In-state Tour: Blue Hill

Head coach: John Coffey

2015 record: 7-3; Lost in the second round of the Class D-1 playoffs.

Season rewind: "As a first year coach we lost the first two games of the season, then after that we kind of got on a winning streak and won 7 games in a row. Then we played Elm Creek for a second time in the first round of the playoffs, then we went to Burwell in the second round of the playoffs and got beat. They actually scored on us in the last minute to beat us 43-40 and move on.

"We had a great year. We had three or four kids injured, but otherwise for the most part it was a good year for us."

Coffey's take on Collin Brown: "He's a very hard worker that never complains about anything," Coffey said. "He's just a guy that's going to be a great team leader for us next year.

"His size and intimidation at this level is the first thing that jumps out. His main thing is once he gets a hold of you on a block, he pretty much has you where he wants you.

"To challenge him in practice a lot of times we'll put two guys on him. We'll put a double team on him. It's hard to size him up with the little guys, but that's what we mainly do. It's just a mental game to get in his head every day and challenge him to make him better."

Brown's take: "There are some guys that are my size level in Eight Man," Brown said. "It's a challenge to find them, but when I'm going up against guys that are smarter than me or quicker than me, playing Eight man really helps me because the game is so spread out it makes me get out to them more and play faster, which will help me improve my 11 man game some day.

Honors: Brown was an All-State selection this past season by the Associated Press, along with being honored by the Hastings Tribune and Huskerland Preps.

Recruiting: Brown attended Wyoming's Junior Day this past weekend and continues to evaluate his camp options. Wyoming has told Brown they would like to see his weight down to the 295 pound range to get quicker.

He's also visited South Dakota State, heard from Northern Colorado and plans to attend camps at Kansas, Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Montana, North Dakota State and Northern Arizona.

"I need to prove this summer that Eight Man Football is not what everybody thinks it is," Brown said. "It's right up there with 11 man football. Eight Man players can compete with 11 man players too. It's just that there are less guys on the football field and it's a smaller field - that's it."