LCCVI senior shooting for college football career
Chase Porteous has got his sights firmly set on a future in football after attending the Recruit Nation Fort Lauderdale College Prospects Showcase on Jan. 28. The Grade 12 student at Lambton Central Collegiate and Vocational Institute was one of 150 players to participate.
“I now can see where a football career can take me,” said Porteous, as he was invited to camp by one of the universities in Florida. The 6’5, 17-year-old Offensive Lineman has had 45 offers from schools from junior colleges, prep schools and Division 2 schools to play for them starting in September. His mom, Krista Porteous, has to use a spread sheet to keep it all straight. He was even given an offer by a Division 2 right at the football camp in Fort Lauderdale, something that he was excited about.
What Porteous is after is to play for a Division 1 school, hopefully on a full scholarship. The University of Michigan Wolverines is his favourite team and it would be a dream to play for them.
Based on how he did at the combine, he might have a shot. He was recognize as one of the eight top performers at the camp and was given a four star rating out of a possible five. Porteous has been invited to participate in a future Dream All-American Bowl based on his performance at the football camp. The event will showcase some of the top college prospects.
Despite that, the coaches at the combine called Porteous who currently weighs in at 290 pounds, skinny. To play offensive lineman, coaches say he has to bulk up to a minimum of 320 pounds. If he stays around his current weight, he would be better suited as a tight end.
Porteous runs to the YMCA in Petrolia at 6 a.m. to workout. He has a speed coach and a trainer and he eats two and half plates of food at each meal. He already went from 270 pounds to 290 pounds on the suggestion from his Sarnia Sturgeon coach.
Porteous has been playing with the Sturgeon, which is a part of the Ontario Summer Football League since Grade 9. He also suited up for the LCCVI Lancers last fall and is set to play his last season for the Sturgeon this coming summer.
Porteous still has his sights set on playing in a Division 1 program, as he will be attending Myrtle Beach Prep Collegiate. He will looking to increase his football skills and working to improve his GPA and hopefully be picked up by a Division 1 school after spending a year at Myrtle Beach.
He learned in Fort Lauderdale about just how serious football is taken in the United States. But it is not just football, but academics are emphasized as well. “It is God first, then school, then football, said Porteous.
A professional football career is in his mind as well. He knows only one percent of American college athletes will eventually suit up in the NFL.
“If you leave a dream on your pillow, it will stay there,” said Porteous. He was the only Canadian at the showcase in Fort Lauderdale, with the coaches just referring to him as Canada.
He has played hockey, taekwondo, soccer, wrestling and swimming, but didn’t take to them. His mom said his family was starting to think that he doesn’t like sports, until he found football
Blake Ellis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent
