Football: Monrovia’s Ellis McCarthy selected to take part in “The Opening” presented by Nike Football, July 5-9.

I got an e-mail from Nike early Wednesday afternoon, but I’m just getting a chance now to post this as Monrovia’s Ellis McCarthy earns another pretty cool honor. The 6-foot-5 defensive end was announced to the preliminary roster for “The Opening” presented by Nike Football. McCarthy, the Star-News Defensive Player of the Year, is one of the top 12 athletes to participate. Designed to give student-athletes the ultimate football training experience, “The Opening” represents five days of dynamic training, coaching and competition for 150 of the country’s most elite high school football players.

According to the e-mail, McCarthy was selected through his on-field performance and will learn from several of Nike’s world-class football athletes, coaches and trainers who will arm the athletes with the knowledge to develop their speed, explosiveness and position skills. Congrats, Ellis!

Below are the following players are among the standouts who received an invitation to compete at “The Opening”:

Position, Player, Hometown
WR Bralon Addison (Houston, Texas)
LB Kwon Alexander (Oxford, Ala.)
DB Travis Blanks (Tallahassee, Fla.)
DB T.J. Davis (Tallahassee, Fla.)
DL Dante Fowler Jr. (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
LB Dillon Lee (Buford, Ga.)
DB Marcus Maye (Melbourne, Fla.)
DL Ellis McCarthy (Monrovia, Calif.)
DB Wayne Morgan (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
WR Darius Powe (Long Beach, Calif.)
OL Jordan Simmons (Inglewood, Calif.)
RB Trey Williams (Houston, Texas)
LB Ukeme Eligwe (Stone Mountain, Ga.)
TE Taylor McNamara (San Diego, Calif.)

CLICK ON THREAD TO READ NIKE’S FULL PRESS RELEASE

NATION’S TOP HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ATHLETES COMPETE AT
“THE OPENING” PRESENTED BY NIKE FOOTBALL

Weekend of Intense Training and Competition Pits Country’s Most Dynamic
Football Players in Unparalleled Skills Competitions.

BEAVERTON, Ore. (June 1, 2011) – They have the rating. They’ve put in the training. Now it’s time to show they can compete against other high school athletes. Nike today announced the schedule for “The Opening” presented by Nike Football – the ultimate football training experience – five days of dynamic training, coaching and competition for 150 of the country’s most elite high school football players.

Designed to give student-athletes the training and knowledge to develop their speed, explosiveness and position skills, “The Opening” brings together top performers from 12 Nike Football Training Camps (NFTC), combined with other top prospects – all battling for the chance to claim ultimate bragging rights.

“Bringing so much talent together to compete at an elite level is truly a unique occurrence,” said Leroy Ebanks, Jr. Nike’s Football-Athletic Training Brand Manager. “Nike looks forward to bringing together the world’s best young football players and trainers to elevate the intensity and give the athletes the pinnacle experience in competition and development.”

Every position and every aspect of the game will be highlighted over the course of the five-day program (July 5-9) with players being put to the ultimate test by the world’s top athletes and coaches. Nike will ultimately crown winners for the Nike 7ON tournament, Nike Linemen Challenge, and SPARQ Rating National Championship.

The only thing better than actually reaching the next level is letting the world watch you. For two decades ESPN RISE has helped bring top performers to national attention, introducing them through ESPN television and online networks. From the NFTC to “The Opening”, ESPN RISE will provide in-depth coverage of Nike Gridiron events and inform college coaches and fans everywhere of top Nike Football SPARQ Combine performances and official SPARQ Rating scores.

Several of Nike’s world-class football athletes will also be on hand during the tournament to assist in coaching and provide insights into athletic training at the highest level and what it takes to succeed on and off the football field.

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