Summer Daze …

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 13, 2011

School’s out for summer, but elite student-athletes are busier than ever. They are attending skills camps, improving their strength and conditioning, traveling the country for prestigious competitions, and navigating the wild world of recruiting. In this new Summer Daze series, The Herald checks

Bo Brummel — Arlington High School football — Class of 2012

Rewind
The 2010-2011 school year was full of highlights for Bo Brummel, a tough multi-sport athlete at Arlington High School.

On the football field, Brummel overcame a knee injury and helped the Eagles advance to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. He made the All-Wesco North first team as a tight end and was a second-team linebacker. Brummel also was one of just two juniors selected for The Herald’s All-Area Offense first team. The other was Mariner running back KeiVarae Russell.

On the basketball court, Brummel was a gritty interior player who filled a key role for a talented Arlington squad, which had its best season since 1973.

What’s next
After already attending three football combines and a basketball camp this summer, Brummel plans to go with his Arlington teammates to a football camp at the University of Puget Sound later this month. In addition to all those activities, Brummel has frequent weight-training and conditioning sessions.

Sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of everything, Brummel said. But all the effort is “going to get our whole (football) team stronger, and I’m hoping that we can go farther than we did last year in state. In the end, it’s all going to be worth it.”

The first day of fall football practice is Aug. 17.

The recruiting trail
Brummel wants to play college football. He does not have a scholarship offer yet but has talked to coaches from Portland State University, Washington State University and the University of Washington. Several coaches on Arlington’s staff were college athletes and have been helping Brummel with the recruiting process, along with Brummel’s parents, who both played basketball at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey. “I’ve got a lot of good resources,” Brummel said.

By the numbers
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Brummel expects to be recruited as a tight end. The senior-to-be has impressive strength — he bench presses 315 pounds and power cleans 300 pounds — and has run the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds. But he doesn’t have the height that many big-time coaches desire. “At the tight end position, all those guys who are 6-6 and 6-7 get looks right away,” Brummel said. “But being a smaller guy and having speed is always good too.”

Pay to play
Earlier this summer Brummel attended football combines in Redmond, at the UW and at Portland State. He said he performed well at all three events, which featured outstanding athletes from all over the Pacific Northwest. The fee for each four-hour combine was around $75, not including gas money, Brummel said. It will cost him about $350 to go to the UPS camp in Tacoma.

“It’s all worth it when you’re getting all those looks from coaches,” Brummel said. “My mom and my dad spend all their money on that. They’re supporting me a lot.”

Killer workout
To get bigger, stronger and faster, Brummel does weightlifting and conditioning drills three mornings per week at Arlington High. He said the most grueling and beneficial exercise he does is the prowler workout, which involves stacking weights on a large triangular platform and pushing the platform around. “When you do prowlers, it engages your whole body, which is the main thing about football,” said Brummel. “It helps your explosiveness.” Click here to watch a prowler workout demonstration.

Little bro
Although Brummel is primarily focused on football, he is also excited about his senior basketball season. He will get a chance to team up with his brother Bradey, a 15-year-old point guard who will be a sophomore. “He actually just got moved up to varsity,” Bo Brummel said, “so (it will be) the first time we’ve played together since we were little kids.”

Ear candy
A big rap music fan, Brummel likes listening to Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa. Brummel’s favorite Wiz Khalifa song is “No Sleep”.

Snack time
In between his numerous workouts, Brummel fuels up with all sorts of food. But his favorite snacks are Fruity Pebbles cereal and protein shakes.