Interview with Harmony Grove Arkansas WR/CB Cameron Venzant

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Every conference has a guy like Harmony Grove High School’s Cameron Venzant – a playmaker that always finds a way to get that needed first down or score that big touchdown. Every state also has a guy like Venzant that gets overlooked by most colleges because he does not fit a certain mold despite his on the field success.

In 2014, Venzant piled up 863 receiving yards and seven scores without any offers. The Hornets had a tough season at 3-8 but the Camden area talent stood out. As is the case with a lot of under the radar recruits, all he has left is 10 games during his senior season to help gain the interest and offers from college recruiters.

A few in-state schools like University of Arkansas-Monticello, Central Arkansas, Henderson, and Ouachita Baptist have shown interest in the 5’9”, 183 pound, slot/outside receiver. Interest outside the Natural State has also increased with Army, Navy, Brown, and Louisiana Tech setting up lines of communication.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Cameron before his first game of the season against Bearden to get some insight on how the Hornets look heading into the 2015 season and got an update on how his recruiting is looking before his senior season began.

*Interview was conducted before Labor Day weekend.

Interview

Cameron, the Hornets had a tough season in 2014 finishing 3-8, but adversity can bring success in the long run. How has last season helped motivate you heading in 2015?

“It has motivated me big time because everybody says we are not good. We know what we can do. I know that we will be successful this year.”

How does Harmony Grove look for the 2015 season?

“Right now we are looking real good. We had a scrimmage against Junction City, the No. 1 team in 2A three years in a row. They have a 40-something game winning streak. We lost to them by two touchdowns in a scrimmage but I think we’ll be real good because we have our whole offense coming back along with a couple of ninth graders moving up. I think we’ll be pretty good.”

What is the strength of this year’s football team?

“The offense, definitely our skill guys. We have skill guys all over the place.”

What does Davison need to do this year in order to have a successful season?

“I think this year it’s going to be on our line. We have a really young line. If we execute plays and limit our turnovers we’ll have a real good season. We have a tough conference with Smackover, McGhee, and all of them. If we execute because we have a fast-paced offense, we try to snap it with 20 seconds left on the play clock and if we execute with no turnovers we should be at the top of our conference”

What are your strengths on the field? What makes you a good wide receiver?

“I think my strengths are my quickness and my route running and my hands. I feel like if it’s one on one no one can hold me. I’m not trying to be cocky or anything but that is how I feel when I’m on the field.”

You have to be a little cocky on the field. What individual honors did you earn last year?

“I was All-Conference. I don’t think I had a good enough year to make All-State. I think I’ll get All-State in 3A this year.”

What are your goals for the 2015 football season?

“My team goals are to win conference and make it to state. I think we have the team that can do it. In the past years I was not sure if we could but this year I definitely do. My individual goals are to get some offers this year. I’ve had a lot of college coaches contacting me. Get some offers and have a good individual year – more catches, more everything really.”

Do you have a stat line you want to achieve?

“I want at least 15 touchdowns and 1,000 yards.”

In the offseason what did you work on to improve upon for your senior year?

“I worked – I did a lot of ladder drills. I worked on my lateral movement and my quickness. I went to a lot of speed camps and personal training sessions to work on my lateral movement and speed. That’s what I feel is the most important thing on the field – speed. Especially at the wide receiver position.”

What were some of the gains you made over the summer? Did you see your 40-yard dash time increase or shuttle time?

“My 40 time has definitely increased. In 11th grade it was a 4.6. Then I started going to speed camps at I was in the low 4.5 range.”

Your game speed looks like you are in the 4.4 range which brings me to my next question. I’ve seen the play countless times, but I want to hear it from you. On your highlight reel you put a defender into the splits on a move. That’s the basketball equivalent of breaking ankles. Tell me about that!

“(Laughs) Well, it was the second game of last season. I caught it, I didn’t realize he had done the splits. Everybody was “oh-oh” I turned around and he was getting up slow. We watched film on Sunday, I went in there and saw that he had done the splits so I had to highlight him.”

I had to ask about that. You mentioned a couple of minutes ago that a lot of schools have shown interest in you, which schools are in contact with you?

“Brown, I’ve talked to their coaches a lot, UCA (Central Arkansas), OBU (Ouachita Baptist), Henderson State, Louisiana Tech, and UAM (Arkansas Monticello). Some Missouri schools were sending mail. Army came by the school and Navy.”

What type of feedback have you received from these colleges?

“My quickness. Most of them say they need to see more film. Being 5’9” you have to be doing something, so they just want to see a little more on my highlight film.”

You mentioned college camps earlier, which one-day college camps did you going to this summer?

“I only had a chance to go to two. I went to UCA and UAM.”

How did the UCA camp go for you?

“It went pretty good. Talked to Coach Greg Stewart (defensive coordinator) afterwards and he said that I have a good chance of getting an offer if I have a good season. That camp was hot, real hot.”

How did the UAM go for you?

“That was the best camp I ever had. The coaches invited me and some of my friends to a game day visit and a tour around campus. That was a real good camp for me. I won all of my one-on-ones. Head coach (Hud) Jackson was talking to me and trying me at different positions.”

Is there a NFL player you model your game after?

“Yes sir. Most people wouldn’t think that I’d pattern after this person, but I look at Wes Welker. He’s about my size and he runs real good routes.”

What do you want to major in when you go to college?

“Either engineering or sports medicine. One of those two.”

What is your cumulative GPA right now?

“Right now it is a 2.9. I slacked off my ninth and tenth grade year. Last year I had a 3.5 and brought it up some.”

What has been your most memorable moment in high school football so far?

“In high school, just the brotherhood. We’re like one big family even if we lose we still love each other. That’s the best part about it. The last two year we have not had a winning seasons. My 10th and 11th grade seasons were expected to have good seasons and we won three and four games. We didn’t let that bother us because now we are looking at having a good season this year.”

What games are you excited to play this year?

“Our first game, Bearden, it is a rivalry game for a trophy. A bunch of people show up and it is packed. I’m also excited about Smackover. That’s where Jordan Jones (Arkansas wide receiver commit) plays.”

*Harmony Grove defeated Bearden 42-6. Cam had three receptions for 83 yards with a touchdown.

One last thing to ask you about, you had a big honor getting invited to an All-American game, right?

“I was invited to play in an All-American game in Louisiana. It’s the Max Emfinger All-American Game.”

That’s awesome that you’ve been recognized for your talents and playing abilities. Good luck with that and your senior season.

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

Photo credit: rivals.com; Cameron Venzant

Photo credit: Harmony Grove HS; Cameron Venzant fights for more yards