Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine football look to 2017 stars

The offseason has begun for the Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine and Southlake Carroll football programs. Here’s a look at two impactful players who will look to make major strides. Classifications will be for the 2017 season. This week, we focus on Colleyville Heritage and Grapevine. Next week, we look at Carroll.

Colleyville Heritage (10-4, Class 5A Division I Region I finalist)

Kam Brown (WR, 6-0, 160, Jr.): When wide receiver Ke’Von Ahmad battled through a hamstring injury, Brown emerged as a go-to receiver. He caught 46 passes for 758 yards, averaged 16.5 yards per reception and grabbed 11 touchdowns. Brown also played in the secondary.

He should be playing on both sides of the ball in 2017. Yet the 2016 season was a bit of a rebirth for him, because he spent most of 2015 on the sidelines with a nagging hamstring injury.

“He has such high football IQ,” head coach Joe Willis said. “Kam has all of the physical attributes because he’s tall and has speed. But most importantly, he has quick feet.”

While Willis believes the speed will come, the goal is maximizing Brown’s attributes.

“We’re going to look at a lot of different things in how we use him,” Willis said.

Marcus Mosley (DB, 6-1, 170, Sr.): It’s going to be hard to duplicate what Mosley did in 2016. When teams threw picked on him, he picked right back. Colleyville Heritage’s defense had 12 interceptions. Mosley had half of them (six).

That’s pretty impressive, because Mosley missed three weeks with a concussion. Mosley may also have another growth spurt.

“He’s got a chance to get over 6-2,” Willis said “As he physically develops, his technique is going to improve. It did so much between his freshman and sophomore year. The way he is competing is something that we want from all of our defensive backs.”

Grapevine (10-2, Class 5A Division II Area finalist)

David Clayton (WR, 5-11, 165, Jr.): Emerging on to the scene, Clayton wound up leading Grapevine receivers in receptions (52), yards (707) and touchdown receptions (11). Tack on another 112 rushing yards and the thought of him being a dual-skilled player becomes a real possibility.

Head coach Randy Jackson wants him to take more of a leadership role in 2017. On a team that had 34 seniors in 2016, Clayton had to find his spot. Now, he can be more proactive.

“The way that he progresses is going to be important, but I think he could get to 180 pounds by the time we reach the season,” Jackson said. “What I like about him is his toughness. He took a tough hit in the Aledo playoff game and came back in the next play.”

Tony Campos (RT, 6-3, 270, Jr.): Campos is probably going to be one of the best linemen in this unit, if not the top lineman. While strength and explosiveness are going to be crucial in his development, footwork is probably the main thing.

“When you have great footwork in the five-yard box, that works to your advantage,” Jackson said. “Lateral movement is going to be important for him. Your best players have to be your best leaders.”

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine football look to 2017 stars."