Shammah Luani from Kimball High gets prepared to run a 40-yard dash at the Elite Training Academy NorCal combine held on Jan. 17 in Tracy. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Results are in and processed from Jan. 17 Elite Training Academy combine held in Tracy and it reveals some emerging talent, including Kimball linebacker Shammah Luani. We have top fully electronic timed 40-yard dash leaders from most age groups and go over a few other players that caught our attention.
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It’s still very early in the winter and spring combine and camp season but not too early to start writing about players that may be about to become known to others from outside of their area.
One such player that we noticed at the Jan. 17 Elite Training Academy combine held in Tracy that attracted a solid group of 300 from throughout the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and a few from the Bay Area was junior linebacker Shammah Luani from Kimball High of Tracy.
Luani is a perfect example of why going to combines and camps can be extremely beneficial. First, he was on a team last season that struggled to a 2-8 record in a town that rightfully focused its attention on Tracy High’s squad that made it all the way to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final.
Marcel Dancy from West High of Tracy stands with David Luera, one of the co-founders of the Elite Training Academy. Photo: Mark Tennis.
At the ETA event, Luani checked in at 5-foot-11 and looks well over 200 pounds. He had one of the top 40-yard dash times of the day in an event that had college players there as well at 4.92 seconds. Note: All times at this event were fully electronic, meaning lasers at beginning and end. This has been shown in track and field to be about .24 seconds generally slower than hand times.
In addition to a more than solid time in the 40 at his size, Luani led everyone in the 135-pound bench press reps test with 46. He also had a 4.48 mark in the shuttle with a 29.5-inch vertical leap.
“I wanted to come out here just to see how I can do,” Luani said. “My goals are to try to gain weight, get faster and get stronger.”
Marcel Dancy from West High of Tracy also came to the event and solidified himself as a prospect to watch. He wasn’t exactly unknown as a junior, however, since he was the best player from a 5-5 team with more than 1,200 yards rushing on offense, nearly 60 tackles and a 100-yard interception return on defense plus more than solid averages on punt and kickoff returns.
Dancy had the fastest 20-yard shuttle time of the day at 4.17 seconds to go with a 31-inch vertical jump, 25 reps on the bench and 5.03 mark in the 40-yard dash.
“I’m going to do track this spring and I may also play basketball next season,” Dancy said. “I want to learn all the little techniques it takes to do better in all of these tests.”
Linden senior-to-be QB Anthony Craven was accompanied at the ETA combine with longtime Lions’ head coach Mark Miller. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Linden quarterback Anthony Craven was another participant who did well. A 6-foot-2, 190-pounder who passed for 1,092 yards and eight TDs last season for the Lions, used the early event to set a baseline of where he’s at so he can work to get better.
Craven had one of the best 40-yard dash times in his age group (15-16) with a 27-inch vertical jump and 20 reps on the bench.
From outside of the Stockton/Tracy area, Burlingame’s Laipeli Palu came to the combine and had one of the top shuttle times (4.18 seconds) plus a 4.91 time in the 40. Palu was listed on Burlingame’s roster last fall at 5-11, 200 pounds and was one of the team’s top players.
There also were some players on hand who are seniors and therefore can’t be helped as much as it relates to college recruiting, but these are players who can continue to improve and who knows where their football paths will take them.
Kirk Truehill, a 6-foot, 200-pound running back from Millenium of Tracy, was the fastest high school player at the event (again, some college players were there) at 4.81 seconds. He scored 18 TDs last season and rushed for 1,000 yards in nine games.
Here are the top 40-yard dash times for each age group from the ETA NorCal combine:
17+ years
4.62 Damon Jackson; 4.67 Cole McDaniel; 4.81 Kirk Truehill; 4.81 Kyrin Collins; 4.91 Laipeli Palu.
15-16 years
4.82 Myles Hall; 4.92 Shammah Luani; 4.98 Samuel Villareal; 4.99 Anthony Craven; 5.01 Mark Paule Jr.
14 years
4.91 Nasim Chin; 4.93 A.J. Schabbing; 5.16 Torrance Coleman-Stevenson; 4.22 Vincent Thompson.
13 years
5.33 Mason Sarsfield; 5.51 Kaino Ballungay; 5.52 Samuel Arnaz.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
