Prep proving ground

What do you get when you throw 500 of the top high school football players in the country onto one field?

Ask Severn resident A. J. Francis, who spent three days earlier this month in San Antonio for the U.S. Army National Combine, a showcase for college recruiting services such as scout.com and superprep.

"I've thought since I was in the 10th grade that I was the best out there, so I got to show it this weekend," said Francis, a 6-foot-5, 315 pound defensive tackle for Washington's Gonzaga High School. "As soon as I got the invite in the mail at the end of the season, I knew I was going."

The combine, modeled after the...