TIGARD, Ore. -- The 2012 Nike Football SPARQ Combine tour comes to a close on Saturday as the 15th and final Nike Football combine of the year will be held at Tigard High School in the Portland metro area.
While more than 16,000 athletes have competed at the first 14 events of the year, this will be the Pacific Northwest region's first time to step into the spotlight. And several of the top prospects in the area are scheduled to be on hand to test Saturday.
Six-foot-4, 285-pound West Linn (Ore.) offensive tackle Evan Voeller narrowly missed the cut on the latest ESPN 150, currently sitting as the nation's No. 171 prospect in the ESPN 300, and will be looking to up his stock with a solid testing day Saturday. The nation's No. 12 offensive tackle committed to Oregon back in April over offers from the likes of Boise State, Stanford, Nebraska and Texas A&M.
Vying for top billing with Voeller amongst the linemen participants on Saturday will be La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) center Scott Quessenberry. Rated No. 183 in the ESPN 300, Quessenberry, a 6-4, 265 pounder, has hopes of earning a spot at The Opening, following in the footsteps of former La Costa Canyon teammate Erik Magnuson, who's on his way to Michigan. Oregon, UCLA, Nebraska and Wisconsin are among the current leaders for Quessenberry.
St. Louis (Honolulu) WR Jeremy Tabuyo was on his way to a huge junior season last fall, totaling 318 yards and five touchdowns in his first three games before suffering a torn ACL. Now the 5-11, 185 pounder is ready to show he's healthy at the Nike combine. Despite the injury, Tabuyo has been offered by Hawaii, Utah, Kansas and Wyoming, and if he can top his 4.46 40-yard dash and 99.21 SPARQ rating from a year ago in Honolulu, more offers should be forthcoming.
One final player to keep an eye on in terms of top honors on Saturday will be sleeper John Kreifels out of Thomas Downey (Modesto, Calif.). The 5-8.5, 195-pound safety came out of nowhere to post a huge 118.86 SPARQ rating at the Oakland Nike combine three weeks ago and is back for a bigger number in Oregon.
Text "Portland" to 43776 for recap information and results from the event. Msg&data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel or HELP for more information.