Reborn at Hargrave

On a forgotten old sod runway, deep enough in the woods that deer scat marks its boundaries, one of the galaxy's unique football teams is about to take it to the house.

A low sun dipping below the Blue Ridge behind him, Robert Prunty, the coach, has already quoted Marcus Garvey, cited Moses and the Canaanites and, with just a few days left in the season, is working one more time to stir something within the players kneeling before him.

"Stay humble!" Prunty rumbles. "There's a reason that each of you are here. Your job is to find out what that reason is."

Generally, that reason would be to make someone else's Friday miserable. For around Prunty is the postgraduate team from Hargrave Military Academy, as impressive a collection of high school talent as the game affords.

Some are here to seek NCAA academic eligibility. Others asking for a second look by Division I recruiters. Others just chasing the big-time college ball dream. They have come from 18 states to Hargrave --- "The Grave" to the initiates --- for a crash course in, it ends up, humility.

"The first week, I was like, 'Dang! I could be in high school and going to the prom and stuff,' " Vidal Hazelton, a receiver from Virginia Beach, said. "But I'm almost over that now."

A year from now, they will be as far away as imaginable from this cold field. From a roster of 54 players, 17 have either signed with or committed to major college programs and a host more will follow come national signing day. (The school holds its own annual scouting combine Dec. 5, which is expected to draw about 300 coaches.) Over the past three years, Hargrave has placed 120 players in Division I schools.

And Hazelton, at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and still only 17, might be the best high school receiver in the nation. Not that that will get you anywhere around here. As if anyone needs daily reminder, the team must hike a round-trip mile from the main campus to the school's unused airstrip, up a rocky dirt road that can't really lead to the SEC or Big Ten or ACC. Can it?

"We demand respect," said Dr. Wheeler Baker, a retired Marine colonel and Hargrave's president. "We demand what they do here. And I tell [the players] that's what the coaches are going to say on the practice field. They don't have time for nonsense here. You're out of high school now. You've grown up a bit.

"This is what your real world is going to look like, if you want to be in it. If you don't, that's OK. That doesn't matter to us."

Setting right for mission

Located a block off Chatham's picturesque Main Street, Hargrave's campus could pass for a small college, once you get past the cannon --- it's a 105-mm howitzer and a beauty --- that guards Camden Hall, the main building. With a 300-acre campus, a $3 million endowment and a uniformed student body of 400 (grades seven through postgraduate), the place hardly resembles the football factory some believe it to be.

Fact is, Hargrave resents the "factory" inference. Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown went here. NASCAR's Ward Burton went here. The 96-year-old school's list of distinguished alumni is stocked with doctors, lawyers, politicians and even the editor of Reader's Digest (Henry Hurt).

"We are not a football factory," said Frank Martin, a 20-year Navy officer who is director of admissions. "We have a good program, but I will tell you we are an academic factory. We have 100 percent acceptance rates into colleges and universities, including our postgraduates. That should tell people something."

But since its PG football -- and basketball -- programs resumed some 15 years ago after nearly 20 years of dormancy, rosters have amazed. The St. Louis Rams' Torry Holt (1999) became the school's first first-round NFL draft pick. Three more Hargrave alums became first-rounders over the past four drafts: defensive end Charles Grant (by New Orleans in 2002), defensive tackle Jon Sullivan (by New Orleans in 2003) and cornerback Carlos Rogers (by Washington in 2005).

That Grant and Sullivan went on from Hargrave to the University of Georgia is hardly coincidental. Since 1998, Georgia has referred 11 players to Hargrave, including six current Bulldogs: tight end Leonard Pope, defensive tackle Darrius Swain, tailback Danny Ware, defensive end Ray Gant, defensive tackle Marquis Elmore and receiver Jamar Bryant.

"I think I respect football more," Ware said of his 2003 PG season, "and I cherish every minute of it."

The latest would-be Bulldog in the Hargrave pipeline is Darius Dewberry, a 6-3, 220-pound outside linebacker. Dewberry realized he would not qualify academically early in his senior season at Peach County High School, and Georgia suggested he consider Hargrave.

"It was a change for me," Dewberry said, "but I knew I had to do what I had to do to get where I want to get."

Most populous among the 2005 Hargrave Tigers are Florida State prospects. With 6-2, 320-pound tackle Callahan Bright, ranked by Scout.com as the country's No. 5 defensive tackle, Matt Hardrick (6-5, 340) and defensive end Justin Mincey (6-5, 240), line play in Tallahassee is about to get a boost.

Ole Miss has two signees on the team, as does Maryland. Alabama signee Mike Ford, a bruising 210-pound tailback, has had a solid season. In all, the ACC (Maryland, FSU and North Carolina), SEC (Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Tennessee), Big East (West Virginia and Syracuse) and Big Ten (Illinois) are represented among the signees. And with a starting offensive front that averages 6-3 1/2 and 329 pounds, Hargrave will get any opponent's attention.

"That's true," Prunty said. "We win a lot of [games] getting off the bus."

Playing a schedule composed of Division I freshman teams, junior colleges, Division II and III varsities and rival Fork Union Academy, Hargrave was 8-2 entering this weekend's finale at West Virginia. The Tigers intentionally play 10 of their 11 games on the road to expose the players to college campuses as well as to facilitate college scouting.

"Some teams, they dress out full-grown men," Dewberry said. "I'm like, 'What are they doing?' "

School one of 3 of its kind

What is Hargrave doing?

Though the nation's number of military secondary schools is stable at around 40, there are only three field top-flight football programs. Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa., claims Chris Doleman ('81) and Larry Fitzgerald ('02) as alums. Fork Union, 40 miles west of Richmond, is one of only two high schools to produce two Heisman Trophy winners: Vinny Testaverde ('82) and Eddie George ('90).

Since re-establishing its PG program, Hargrave has sent 10 players to the NFL, and player response to the program has swelled annually. Prunty fields interest from between 300 and 400 players each year, which he can swiftly cut down to 100, based on quality of player, his academic bearing and his prospects for adapting to military life. Isolation is also a consideration; Chatham (population: 1,338) is located 20 miles north of Danville, Va., precisely near nothing.

"We're not in the business of qualifying kids," said Baker, the president. "We're in the business of helping the kids we think we can help out. There are some that are just so far down that they're beyond any honest help."

"Every student who comes to Hargrave has his curriculum individualized," said Walter Sullivan, the academic dean. "We don't have a cookie-cutter mold for any student, whether they be high school or otherwise."

Postgraduates report in mid-August for three weeks of practice and indoctrination. They form their own company, bunk in the same two-floor quadrant of Camden Hall, learn how to wear the uniform and even how to march. The corps of cadets marches to all three meals, drummed in by three drummers (down from 10, after neighborhood objection). Recently, the school has averaged two PG withdrawals per year, those usually quitting after the first several weeks.

The school has a zero-tolerance policy against drugs and alcohol. Cadets must sign a 10-point pledge governing conduct, appearance and achievement before their application is even accepted. Each PG cadet is issued a day planner crammed with rules and regulations when he arrives, and each is required to write down their goals for coming to Hargrave. That page gets periodic review.

"We ask them to come in with an open mind," said M.K. Payne, a 23-year Marine who serves as the PG TAC Officer (or class mentor). "We take away all the frills. No telephones, no TVs, and if there are TVs, we confiscate them. We shut it down to the point where it's sports, classroom work and getting the scores, getting what you're here to get."

Reveille is a 6 a.m., classes are completed in the morning, and lab work takes up the afternoons before athletics at 3 p.m. Chapel is held twice a week, and there is a two-hour study hall five nights a week with taps at 10:30 p.m.

As imagined, discipline is vigorously enforced, and a listing of infractions, all the way from uniform violations to missed classes, is tracked daily on a big board outside the student center. A cadet lacking his hat before formation may be asked to drop and rip off 25 push-ups. Those who accrue too many demerits are assigned "tours," which are solitary one-hour marches around a 10-yard square in a back parking lot.

Any cadet failing to complete a homework assignment is banished to a special "No Homework Study Hall" before lunch formation and cannot eat until his work is completed.

Culture shock? Asked if he ever considered leaving, Dewberry said, "Woo. Every day. Probably like three or four times a day during camp. When school started, everything calmed down for me."

Tuition is steep: $23,000 for a postgraduate year. And while the school dedicates $240,000 (or nearly 11 scholarships) in financial aid for the football team, how Hargrave manages to draw so many star prospects with such budget limitation has been subject to speculation.

"We finance a little bit for some of the kids, but the rest come and pay," Baker said. "We don't have a huge stadium here. We play on the road. We get some financial assistance sometimes --- a donation of a bus or something --- but that's about it. ... We minimize the expense here."

Prunty said he tries to limit individual aid packages to $5,000 for those students who qualify, though Ware said nearly all of his expenses were covered during his 2003 year. Referring schools may not underwrite a player's tuition, and for some families the cost is simply too high. Georgia 2005 signee Corey Moon from Decatur originally opted for Hargrave when his spring SAT score failed to gain him eligibility but could not afford to enroll. He is still in Decatur with a tutor.

"These families are taking out loans on their homes, second mortgages, everything, man," Prunty said. "They believe in their kids so much, it amazes me what people will do for their child. I would say we got 30 kids that took out mortgages or loans on their home. We also use Sally-Mae, Freddie-Mae and Fannie-Mae.

"It's a tough situation on me because with the colleges the way they are, they want me to bring in 50 kids with 11 scholarships. We're the top prep school in the nation, but I've got to bring in 50 kids on 11 scholarships. How long can that last? I don't know."

Nor are there any guarantees. Georgia signee Andre Zellner, for instance, enrolled in 2001, never gained his eligibility and wound up at Valdosta State. One-time Georgia signee Tavarus Morgan became eligible at Hargrave in 2000, only to transfer once he reached Athens.

"A lot of the kids will come in here having committed to the big schools and believe that that's all it takes," Payne said. "But once they get here, they find they're not the big fish in the small pond. Everybody here is good. So they have to swallow their pride to a degree and work with the team. And that's a little bit harder for some than it is for others."

Fork Union game biggest

It is the biggest day of the season: the Fork Union game. After a 2 1/2-hour bus ride, the Hargrave Tigers warm up in silence while a stadium P.A. plays a collection of John Phillip Sousa marches. The two PG powers meet in near seclusion. Aside from the Fork Union cadets, barely 100 fans are assembled, mostly family but also a passel of scouts. Clemson, Georgia, Texas and Virginia coaches are present, but so are others from Towson, Richmond and Carson-Newman. For recruiters, this is one-stop shopping.

While the quality of play is understandably high, the speed, even down to kick coverage teams, assures this is no ordinary prep school game. Admission is free. There are no cheerleaders. For two teams that get only one season together --- just this big rival game --- the moment is sublime.

"We're like a family up here," said George Helow, a reserve safety from Jacksonville who still awaits his first recruiting pitch. "We march together. We live together. We play football together. We eat all our meals together. ... Playing with all these guys that have scholarships, it's just making me a better player every day."

Fork Union eases out to a nine-point lead, but gradually Hargrave's massive offensive line asserts control. Running backs Ford and Keiland Williams, a bruising 225-pounder from Louisiana, accumulate 420 all-purpose yards. Hazelton scores on a 45-yard bomb. The Tigers prevail 40-34. Their only two losses --- to the Navy Plebes and Virginia Tech ---were by a total of four points.

Within two months, those committed players who have satisfied academic goals will be allowed to depart for their respective colleges and who knows where else. Others hitch their future to turning some coach's head at the December combine. For almost all of them, military life ends come June.

But the big game isn't over yet, not until the team cheer. Gathered at midfield, hopping in unison, the team from The Grave gives itself permission to stand down, chanting into the late afternoon, "At ease ... at ease ... at ease ..."

Thomas Stinson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 13, 2005