Several members of the current Douglas Bulldog football team spent this past summer attending various camps around the state hoping to improve their skills.

Junior Hunter Long attended a camp at Northern Arizona University where he landed defensive MVP honors.

Long, who plays middle linebacker and fullback for the Bulldogs, said the camp was a great experience for him and helped get him motivated for the upcoming season.

“They showed us a lot of different techniques and things that we can do to help get ourselves ready for the upcoming season,” he said.

Senior offensive and defensive lineman Juan Escalante attended a different camp than Long but one that was also held at Northern Arizona University.

Escalante said he was named one of the top five linemen at the camp.

“The coaches at the camp also showed us some new techniques,” he said. “They also worked with us on being better team players and on how to be a good team leader.”

Both Long and Escalante said their camps were each a week long and that it was a great learning experience for both of them.

Senior Spencer Grijalva has struggled to stay healthy the last two years. Last year he was injured days before the Bisbee game and forced to sit out most of the season playing sparingly in the final game with Amphi.

Grijalva has aspirations to play collegiate ball and spent this past summer attending various camps around the state as well as a camp in California. He also received an invitation to attend a camp in Oklahoma but due to the short notice was unable to take advantage of the offer.

Still Grijalva has been attracting the eye of several collegiate scouts including those from U of A, ASU and NAU.

Because of his injuries Grijalva has no game film to show the coaches so he’s been using the camps as a way to showcase his size and talents.

Grijalva took part in a combine in California where he was ranked in the top 15 in his class amongst the tight ends. The clinic at Oklahoma he was invited to had him ranked amongst the top 100 in the country.

“I’m trying to make up for what I didn’t get a chance to do last year,” he said.

All three Bulldogs feel their experiences this past summer will make them better leaders as Douglas moves towards its season opener Aug. 28 at Bisbee.

“It’s going to be a fun year,” both Grijalva and Escalante said. “We can’t wait to start the games.”