This past Saturday, Gridiron Football made another step in showing off its national brand by putting on its first ever Elite Camp in the state of Texas, and what better way to do it than in the home of our 2023 Gridiron Football Player of the Year Kavian Bryant at Westwood High School, which is located in Palestine, Texas.
Bryant and 31 other Texas natives including a couple of his teammates showed up at Westwood High School to compete and get exposure from Gridiron Football. Starting the camp as he always does, CEO Andy Bryson made sure to go over his tripod of success with the players as keys that will help them get into college. After that, Bryson had a very special presentation as he presented Kavian Bryant with his Gridiron Football Player of the Week and Gridiron Football Player of the Year certificates. The Westwood star underclassman quarterback will also be receiving his letterman jacket patches from Gridiron Football, which he won for being the Player of the Year.
Although getting the chance to see Gridiron’s player of the year in person was a good reason to host the camp at Westwood, it was not the only reason as Gridiron wanted to see some of what East Texas had to offer, and it was not a disappointment.
The players got the chance to get their measurements and times recorded for the first part of the session, which was the combine. Players ran the 40, shuttle, and partook in the broad jump.
The fastest 40 time at the camp belonged to Lufkin High School 2025 WR KeAndre Hooper, who ended up running a 4.53/40. Center High School 2027 RB Jeremy Bluford was right behind Hooper with a 4.56/40 while four different players found themselves in the 4.6 range including Westwood High School 2026 WR/CB Chris Carter (4.62), Marshall High School 2025 WR Raijon Sims (4.63), Lufkin High School 2025 CB Kenneth Timmons (4.65), and Jacksonville High School 2025 WR Elijah Whitaker (4.69).
At the shuttle, it was Raijon Sims, who showed that he was the most agile by running a 4.19 in the three-cone drill. KeAndre Hooper ran a 4.25 while Kenneth Timmons (4.31), Memorial High School 2026 WR Kaedyn Johnson (4.37), and Westwood High School 2025 WR Hugh Adams (4.38) were in the 4.3’s.
Kenneth Timmons continued his strong combine performance by having one of the best broad jumps throughout the four camps as he jumped a 10’2, which is the third best jump of the spring to this point and the best of the camp. 11 other players jumped over nine feet including Kavian Bryant (9’9), Raijon Sims (9’8), Lufkin High School 2025 LB Kaden Hooper (9’7), Westwood High School 2027 LB Derik Anderson (9’6.5) Westwood High School 2026 RB David Russell (9’6), Jacksonville High School 2025 WR Elijah Whitaker (9’6), Evadale High School 2026 TE/DE Kayden Hubbard (9’5), Jeremy Bluford (9’4), KeAndre Hooper (9’3), and Westwood High School 2029 WR Kaden Bryant (9’2).
After an individual session in which players got to learn drills from coaches that will help them get better at their position, it was time for the competition to wrap up the camp. Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, linebackers, and defensive backs get to compete in 1v1s along with 7v7s while offensive and defensive linemen get to compete in 1v1s, 2v1s, 2v2s, and also the fan favorite Tire Pull Drill.
Looking at the skill players, Kavian Bryant and Allen High School 2026 QB Jayson Ebner were the two main quarterbacks at the camp as each got plenty of throws on 1v1s and 15 throws each during 7v7. Bryant, who just recently picked up his first offer from Tulsa yesterday, completed 9 of 15 passes including three touchdowns with one going to a wide-open Kaedyn Johnson, another going to Jeremy Bluford, and a third going to Derik Anderson. Meanwhile, Ebner was able to complete five passes, but he connected on an incredible throw over two people to Elijah Whitaker, who high pointed the ball and came down with an impressive snag.
During 1v1s, a lot of wide receivers got to show off their skills as Raijon Sims, Chris Carter, and Derik Anderson all had touchdown catches, but the best came actually came from cornerback Kenneth Timmons, who made one of the smoothest one-handed grabs that you will find and is perhaps near the top of one of the most impressive grabs of the spring camp series.
It was not just about the offense though as Raijon Sims made plenty of defensive plays as well including two interceptions during 7v7 and a couple of PBUs. Speaking of PBUs, Lufkin linebacker Kaden Hooper showed why he is one of the best 2025 linebackers in Texas as with his 6’0, 220 big frame, he was able to make a lot of plays in coverage and moved well from sideline to sideline. It makes a lot of sense why he has received offers from the likes of UTEP and North Texas.
When it comes to the trenches, there were a couple of guys that stood out in competition. On the offensive line, Crosby High School 2026 OL Kai Pereida had a strong base and did a great job of staying in front of opposing defensive linemen. Center High School 2028 OL Ryder Klein has a bright future ahead of him. At 6’3, 240 pounds, Klein is long, strong, and had some dominant reps. Only going into his freshman year, the sky is the limit. Then, there is Crosby High School 2025 OT Tallon Jenkins, who at 6’6, 245 pounds, has a long frame that you want in an offensive tackle and showed some flashes in 1v1 competition.
Flipping over to the defensive line, Coldspring High School 2027 DL Kellyn Husband flashed by having an explosive get off at the line of scrimmage, which ultimately helped him defeat other offensive linemen or even double teams. He and Westwood High School 2027 DE Camarion Beavers were explosive off the snap and got into the backfield quickly.
After talking to the other coaches, Andy Bryson and the staff picked out the Camp’s MVPs. The five top performers would receive cool Gridiron Football gloves and the winners were Kavian Bryant, David Russell, Raijon Sims, Kaden Hooper, and Kellyn Husband.
It was a great first step in having Gridiron Football’s camp outside Louisiana and for the first one being out of state, it was a success. Westwood High School head coach Richard Bishop was one of the coaches at the camp and he was glad to have his school being the one to host the camp.
“I appreciate you guys for making the trip over. The kids got a lot of quality work today, a lot of reps, and a lot of coaching. When you are around this business, there are a bunch of people try to do it the wrong way. It’s good to have somebody on campus that is here for the kids, are doing it for the right reasons, are trying to give the kids exposure, and trying to help them on the right path. Again, appreciate you guys for everything and being the guys that we can trust and we are going to try to keep this thing going moving forward. I enjoyed today. I thought we had some good talent out there and they got a lot of quality reps.”
Westwood High School (Palestine, TX) HC Richard Bishop
Once again, we thank Coach Richard Bishop and Westwood High School in Palestine, Texas for allowing us on their campus and hosting the event. We will have a special digital magazine recapping the camp including a special writeup about the program and the turnaround that Coach Bishop and his staff is doing.
When it comes to our next Gridiron Football Elite Camp, make sure to stay up to date on our website or on our social media for our latest announcements!
Watch all of the competition at the camp below!
Check out the photos taken at the camp!
Check out all of the interviews that were done at the camp!
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