By: Nick Reith
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Last week, Indiana fifth-year quarterback Richard Lagow received a phone call he's waited on for eight years.
It's a phone conversation every college quarterback hopes to field at one point in their careers: an invitation to serve as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, held every summer in Thibodeaux, La. Lagow, who twice attended the Manning family-led camp in 2008 and 2009, will now return as one of the many college and professional quarterbacks who help run the camp each summer.
The coincidence wasn't lost on Lagow, who looks fondly on those summers spent with Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.
"It was pretty cool especially since I've already been there in those camper shoes," Lagow said. "I remember how I looked up to the guys that were teaching us when I was that young, guys like Matt Stafford and Sam Bradford. Being able to go and be able to help those kids in any way I can will be pretty cool, as is the ability to go back to a place where I came as a kid and give back to the people who helped me grow."
Lagow is honored to fill the shoes of the counselors who once aided his development as a signal-caller. Bradford, as Lagow noted, came to the camp fresh off of a Heisman campaign at Oklahoma.
Stafford, at the time a standout quarterback at Georgia, made a significant impact on Lagow's first experience with the Manning Passing Academy. Lagow remembers the days when he would go to Stafford's high school games, both being from Dallas, and the camp provided unique experiences with the current NFL great.
"One day, right before we went to get a workout in I was watching TV and they had a rerun of one of Matt's games from his freshman year," Lagow recalled. "He led a game-winning touchdown drive in that game, and an hour later I was on the field talking to him about that game."
Moments like that are what make the Manning Passing Academy such a unique experience for campers and counselors alike. It's the de facto trade show of football's offensive skill players, where people from all over the sport of football get together to talk shop and learn from the best of the best.
"You can't really ask for a better learning environment," Lagow said. "You have Peyton, Eli and Archie, obviously, but there will be other quarterbacks from all across the country. I'll hope to pick their brains and learn from them, hear their experiences, and share stories about what happened last year and learn from each other."
Lagow noted that this opportunity reminds him of his love for the game, that the two-a-days as a high school freshman in the Texas heat served their purpose. It takes Lagow back to the time when he was that budding young mind in Thibodeaux, eager to learn from Stafford, the Manning family and everyone else. It's also a reminder to Lagow that next year will be his last at the collegiate level and now, more than ever, is the time to be making all of the right moves to play at his best.
But for Lagow, none of those factors are the most significant aspect of working at the Manning Passing Academy. After what the camp has done for Lagow and his football career, he's eager to give back and make an impact on the great college quarterbacks of the future.
"It's awesome to be able to go out on Saturdays, throw touchdowns and win games, and working hard in the offseason to improve as a team," Lagow said. "But one of the biggest things people who are on the stage of college football can do is find ways to give back. This camp is a great way to do that."
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/4/26/football-lagow-to-make-long-awaited-return-to-manning-passing-academy.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Last week, Indiana fifth-year quarterback Richard Lagow received a phone call he's waited on for eight years.
It's a phone conversation every college quarterback hopes to field at one point in their careers: an invitation to serve as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, held every summer in Thibodeaux, La. Lagow, who twice attended the Manning family-led camp in 2008 and 2009, will now return as one of the many college and professional quarterbacks who help run the camp each summer.
The coincidence wasn't lost on Lagow, who looks fondly on those summers spent with Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.
"It was pretty cool especially since I've already been there in those camper shoes," Lagow said. "I remember how I looked up to the guys that were teaching us when I was that young, guys like Matt Stafford and Sam Bradford. Being able to go and be able to help those kids in any way I can will be pretty cool, as is the ability to go back to a place where I came as a kid and give back to the people who helped me grow."
Lagow is honored to fill the shoes of the counselors who once aided his development as a signal-caller. Bradford, as Lagow noted, came to the camp fresh off of a Heisman campaign at Oklahoma.
Stafford, at the time a standout quarterback at Georgia, made a significant impact on Lagow's first experience with the Manning Passing Academy. Lagow remembers the days when he would go to Stafford's high school games, both being from Dallas, and the camp provided unique experiences with the current NFL great.
"One day, right before we went to get a workout in I was watching TV and they had a rerun of one of Matt's games from his freshman year," Lagow recalled. "He led a game-winning touchdown drive in that game, and an hour later I was on the field talking to him about that game."
Moments like that are what make the Manning Passing Academy such a unique experience for campers and counselors alike. It's the de facto trade show of football's offensive skill players, where people from all over the sport of football get together to talk shop and learn from the best of the best.
"You can't really ask for a better learning environment," Lagow said. "You have Peyton, Eli and Archie, obviously, but there will be other quarterbacks from all across the country. I'll hope to pick their brains and learn from them, hear their experiences, and share stories about what happened last year and learn from each other."
Lagow noted that this opportunity reminds him of his love for the game, that the two-a-days as a high school freshman in the Texas heat served their purpose. It takes Lagow back to the time when he was that budding young mind in Thibodeaux, eager to learn from Stafford, the Manning family and everyone else. It's also a reminder to Lagow that next year will be his last at the collegiate level and now, more than ever, is the time to be making all of the right moves to play at his best.
But for Lagow, none of those factors are the most significant aspect of working at the Manning Passing Academy. After what the camp has done for Lagow and his football career, he's eager to give back and make an impact on the great college quarterbacks of the future.
"It's awesome to be able to go out on Saturdays, throw touchdowns and win games, and working hard in the offseason to improve as a team," Lagow said. "But one of the biggest things people who are on the stage of college football can do is find ways to give back. This camp is a great way to do that."
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/4/26/football-lagow-to-make-long-awaited-return-to-manning-passing-academy.aspx
Go Hoosiers!
