Big-time bonus

At the National Athletic Testing System (NATS) combine, the fullback walked around the Ravens indoor training facility. He awaited the results as he stood on the plush field-turf surface for the first time.

“I?ve never been here before. This is really nice,” Foote said Sunday morning, in Owings Mills. “I went to a Penn State indoor combine and this is way, way better.”

In a white T-shirt and dark shorts, the Southern High junior said he has been recruited by various Division I and Division I-AA schools. He has heard from the University of Maryland, James Madison in Virginia and Stony Brook in New York.

“Maryland is my goal,” he said. “But there are a lot of other schools out there.”

This high school recruit understood the significance of competing at a nationally-rated combine.

“It gives everyone a chance to put their scores and talent out there to collegecoaches,” he said.

The NATS testing is the only standardized combine sponsored solely by the American Football Coaches Association.

“It?s the athletic version of the SATs,” Dan Eassa, director of NATS communications, said Sunday. “You won?t see any banners or sponsors here. We?re run by the AFCA.”

Two other players at the morning session were classmates from Urbana High: wide receiver/cornerback Jim Roche and fullback/safety Ryan Smith.

Roche and Smith each said they were experienced in the combine process. They had already been to a Nike combine and a Rutgers evaluation this year.

Roche said his future depends on what kind of offers he receives. “Temple, Hofstra, they have all come to see me,” he said. “I haven?t gotten any offers; a lot of letters, but no offers.”

Smith wants to attend James Madison. He has received phone calls from various schools in the past few weeks.

“James Madison, that is where I want to play,” he said.