Ever hear of Ethan Farmer?

The guys at Sunday's Scout.com combine hadn't, until a couple of folks tipped them off last week. So they called Ethan Farmer, a rising senior at South Brunswick High, last Friday.

It wasn't a lot of notice, but then the colleges themselves had just discovered Farmer, down there on the North Carolina coast. They liked what they saw, a 6-5, 257-pound DE/TE who looked quick and strong on film.

He had no offers prior to this month. Then Tennessee offered, and then Virginia Tech, Clemson and N.C. State.

And Friday, Scout.com called. Come on up to Charlotte for the combine, please.

Farmer jumped at the chance. He went ahead and participated in Saturday's Shrine Bowl Combine in Havelock, and there he posted a 4.93 40-yard dash and bench-pressed 185 pounds 21 times. Then, early Sunday he, a fellow teammate and some family made the 5-hour drive to Charlotte.

"Not a lot of sleep this weekend," he said, laughing.

A combine official smiled and said, "I get here at 7:30, the gates open at 8:30 and they were waiting for me, the first ones here."

Farmer impressed on the West Charlotte High practice fields, and then headed home again, another 5 hours.--Stan Olson