Middle-school football phenoms head to Texas for combine

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This article was published 14/12/2023 (1016 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Donte Sims and Lucas Hyde want to show they can hang with the best young football players in America.

The Winnipeggers will have a chance to do so at the inaugural National Middle School Combine in Frisco, Texas, this weekend.

The showcase is part of the U.S. Army Bowl, an annual all-star game for the best high school players south of the border. It gives dozens of the best junior high prospects the chance to show off their abilities and learn from former coaches of college programs and the NFL.

Sims, 12, and Hyde, 13, will run a gauntlet of drills, including combine staples such as the 40-yard dash, broad jump and shuttle run and show their on-field skills over three days. Perhaps the coolest part of the trip, is their performance will be taped for them to share with high school programs.

At the end of the combine, those who stood out will be placed on the national watch list and be firmly on the radar of more than 200 college programs across the U.S.

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely excited,” said Sims, currently a running back for the East Side Eagles. “It’s definitely an opportunity to show how good I am and to get some exposure.”

Sims is the younger brother of Dallas Sims, who will suit up at wide receiver for the University of Minnesota Gophers in NCAA Division I action next fall. Like his brother, Donte has worked with Recruit Ready — a Winnipeg-based football academy — for the past two years as he tries to make his way south of the border one day as well.

“I’m trying to get some work in, (work on) fundamentals and try to get faster, and then definitely put on tape,” said Sims.

Hyde has trained with Recruit Ready for the last four years and also dreams of flying south for college, which he believes is his best chance to make it to the NFL.

“I’m feeling good and excited,” said Hyde, a receiver for the St. Vital Mustangs.

Hyde, who hopes to become the first person in his family to play university sports, said his goal during the trip is simple: run fast and create some buzz for himself.

“I’m trying to get my 40 (yard dash) time better because I ran a 5.2 (seconds) at my last combine and I’m trying to get at least a 4.9,” he said. “Just to get offers and go to schools in the States.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

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