By Rob Gullo
NEFJ Correspondent

AVON — From 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, the Avon Old Farms football team held their 2025 Show Day in front of many college scouts and coaches.

Monday’s event was the fourth Show Day for Avon Old Farms. The showcases provide athletes exposure and a chance to impress scouts. For scouts and coaches, it gives them an in-person evaluation of the players they are interested in, as well as a chance to meet and get to know them.

For the hour-long period, 28 total players participated in on-field drills grouped by their positions and showcased their skills to scouts and coaches, who also saw incoming new players step on the field at Avon Old Farms for the first time.

“I thought it was great,” said Avon Old Farms coach Jon Wholley. “A lot of people came through, and I think our kids did well, they performed well.”

“It’s a unique situation in that we had 28 kids work out, but 12 or 13 of them didn’t know the other kids before yesterday, for the most part. A lot of new guys. So it’s almost like our team’s first practice and a workout at the same time. So some of these kids have not done these drills that many times. So I’m definitely impressed with how they did and how they worked.”

The day began with a 10-minute team stretch which was followed by an agility circuit that lasted about eight minutes. From there, players were separated by their position groups and did six separate drills. The last 15 minutes featured routes on air from quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.

After the showcase concluded, players got to meet and speak with scouts and colleges on the field.

While there were many talented players at the Show Day, one of the most talented players that shone on Monday was athlete Kharon Craig. Craig, a Hartford Connecticut native, has more than 15+ FBS offers including Georgia, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Buffalo. He has interest from Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and UVA.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Craig following Monday’s Show Day. “Hundreds of coaches coming out all over the country just for us to showcase our talent. So, why not just go all out, you know?”

For Craig, he said he was a little nervous before performing on-field drills. He said the nerves calmed down as he and some teammates spoke about the Show Day in the dorms shortly before the event.

Despite having the most offers of any player on the team, Craig still approached the event with a hungry mindset. At the same time, he focused on the little things such as cheering his teammates on, coaching them up, and making sure everyone pushed themselves with each drill.

“By just going hard through every drill,” Craig said. “Leading, coaching up my teammates, making sure they push through every drill, and finish hard through everything.”

Another standout was tight end Luke Hutchinson, the son of NFL Hall of Fame guard Steve Hutchinson. The 6’3” 235-pound tight end arrived in Connecticut on Sunday and has already made his presence known. Hutchinson currently has 13 DI offers including Virginia, Mississippi State, and Appalachian State.

Being new to the area, Hutchinson said he watched stuff on Hudl that coach Wholley sent him on previous Show Days. He also worked out with his father and did worked with old teammates at Montgomery Bell Academy

“Working out, Coach Wholley, sent me all the huddle stuff, the stuff they’ve done in the past year,” Hutchinson said. “Me and my dad have been in the gym and I’ve been with my teammates back in my old school just working on every individual thing that I saw on film so that I could be the best prepared that I am for today.”

Following Monday’s event, many players received offers from school in attendance. Some offers included: quarterback Matthew Baer (Princeton), defensive back Shane Olson (Albany, Bucknell, and Dartmouth). His brother and defensive back Nate Olson also received offers from Dartmouth, Bucknell, and Albany.

Tight end Luke Hutchinson received an offer from Bryant on Sunday. Offensive lineman Charlie Thom received eight offers from James Madison University, Syracuse, Bryant, UConn, Delaware, Dartmouth, Liberty, and Buffalo.

Needless to say, Avon Old Farms’ opportunity to show off its talent was another smashing success.