McALLEN — Scouts from two of the nation’s top recruiting websites — Rivals.com and 247Sports.com — are set to visit the Rio Grande Valley as the first RGV Combine is scheduled to take place Jan. 15-16 in McAllen.
The combine, originally slated to take place in June but postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is being hosted at the Cavazos Sports Institute by Jaime Cavazos, a former Division I speed and strength coach and founder of CSI, and CJ Cavazos, a Valley native and founder of CJ Recruiting out of San Antonio.
“We kind of just want to provide more opportunities for our RGV kids,” Jaime Cavazos said. “This is a great opportunity. They’re going to be in front of Rivals and 247 Sports. They are the ones who will evaluate you, rank you and give you your stars. That helps with recruiting. So, they’re going to be right here in front of them.
“We’re going to see who’s serious about trying to take the next level and who’s not. It was kind of a joint thing. I have the facilities and my area is the training and assessments, and he (CJ Cavazos) is a very well-connected man. So why not bring those two together?”
The combine will provide participating athletes with physical measurements including their height, weight, standing reach, wingspan and hand size. Following that, each athlete will be evaluated in the vertical jump, broad jump, medicine ball toss and a laser-timed 40-yard dash, which will also include 10-yard and 20-yard splits.
“College programs want to see measurables,” CJ Cavazos said. “When they want to see football movements, they’ll watch it on film. But when they can get measurables on kids, then they don’t have to wonder how fast a kid is, how tall a kid is, how long he is. That’s what they want to know. And that’s what we’re giving them.”
CJ Cavazos has helped send multiple kids to Division I programs including his son Lejond Cavazos, a freshman cornerback at Ohio State. Now, Cavazos wants to share some of his experience with the athletes in the Rio Grande Valley.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have a son that plays football at the Ohio State University,” CJ Cavazos said. “I’ve been able to attend many different camps and combines all over the country because of him. I just thought to myself, ‘Why not help the kids back home and open doors for them without having them have to go to Houston or Dallas or San Antonio for a combine to get measurables?’ So why not bring the people that are influencers in the college football industry to the Valley to show them what Valley kids can do?”
Following the combine, scouts from both Rivals and 247 Sports will create a profile for each athlete in attendance and upload all their measurables to their respective sites. Additionally, the combine’s top performer will also earn help from CJ Recruiting Services to obtain an athletic scholarship free of charge.
The combine is scheduled to take place over the course of two days with middle school athletes going first between 5-7 p.m. on Jan. 15 followed by high school athletes between 9-11 a.m. on Jan. 16. CJ Cavazos stressed the importance of getting young athletes, especially those in the middle school age group, exposed to this type of setting early on.
“There’s always exceptional kids and real good athletes in junior high that sometimes fizz out in high school because they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” CJ Cavazos said. “My son was discovered in eighth grade at a combine. He ran really well and jumped really well and got on the radar. Then in ninth grade, he kind of blew up in a combine in Dallas and got about 15 offers after that combine. So, I’m a firm believer of the younger kids getting opportunities to compete.
“There are very good, young athletes everywhere. But there are a few great ones. I want to find great ones because if I can find great ones, I can lead them down the path.”
For more information visit csitrain.com.