Quarterbacks dream of throwing to a guy like Clayton Homme, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound receiver.
Using his outstanding height, good speed and precise footwork, Homme earned a reputation as one of Washington's best wideouts while he played at Southridge High School in Kennewick. Now the University of Idaho-bound Homme is ready to represent the East team in the annual East-West All-Star Football Game.
The East team's ability is incredible, said Homme: "You have to be ready on every play because everyone's so talented and so good."
Coach's corner
Besides being an especially fun person with an electric personality, Homme has major football skills, East team head coach Greg Kittrell said. "He runs just fabulous routes, (has) great hands (and) he has pretty deceptive speed," Kittrell said. "You think of a big guy like that -- he's pretty quick."
New friends
During East-West week, former enemies become pals. "These are the guys who have been your rivals for four years," Homme said, "and now you come and you're rooming with the guy and they turn out to be a good friend." One of Homme's former foes is Central Valley quarterback Blake Bledsoe. Now Bledsoe is completing passes to Southridge's Homme for the East team. Central Valley was "the team that put us out in the playoffs, and now he's going to be throwing to me," said Homme. "It's crazy."
Family ties
Homme's dad is a longtime prep football coach and Homme has three older brothers who were standout athletes. One of the siblings, Carson Homme, is a 6-4, 252-pound defensive end who plays football for Army. Clayton Homme said his brothers played a key role in motivating him to succeed in academics and sports. "They were always bigger, better and at the top of their class," he said. "Growing up, I just used to get beat up. They kind of pushed me."
No luck online
The East-West players get some downtime in the evening and have fun at their hotel. One night, Homme and his roommates, Curtis' Stan Langlow and Peninsula's Brandon James, tried (unsuccessfully) to find love in cyberspace. "I brought my laptop," said Homme, "and we were trying to chat online with girls in Everett. But it's not working out."
Business time
After he finishes at Idaho, Homme hopes to play in the NFL. If that doesn't work out, he would like to be an entrepreneur and run a small business in a relatively small town -- definitely not somewhere like Seattle.
