By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
You’re a good high school running back, but you know you can be better. Maybe you need help with your blocking, or your receiving isn’t quite up to par, or perhaps you just want an upgrade of your overall skill set.
Why not get advice from someone who had seven 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL and is just one of three men to ever rush for over 2,000 yards in one season.
Jamal Lewis, the former Baltimore Ravens star running back, along with a handful of other former NFL players, has designed XpertEval, an Atlanta-based website to help high school players take their game to the next level.
“We’re not a recruiting site,’’ Lewis says. “We’re an evaluation site. Where you are now is not where you need to be tomorrow. Maybe you’re a three-star player, but you can become a four-star player. Maybe you’re a second-string player, but you can become a first-stringer. That’s what we’re here to do for you.’’
Lewis and a group that includes former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart, former New England Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown and linebacker Willie McGinnist, former Denver Broncos safety Steve Atwater, former Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders cornerback Ray Buchanon, former Buffalo Bills fullback Sam Gash, former Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ricky Hunley and former Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Jamie Dukes are helping high school players take that next step.
“There are so many camps that kids go to and they go and run the 40, or do other drills,’’ Lewis said. “But are they getting better? Are they being told what they’re doing wrong, or how they can get better at what they’re doing?’’
That’s what XpertEval does. The group looks over video of the player and then sends him a written summary of what he’s doing right, what he’s doing wrong and how he can get better.
“You have guys who played in the league and played pretty well in the league looking at your video,’’ Lewis said. “You have someone such as Willie McGinnist watching linebackers, or Ray Buchanon watching cornerbacks. It’s not going to get much better than that.
“It’s all about helping kids get better. We started this for two things. How can we give back to the youth? And we wanted to change the culture about the way marketing and recruiting were being done. But basically it comes down to we wanted to help kids get better.’’
Lewis was the fifth overall pick of the Ravens in the 2000 draft and helped them win the Super Bowl as a rookie. He gained over 1,000 yards rushing in seven of the nine seasons he played and just missed an eighth when he gained 906 yards in 2005. He rushed for 2,066 yards in 2003, the third best total in NFL history.
He spent the final three years of his career with the Cleveland Browns and retired after the 2009 season.
“It’s tough to go back and live what you might call a civilian life again,’’ Lewis said about his post-NFL career. “Ever since I’ve been playing everything was structured, written down for you. There are a lot of adjustments you have to make.’’
After venturing in a couple of other businesses, Lewis went back to football and doing what he wanted to do – help kids – and also help some of the friends he made during his playing days.
XpertEval started with a soft launch in August of 2013 and got going full board in January of 2014.
“I want to build a platform for former players,’’ he said. “This was perfect. We’re doing what we know best and we’re helping kids.’’
So if you’re that high school running back, just go to the website xperteval.com, fill out the questionnaire, submit it with a video, and you’ll be hearing from one of the former NFL players with an evaluation.
“If they follow what’s on the site and take the advice they get,’’ Lewis said. “They’re going to get better.’’
And that’s what this was all about in the first place.