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Angelo Jean-Louis getting ready
UA All-American WR watches last year's game to prepare for this year's event
To prepare for the 2012 Under Armour All-America Game, Wellington (Fla.) Palm Beach Central wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis has been watching a lot of film of last year's game and practices.
"I have DVDs of all the practices that were shown on TV and the other competitions," Jean-Louis said. "And I've watched the game a couple of times."
In his film study he's found a lot to be excited about.
"The practices are like what you'd see in the NFL or in those NFL combine workouts," Jean-Louis said. "They were teaching the receivers to catch the ball at different angles and going through some really advanced route running."
The impact of being in the game didn't hit Jean-Louis until he received his game jersey Tuesday in a ceremony at his school. It was a part of the 80-stop American Family Insurance Presents the Under Armour All-America Game selection tour.
The 6-foot, 180-pounder is on a run-first team at Palm Beach Central but has still managed to average nearly 20 yards per catch and understands the other skills necessarily to play the position.
"You have to be able to block and take guys out of the play," Jean-Louis said. "It's all about competiting on every play."
Jean-Louis expects to have a bigger impact in the playoffs when Palm Beach Central takes on Loxhatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge this weekend. And he will surely have a bigger impact when he gets to the Miami Hurricanes football program.
Jean-Louis committed there over the summer and has been solid ever since.
"Things are going great at Miami, I've been to several games this season," Jean-Louis said. "I love the coaching staff, Coach [Al] Golden cares about his players. The whole staff is young and energectic. I'm very excited about going there."
Jean-Louis says he's familiar with several players that he will be competitng with or against in the game as well.
"Some of the guys I played 7-on-7 with over the summer and a lot of the other guys I played against in those tournaments," Jean-Louis said.
The receiver also took part in The Opening over the summer. As with every competition, Jean-Louis' goal is to do it big.
"It's important for me to come out and compete and show everybody that I deserve to be on this stage," Jean-Louis said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Preston Dewey can't get enough
QB wears out coach Ty Detmer's couch learning everything he can about the position
AUSTIN, Texas -- It took about a minute, maybe two, after Ty Detmer pulled a couch through his office door that it found an occupant.
A full football season later that occupant, Preston Dewey, is finally ready to leave the couch after making an indelible mark on the coach, the St. Andrew's program and, well, the cushions.
"He stayed in there all the time," Detmer said. "He just wanted to learn so much and to be around the game."
Dewey's game has brought him national notoriety. The ESPNU 150 quarterback was selected to play in the Under Armour All-America Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Jan. 5. It was a part of the 80-stop American Family Insurance Presents the Under Armour All-America Game selection tour.
That's not too many miles from where Dewey will play his college ball at Miami.
"To be a part of this and to have all this happen, it's something you dream about," said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback. "This is what I always wanted."
But it took some time and a transfer for Dewey to get what he wanted. Like most high school quarterbacks Dewey had competition at his position at Westlake High School. He didn't shy from it. He didn't win it either. For two years he sat behind Tanner Price, now a Wake Forest player. Then just before his senior year Westlake chose Lewis Guilbeau over Dewey.
The devastating news was followed by a transfer to a moribund program that reached out and grabbed a brand new coach to help turn it around -- Detmer.
"The first time I saw him I knew he was something special," said the former Heisman winner. "His fundamentals were strong. There were a few things to clean up with the feet. But you knew this was a player who wanted and would do what it took."
Because of his switch from public to private school, Dewey was able to reclassify as a junior, giving him two years with Detmer. They went 0-10 together that first year.
"It was a courageous and tough decision that Preston made," said Mike Dewey, Preston's father. "When you look back on it now, you can say 'Sure it was easy.' But it wasn't. He had to leave all of his friends, all of his teammates, everybody and come to a program that nobody really knew anything about."
People soon found out about Dewey though. After a year with Detmer, Dewey hit the throwing circuit. It was at the Elite 11 in July that heads started to turn.
"He has an accurate arm and sense of the game," Detmer said. "He has the velocity too. If a receiver is open he is not going to miss him."
Tennessee, UCLA, Utah, SMU and others started to recruit Dewey. But it was Miami and Al Golden that won.
"They run a lot of the same pro style offense that we run," Dewey said. "I was able to sit down with their coaches and when they started talking about plays and say 'Oh yeah, we run that play. We run that one too."'
Hopefully, for Dewey's sake, they have couches in their offices too.
Nice nice nice
