Willie Anderson sat on an orange ball, used for football drills, about the size of a yoga ball. The former NFL great was in the cool of Georgia Tech’s indoor practice facility Thursday afternoon, there to keep an eye on a rising high-school senior that he has trained, Hillgrove High offensive lineman Ben Galloway.
Galloway was across the field, taking part in a prospect camp in front of Yellow Jackets coaches. One of about 340 aspirants hoping for a look from Tech coaches, Galloway was trying his best to perform in front of offensive-line coach Brent Key, trying to stand out among dozens of other linemen. During drills at the start of the camp, for instance, he sprinted from one station to the next to be first in line for the next drill.
“You always want to be first in line,” he said later. “You never want to be last because it’s just a bad look. That’s one thing – when you’re going to camps, make sure you’re first in line.”
Anderson was asked the significance of being able to train in front of Key, the gatekeeper for offensive-line scholarship offers.
Said Anderson, “This is huge for him.”
College football camps are in full swing. Thursday’s, held at Bobby Dodd Stadium and the indoor practice facility, was the second that Tech coach Geoff Collins was overseeing for all prospects, mixed in with camps for quarterbacks and seven-on-seven team camps. They are not camps in the traditional sense. There is some instruction, but the primary function is evaluation, with high schoolers paying $50 for the privilege.
Galloway’s day didn’t have the ideal start. Because of a miscommunication, he had come to Tech with his family under the impression that he was going to have a private, one-on-one workout with Key, only to find hundreds of other prospects at the stadium.
“I was still ready to play some football, just give it my all, 100%, and try to impress all the coaches into giving me an offer,” he said.
Galloway had received eight offers – Akron, Virginia State, Fordham, Alabama State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee-Martin, Morehouse and Elon. He was trying to earn an offer from a power-conference school, a prize that likely would legitimize him as a prospect with other schools.
He had begun training with Anderson’s offensive-lineman academy in Alpharetta, driving from Cobb County thrice weekly to improve his technique and benefit from Anderson’s experience with the recruiting game. Galloway was hampered, though, by having suffered a bone bruise in his ankle in Hillgrove’s spring game. He had been in a walking boot for three weeks and was still regaining his conditioning.
At the start of the day, campers ran the 40-yard dash and then were measured for the broad jump. Then, they were grouped by position and taken through a circuit of exercises to evaluate agility, such as running around a hoop about eight feet in diameter, running over blocking pads and shuttle drills similar to those seen at the NFL scouting combine.
Key squatted as he watched the offensive and defensive linemen from behind his sunglasses, his hands clasped. He occasionally shouted at players: “Finish! Finish!” In the shuttle drills, particularly, when players had to change direction quickly, the linemen sometimes slipped on the Grant Field turf. Their desperation as they scrambled back up to their feet, not wanting to waste a chance to make an impression, was almost palpable.
At 6-foot-4 and a lean 287 pounds, Galloway certainly looked the part. Among similarly sized players, Galloway’s speed and ability to move his feet quickly stood out.
“Everybody’s talked about his feet moving,” Anderson said. “If you see his body, his body’s one that’s going to be able to grow into and be a 320-pound kid with no body fat who’s going to be explosive and strong. And those are the new-age linemen that coaches are looking for.”
After the circuit, the offensive and defensive linemen headed over to the indoor practice facility. There, the players were divided into smaller groups for more drills. Key oversaw the group that Galloway was in, which was no coincidence.
“They’ve been on him,” Anderson said during the workout. “Coach Collins said they talked about him (Thursday) in the meeting room. So we’re going to see what happens.”
Key led players through different training drills to develop run- and pass-blocking skills. Key did make the effort to offer instruction to various players and made time to give an eye to the other groups with players who, by the looks of it, were not the same standard as Galloway’s group.
“There you go! Good job,” Key exhorted to a player after a run-blocking drill.
The last drill of the day perhaps was the most important, a one-on-one pass-rush drill between offensive and defensive linemen. Even with players in shorts and T-shirts, it was a hard-hitting, physical contest, with the defensive linemen charging at or around the offensive linemen.
Galloway, his conditioning not quite where it had been before the injury, appeared worn out. Sweat dripped from his chin as he waited for his turn.
On his second one-on-one attempt, he lined up at right tackle. A defensive end charged wide, and Galloway stayed in front of him, getting his hands into his torso and then putting him on the ground when he tried to spin back to the inside.
Anderson walked over to Galloway between reps to show him video and offer him advice.
“Just pointers – keep my hands inside, making sure not to overset,” Galloway said. “And I felt like the more I did it, the better I got.”
After the workout ended, Galloway, his mother, Nadia, his father, Kenya, and his sister, Nola, waited with Anderson for Key to talk with other linemen and their families. He made at least one other scholarship offer, to P.J. Wilkins, the nephew of Hawks great Dominique Wilkins.
“It feels amazing,” said Wilkins, who played at Wheeler High as a junior but is transferring to a private school in Baltimore for his final season. “I’m lost for words right now.”
Galloway tried to be patient. Then Key first called Anderson, a good friend, over for a private word. Galloway could only guess at the conversation. It was suggested to Galloway that it was like a reality show.
“You can describe it as a reality show, especially face-to-face like that, not knowing what’s going to happen,” he said. “That’s kind of how it is, what it felt like.”
Even the way Galloway said that Key broached the topic had a dramatic flair. He started by saying that Galloway had had a good camp and that there were things that he needed to improve, such as his leg strength.
“At that point, I was like, ‘Is he going to offer? I don’t think so,’” Galloway said.
But the offer did come, one of four made on the spot by Tech coaches. Galloway said he let out a little scream before embracing Key.
“I know he wanted that offer,” Nadia Galloway said. “I know Georgia Tech is one of his schools that he really liked, so it was really exciting to be able to see his accomplish one of his goals.”
With one offer from a power-conference school in the bag, Galloway hopes more will come. He has plans to go to camps at Clemson and N.C. State next. Anderson said he expected that more offers will come, “but you still remember people who showed you legitimate interest in the beginning.” Anderson is partial to Key. At least two Tech linemen, Brandon Best and Paul Tchio, have been his pupils.
“I’m proud of (Galloway),” he said. “I know what this school means and what being coached by (Key) means.”
Galloway returned home satisfied. After posting the scholarship offer on his Twitter account, he spent the night receiving calls from family members and watching the congratulatory comments and likes on his post accumulate.
“My birthday’s actually (Saturday),” said Galloway, who will turn 17. “It’s like a birthday present.”
