Bruce Campbell isn’t your average cadet.
He and his bunkmates rustle out of bed as the reveille horns blast through the groggy 6 a.m. mist one chilly morning in Chatham. Cadets Andrew Palantone and Campbell prepare for another day at Hargrave Military Academy, each lacing up his shiny black boots, buttoning up his crisply pressed blue dress jacket and making his bed for random inspection later that day.
Why is Campbell so special? The 6-foot 7-inch, 280-pound offensive tackle is one of three Hargrave students who will probably suit up for Ralph Friedgen and the Terrapins next fall. Campbell, wide receiver Quintin McCree and wide receiver Ronnie Tyler are the latest acquisitions from the prep school that has become a pipeline for Terp football.
Hargrave, or “The Grave,” as many cadets call it, is nestled in tiny Chatham in rural southwest Virginia, just above the North Carolina border. A confederate flag painted on the side of a barn house reminds you where you are. You’re at the end of the line.
Hargrave is a private boarding school with “Christian values,” serving boys from grades seven to one postgraduate year. Athletes who come to Hargrave after high school are usually high-profile high school standouts who were not eligible based on the NCAA’s academic standards. It costs $23,000 per year to attend, though scholarships usually cover more than half of that for the postgraduate student athletes.
Three current Terps spent a postgraduate year at Hargrave – running backs Keon Lattimore and Morgan Green and offensive tackle Jared Gaither.
“My experience at Hargrave was probably the worst experience of my life, but I got something good out of it,” Lattimore said. “It was like clockwork – from 5 in the morning until 9 at night, you had to be somewhere doing something constructive. … Before I went there, I didn’t have discipline to that degree.”
Hargrave’s notable postgraduate students include St. Louis Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, Washington Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Ahmad Brooks.
This year, under the leadership of fifth-year Hargrave postgraduate coach Robert Prunty, Hargrave has defeated junior varsity squads from West Virginia and Navy. The team competes with several other prep schools, though opposing competition pales in comparison to the powerhouse Prunty has created with a 38-9 record during his tenure. Prunty constantly stresses the principles that define Hargrave’s educational philosophy.
“You have to give up a lot of the things that you’re accustomed to doing and adjust to a structured lifestyle. … That’s life,” Prunty said.
Campbell – a two-time Connecticut first team all-state selection – ended up at Hargrave after failing to meet other schools’ eligibility standards because of poor SAT scores. Now, in addition to his responsibilities as a platoon leader in charge of 34 men, Campbell takes numerous SAT prep courses designed to teach him what his high school classes failed to.
The academy is anything but a pit stop for college-bound student athletes. Young men at Hargrave get a heavy dose of reality coming into the military setting. It is a re-education – for some, an education – in responsibility, discipline and moral character.
Sgt. Maj. Michael Payne has been monitoring the postgraduate students’ progress since day one.
“The postgraduates, in general, pick up in six months what regular students learn in three years,” Payne said. “They’ve all taken to it like a duck to water – once we tell them which way to go, they go.”
Hargrave athletic director Richard Motley has presided over athletics at the academy for 20 years, serving each year as the varsity wrestling coach.
“Sometimes I have to admit to these kids that I don’t know if I could’ve cut it here.” Motley said. “Just about every minute of the day they have somewhere they need to be and something they need to be doing, whether it’s in academics or athletics.”
Campbell graduated high school as a four-star prospect, according to rivals.com. Today Campbell is a five-star prospect and joins seven of 10 Hargrave students ranked in the prep top 10, effectively making him the cream of the Terps’ recruiting crop.
“Coach Friedgen is one of those no-nonsense coaches that will tell you exactly how it is and won’t beat around the bush,” Campbell said. “He just put it all out on the table and came straightforward.”
“All three of the boys have been a pleasant surprise, but we’ve come to expect great things from the Maryland commits,” Prunty said. “We’re real excited about our relationship with Maryland and hope it can continue.”
But right now Campbell can’t really think about all that. He can’t think about the scholarship offers, the constant visits from coaches or the national media attention that comes with being a five-star recruit. Right now, Campbell can only think of avoiding the Bull Ring, a 10-by-10-foot square painted in the asphalt. The cadets must march alone on the lines of the square for hours at a time if they are given demerits for something as simple as a ruffled bed.
On his way to class, Campbell gives a low-key nod to fellow recruit Tyler, hardly noticeable if not for his towering frame. Tyler is on his way to math concepts, one of the several SAT prep classes he said taught him vastly more than similar classes in high school. Tyler’s story begins in Wagener, S.C., where the receiver gained attention from almost every SEC and ACC school after earning three all-state honors.
“Maryland just did a better job of communicating with their recruits than any of the other schools,” Tyler said. “Plus I saw the success Jo Jo Walker was having last year, and I really felt I could contribute.”
When talking about missing out on playing with the Terps this year, Tyler’s deep Southern drawl turns to a boyish whisper.
“Every night I lay in my bed, and I wish that I would’ve got my grades in high school, but you know, I’m here, so I might as well make the best of it,” he said.
The cadets assemble in squads at precisely 12:20 p.m. in front of Hargrave’s main building. The words “Mens Sana In Corpore Sano” are written in stone all across the campus on crests and memorials honoring Hargrave graduates. The words mean “Sound Mind in a Sound Body.”
The corps march to lunch. Over a meal of Salisbury steak and corn, McCree laments life at Hargrave.
“We’re basically isolated from the outside world here,” he said. “No TV. All kinds of movies and video games came out that we don’t even know about.”
It’s been that way for years now. The three Terps who attended Hargrave spoke passionately about the life they lived in Chatham.
“We had to walk like a mile and a half to practice up a dirt road, go hard at practice. … And then we had to walk back down the dirt road while the coaches drive back,” Lattimore said. “So I mean, if that doesn’t prepare you mentally, then I don’t know what will.”
McCree – a Gwynn Park High School alumnus – has received a lot of college attention since being among the 65 applicants accepted by Prunty from a pool of more than 400 prospective student athletes. But McCree has pledged his allegiance to the Terps.
After another round of classes, the postgraduate students will take the long walk to practice on the outskirts of the 300-acre campus, where a secluded, abandoned airfield serves as the practice field. The field has become an escape for the high-profile recruits wishing to avoid media exposure and get down to the business of winning football games.
“When they’re here, they hate it,” Prunty said. “But when they leave, they say, ‘Man, I sure wish I could walk to practice again,’ because I think they really get a chance to reflect on how good life has been to them and their families.”
Asked if they intend to re-sign with the Terps when signing day rolls around in February, each player is positive about his decision.
“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Tyler said. “Coach Friedgen stuck with me through all this – I’m definitely gonna stick with him.”
Campbell flashes a wide boyish grin, the best a 19-year-old high-school prodigy stuck in a no-nonsense military academy can muster. He nods in agreement. But for now, it’s back to Golf Company Barracks 3 for another night at The Grave.
Contact reporter Robert Klemko at sports@dbk.umd.edu.
