. Also the forty time was done with stopwatches after you completely crossed the forty not just broke the plane.

Norm Peterson Wrote:The vertical is really the only one I had a question about. I figured the other ones might have been from a combination of other combines.

They are quite different. The 11.5 difference is for sure conflicting, I could have heard wrong on that which is obviously possible. The 5.06 was at UL's camp, and he had a full week of practice before benching at the NUC so was understandably weaker. I'm going to have to dig around about the vertical numbers, I really don't post misleading info so I will definitely check into it. On the 40 issue, he's run anywhere from a 5.06 to a 5.3 and change at the camps. The UL 5.06 was laser I believe.... 40 times are day to day (minute to minute) for big athletes that rarely work on such events. A 20 and L drill would be more of an accurate judge IMO for the lineman. Regardless the kid is working hard and getting better every day.

Shondue Wrote:The vertical was recorded at the university of tennessee and the forty came from the university of Louisville. He said he couldn't get a any footing at NUC to get the vertical he had been having. Also the forty time was done with stopwatches after you completely crossed the forty not just broke the plane.

Good to see this post. I knew I had heard higher numbers on the vertical, and lower numbers on the 40 than those posted on NUC.

Shondue Wrote:The vertical was recorded at the university of tennessee and the forty came from the university of Louisville. He said he couldn't get a any footing at NUC to get the vertical he had been having. Also the forty time was done with stopwatches after you completely crossed the forty not just broke the plane.

I figured they were from some different combines. I've seen him run and I felt like he would be closer to a 5 flat than the mid 5s. I was unsure about the vertical because I've never really seen him jump. You aren't always going to be at your best in all measures at these camps. I think looking at the best numbers in each category even if taken from different days shows what the player is capable of. Kagen is going to have a great year and will be successful at the next level. I know the coaches at EKU were impressed with him.