The Great Adventure: Part Six

When last we left our intrepid pair—wide receiver Tehvyn Brantley of Durham and dad Leroy—The Adventure had been put on hold because of Tehvyn’s mother’s illness. Instead of taking scheduled trips to camps at UCLA, California, Rice, LSU and Clemson, last week, the pair returned to Durham, where Tehvyn attends Durham Mt. Zion Academy and his mother lives.

Toward the end of last week, though, she began encouraging Tehvyn to get on the road again.
“She’s still a little under the weather, but she told me, ‘You know you need to go do what you have to do,” Tehvyn said.

So Leroy confirmed trips to camps at Georgia on Saturday and Auburn on Sunday.

Georgia didn’t go so well.

“I thought it went pretty good, but the Georgia wide receivers coach there told me I’m not the type of player they’re looking for,” Tehvyn said.

And while coaches can’t comment on prospects, you have to assume that the thing that hurts Brantley with so many schools is his height—5-foot-8 is considered small for a WR.

Brantley, though, likes to compare himself to the Panthers’ Steve Smith. He has great speed, can out-jump most defenders and has a hunger for the football. He showed that the following day at Auburn.

“I was pretty much unguardable in one-on-one drills,” Tehvyn said, laughing as the pair headed up Interstate 85 to Charlotte. “I’m pretty sure they’ll offer me (a scholarship). Their coaches, particularly wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, talked to me about how I could fit into their offense.

“They looked at my highlight tape and loved it. Now they say all they need to see is a full game tape to wrap it up.”

With good news in his back pocket, Tehvyn had planned to work out at South Carolina today, but apparently picked up an intestinal bug over the weekend. So the Gamecocks are out for now, his dad just said. Where next? On this Adventure, nothing is quite certain.

--Stan Olson