Canton, NC- The Western North Carolina Football Coaches Association held its first-ever Best of Western North Carolina Combine at Pisgah High School in Canton, North Carolina last week. Athletes from all five Smoky Mountain Conference schools were present at the combine and they were able to showcase their skills in front of nearly 20 college coaches and scouts.

The invite-only event consisted of athletes from as far East as Watauga and Mitchell High School all the way through the Western tip of the state.

Andrews was represented by Tyler West and Dalton Rose; Cherokee was represented by Luke Climbingbear; Hayesville was represented by Taylor McClure and Isaac Chandler; Murphy was represented by Ricky Queen, Hunter Stalcup, and Dom Rummler; Robbinsville was represented by Koleson Dooley, Donovan Carpenter, Cuttler Adams, and Chase Calhoun; and Swain County was represented by Nolan Fisher, Brandon Frost, Josh Collins, Reese Winchester, and Josiah Glaspie.

Athletes were able to compete in the normal combine drills such as the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, broad jump, and other position-specific drills as well as a few 7 on 7 games to end the day.

Coaches from Western Carolina University, Gardner Webb, Virginia Wise, Mars Hill, Elon, and many others were actively engaged with some of the Smoky Mountain Conference athletes and intrigued by what they brought to the table.

Smoky Mountain Conference coaches also pitched in and helped out with position-specific drills and helped the combine go off without a hitch.

Swain County Head Coach Sherman Holt was very happy with the way the event transpired and the way all of the athletes performed:

“It feels good to be out here. It’s a great opportunity for our kids to get some exposure and, we were talking about it as the week was progressing, it’s great to have a measuring stick of where we’re at versus other people’s best. It was good for all the kids ya know, they got good work, and everybody here was good so it was good to get in some one on one drills and such. We are just thankful for the opportunity to be able to come out today.”

In response to Swain County’s own spring practice coming to an end last week, Holt said:

“Spring went good. We had a lot of young guys out there, but that’s what we utilize spring practice for is getting those young kids in there and learning that system and just getting live reps against Varsity kids. We had a real good spring and we’ve got a lot of confidence in our kids going forward into the summer.”

While football as a team sport may be tabled until August, it is nice to see these athletes have the ability to showcase their individual skills in front of next level coaches and finally get the exposure they deserve.

This will not be the last event of it’s kind this spring/summer, and 7 on 7s are just around the corner as well. Stay tuned to FYNSports and we will bring you coverage of everything happening in the Smoky Mountain Conference this Fall.