CCC Invite Only: Breaking Down the Data

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two months of full-participation events led directly to Sunday's Carolina Coaches Combine Invite Only at River Bluff.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After watching the event live and then cranking through the data packs associated with the Catapult Sports Cat 1 vests every player was wearing, we now know just how impressive this group was as a whole.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was pure speed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maximum effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top-level burst.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This data will not only help a lot of players' chances of making the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas or the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl (both staffs were in attendance evaluating), it should be a major boost for many of those players' recruitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Let's highight the best of the best of the best in three vital categories drawn from the Cat 1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>MPH ELITE EIGHT</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The format of the Invite Only was different from the first four South Carolina events, in that laser-timed 40s weren't part of the equation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In lieu of that and some other combine standards that normally allow players to hit their top speeds, Sunday's session including a single pure sprint. The different positional groups started on the goal line, raced to the 5, returned to the goal line and then ran to the opposite 40-yard line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seventy yards was it. And while that alone seems like a lot, players quickly realized how much they needed to take advantage of the opportunity.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Of of the 131 players, eight hit 22+ miles per hour.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1580947' first='Jayden' last='Boyd']</strong> WR, Fairfield Central - 22.95</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473009' first='Jeremiah' last='Favorite']</strong> DB, Boiling Springs - 22.83</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Caiden Cole</strong> WR, Carolina Forest - 22.54</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473016' first='AJ' last='Grate']</strong> ATH, Waccamaw - 22.47</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Asher Littlejohn</strong> DB, Broome - 22.45</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1196428' first='Jalen' last='McGraw']</strong> LB, Bamberg-Ehrhardt - 22.23</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1592540' first='Christian' last='Foster']</strong> LB, Emerald - 22.08</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165148' first='Jachin' last='Davis']</strong> QB, Stratford - 22.08</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>PUSHING THE LIMITS</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sprint distance percentages - and more, importantly, why they matter - have been documented throughout this year's combines. But the players who participated Sunday proved exactly why they are among the very best across South Carolina.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>More often than not, they didn't hit their personal off switches until the Cat 1's were switched to the off position. The effort showed in their individual data packs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sprint distance is measured any time a player surpasses approximately 12.5 miles per house. Typically, a combine or game session that breaches 10 percent in sprint distance compared to overall distance is considered pretty good.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1327713' first='Matthew' last='Hillstock']</strong> WR, Easley - 15.8%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473027' first='Meliq' last='McGowan']</strong> RB, Goose Creek - 14.7%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473013' first='Carter' last='Coleman']</strong> WR, Blythewood - 14.1%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nehemias Fernandez</strong> RB, Laurens - 17.4%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148537' first='Jaryn' last='Fox']</strong> RB, Carolina Forest - 16.4%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1656666' first='Lathon' last='Smalls']</strong> WR, River Bluff (pictured) - 14.5%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1303770' first='Jamijae' last='Karim']</strong> RB, Liberty - 15.1%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395098' first='AJ' last='Lee']</strong> RB, Andrews - 14.3%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mike Doe</strong> RB, North Augusta - 15.9%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1580947' first='Jayden' last='Boyd']</strong> WR, Fairfield Central - 14.1%</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>ACCELERATION RATES</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cat 1 data is compiled in various charts to help streamline how it is digested, and when it comes to acceleration rate, a 1-10 scale is utilized. Accleration is how quickly a player goes from a stopped position to an upper-level speed, and it essentially shows how much of a burst a player has.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A figure north of a 7 on the 1-10 scale is considered strong, and 17 players hit that mark Sunday. Nearly half of that list hit 7.5 or better.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734538' first='Isaiah' last='Smith']</strong> WR, North Augusta - 7.95</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1656666' first='Lathon' last='Smalls']</strong> WR, River Bluff - 7.87</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wesley Gorsage</strong> WR, Lexington - 7.80</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1580947' first='Jayden' last='Boyd']</strong> WR, Fairfield Central - 7.79</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Deonte Phillps</strong> ATH, Strom Thurmond - 7.61</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1395098' first='AJ' last='Lee']</strong> RB, Andrews - 7.60</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1371931' first='Jordan' last='Jenkins']</strong> WR, Conway - 7.56&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165512' first='Chris' last='Boyd']</strong> DB, Clinton - 7.56</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->