Camp tours well-received by Alpharetta seniors

By MICHAEL CARVELL

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Two Alpharetta High School football players won the sweepstakes on the college-camp circuit this summer.

Wide receivers Michael Bennett and Brandon Terry made the trek, along with many of the state’s other top rising seniors, to college campuses with big dreams and high hopes. It’s similar to the lottery, with hundreds competing and only a select few winning a prized scholarship on the spot.

Bennett was awarded a scholarship offer after mid-June workouts at his dream school, Georgia, and accepted within two days. The journey across the Southeast was longer, but in the end just as fruitful, for Terry, who committed to Wake Forest a few weeks ago.

“It was a long two months, but it was definitely worth it in the end,” Terry said.

“There’s a lot of pressure because you’re not going to these camps just to have fun, you are playing for the rest of your life ... a good camp can change your path in life.”

The scholarship-seeking process kicks off in June, with major colleges holding at least one but sometimes three or four one-day camps to evaluate recruits. The last big one this summer was last weekend’s “Friday Night Lights” at reigning BCS champion Florida, where M.L. King tailback Mack Brown committed to the Gators over Georgia.

The risk is relatively cheap, with the NCAA-mandated camp fees ranging from $25 to $60. The reward is far greater, with many scholarships worth more than $50,000 per year.

Bennett and Terry started the tour of colleges together with workouts at Florida and Tennessee in early June. Both felt good about their performances and got positive reviews from the college coaches, but neither was offered SEC scholarships. They did get a pep talk from their high school coach.

“I told them, ‘Keep playing well. You’re going out there and competing against some of the best players in the country,’” Alpharetta’s Jason Dukes said. “When they line up and do well, regardless of whether or not they get a scholarship offer, they should feel good that they competed against top talent and held their own.”

Next up for both was the Mark Richt Camp at Georgia. He was on Georgia’s radar since early spring, with the Bulldogs’ staff impressed after watching his junior tape.

“I knew I wasn’t going to get a scholarship unless I went to camp,” Bennett said. “[Georgia] told me they wanted a chance to work me out and evaluate me in person. That was my best shot at getting a scholarship.”

Despite having offers from 15 other schools, including Syracuse and Vanderbilt, Bennett felt enormous pressure to perform well at Georgia, and he responded with an all-star performance in drills against the state’s best defensive backs. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw Richt walking toward him at the finish.

“[Richt] told me they were high on me, that he just needed to talk to his wide receivers coach [Tony Ball],” Bennett said. “[Richt] came back a few minutes later and told me about the offer.

“I was shocked and blown away. Georgia’s my dream school. I wanted to commit on the spot, but I needed to talk with my parents and pray about it. It ended up being the right decision for me, so I committed two days later.”

Bennett immediately canceled the rest of his planned camp trips.

His good fortune only made the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Terry more determined, and he got tutoring from former Falcons wide receiver Stacey Bailey.

Terry’s destiny changed earlier this month when he visited Wake Forest, received a scholarship offer and committed the next day. He picked the ACC school over 10 offers, including Iowa and Purdue.

“When I saw the campus, I really liked it and just knew that’s where I wanted to go,” he said. “They really motivated me by saying they would offer if I did well at camp. They said they wanted me after camp, and that’s where I wanted to go.”

For the two Alpharetta seniors, they started out on the same journey, took different paths, but both had happy endings.