Small-town players from Gooding make huge impact at Football University Camp

Four basically unknown players from tiny Gooding (Idaho) earned respect and made a major impact at the Football University Camp in Calabasas, Calif., about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. FBU runs 40 camps, including three in Canada and one in Scotland.

The camp, manned only by coaches with NFL connections, included 250 players, mostly from California. Despite their previous lack of exposure, all four ended up being ranked among the Top 20. After the smoke had cleared, for the first time their names began appearing on the radar of college football coaches.

Nicknamed "Team Idaho," the foursome included junior two-way tackle Cole McGinnis (6-5, 270), sophomore linebacker Josh Finley (6-1, 205), junior free safety Hank Boeger (6-2, 175) and sophomore center-defensive end Landunn Koyle (5-10, 205).

All but Boeger - who still is on the bubble - have been invited to the Top Gun Camp during July in Dublin, Ohio. Great performances there could land them a spot in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Gooding is a town of 3,000 with a Class 3A high school of 345 students in grades 9-12. Last fall the Senators posted a 10-1 record, losing in the state semifinals to the eventual state champion. Taking over a program that had a 1-15 record the previous two years, coach Cameron Andersen has compiled a steadily improving four-year record of 24-16.
 
Andersen's phone has been ringing off the hook ever since, as college recruiters try to locate Gooding, Idaho.

It is believed that Gooding has produced just one Division I football player in its history and none since 1980.

Andersen told MaxPreps that his players' camp performance "is shocking. I really worked hard to get those guys the opportunity. It's great. I had no doubts that they'd perform well, because they're tough, hard-nosed kids."

McGinnis, in fact, was named Defensive MVP.

He more than held his own during one-on-one drills against 6-5 Offensive MVP Reno Rosene of Thousand Oaks (Calif.).

Former Houston Texans defensive line coach Thurmond Moore fell in love with McGinnis.

Moore told MaxPreps, "He was outstanding. He's physical, quick, has great athletic ability, is a tough guy and always did everything with maximum effort. His work ethic is unbelievable. He made a kid who is around 6-5 and 320 pounds look like a rag doll. Idaho already has offered him (a scholarship)."

McGinnis called his experience, "A really big deal to see that kind of camp and for me to excel at that level. Six guys puked before we got through the first session (he was not one of them). It helped me a lot on techniques, because they ran it like a miniature NFL camp. It kind of puts pressure on me, too, because I'll be expected to dominate (next season)."

The big lineman also was forced to start a Facebook account. The first day he gained six "friends" from Division I colleges.

Last fall McGinnis totaled 96 tackles with eight sacks and 15 tackles for losses despite constantly being double- and triple-teamed. On offense he powered a line that allowed just three sacks all year and helped two running backs make it on to the All-State Team. He also won his second-consecutive state heavyweight title in wrestling and this coming year could become Idaho's first three-time state heavyweight champion.

Despite the presence of McGinnis, Boeger actually led the Senators in tackles last season. He had 136 - including games of 28, 26 and 24 - and was second with four interceptions. He has a 30-inch vertical jump and runs 40 yards in 4.7 seconds.

Boeger noted, "I really learned a lot about reading passes. My weakness before was defending the pass. I was doing pretty good against the run. I see what I need to do to play at the next level. I'd say over the three-day camp that I improved 100 percent."

Finley said he learned, "I definitely need to improve my speed. I feel like I played great the last two days. I feel like I put my name out there. (Had we not attended the camp), we would still be wondering if we could compete at the next level."

Powerful for his size, the versatile Finley had 96 tackles and three interceptions last year, but he also stood out at running back by amassing 2,399 all-purpose yards and scoring 17 touchdowns.

Koyle is nicknamed "Honeybadger" because he's so relentless, Andersen pointed out. He is a smart player who makes all the offensive line calls from his center position. Andersen projects him as a linebacker in college. Similar to McGinnis, he also is a standout wrestler.

"This summer I'm going to work on my footwork," Koyle related. "I learned a lot about footwork and hand placement. They expected us Idaho boys to be out of our league. We held our own and that's going to give me a lot of self confidence."

Boeger nicely summed up the eye-opening experience when he said, "The first day was like 'What are these guys doing here?' But by the third day, they all knew who we were."