The vibes were excellent inside the Greyhound Activities Center Thursday morning as Carmel hosted its College Day showcase in front of over three dozen college scouts. Carmel’s football team created a competitive atmosphere to reach the climax of spring workouts.
“They see coaches here from every level across the country,” Carmel head coach Kevin Wright said. “All power four conferences were represented today, so they see what’s possible through hard work and that coaches know that this is a stop on the tour.”
Carmel quarterback Anthony Coellner impressed evaluators with his accuracy, athleticism, and arm strength. Coellner ran a 4.63, 40-yard dash and posted a 37-inch vertical, both abnormal skills for a QB. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound QB threw 17 touchdowns and nearly 1,900 passing yards for the Greyhounds in 2024.
“My athleticism was definitely put on display,” Coellner said. “I’m super twitchy and mobile in the pocket. I feel like that is what sets me apart.”
Indiana’s third-ranked QB prospect, per 247Sports, has received 11 Division I offers, including Indiana, Cincinnati, Maryland, Minnesota, West Virginia and Yale. Coellner mentioned he plans to take an official visit to Yale on June 13 before taking trips to Troy and Bowling Green later this summer.
Carmel’s defensive standout Isaac Nelson ran a 4.60, 40-yard dash on a laser during Thursday’s showcase. Last Friday at the Max Truex Invitational track meet at Warsaw Community High School, the dual-sport standout won the 100-meter dash in 10.67 seconds, which is the second-fastest time in school history. Nelson currently holds eight Division I offers, including Air Force, Army, Bowling Green, Toledo and Wake Forest.
“I think Isaac Nelson, he pops,” Coach Wright replied when asked which player will make an impact on a college program. “He ran 10.67 the other day on the electronic time, second fastest in school history. I think that he will find a place to play at the next level.”
Carmel’s defense is led up front by Kaiden Bower, who currently has four offers from Charlotte, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Florida Atlantic. With his 6-foot-3, 231-pound frame, Bower has the size and versatility to play edge or inside as a three-technique in college. Another name to keep an eye on is two-sport, outside linebacker Aiden Dickerson, who may emerge as an underclassman who can make an impact on the Greyhounds defense in the fall.
It’s the second stint at Carmel for Wright, an Indiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductee. Wright led a legendary, decade-long run in Central Indiana, known best for his four IHSAA state titles, including a three-peat when he commanded Warren Central to three consecutive state titles from 2003 to 2005. Wright coached Carmel from 2010 to 2014, guiding the Greyhounds to three state finals appearances and a Class 5A state title in 2011.
Coach Wright returns to Carmel after he helped build IMG Academy in Florida into the national powerhouse program it is known as today.
“I got (to IMG) in the third semester of the program,” Wright said. “Chris Weinke started it. When I got there, there were 68 kids (on the football roster) and 500 kids in school. When I left five and a half years later, we had 180 kids on the football team and 1,300 kids in school. So, it was just a great experience. We were really the first high school team to play a national schedule on that level.”
Wright entered the collegiate scene in 2020 and served four years with Indiana University as a tight ends coach under Tom Allen.
“Then from there, the opportunity to go on and coach on the staff at IU, can’t pass that up,” Wright said. “Going home and coaching in the Big Ten was just an incredible experience. My first game was against Penn State and we beat them in that COVID year.”
Most recently, Wright was an associate head coach at Sheridan during his father Bud Wright’s iconic 60th and final season.
“Then, you look for, ‘where can you go, where you can be close to family and just be in a place where you are surrounded by good people’? “Have resources to have the potential to be successful. There’s probably not a better place in the Midwest at the high school level than Carmel. Great kids, coaches, great administration.”
“You can see the resources that we have,” Wright said of Carmel’s $9.5 million indoor practice facility. “We just got to get it back. Little down the last couple of years, but just get back to what the standard is and it’s winning the state championship.”
Carmel has claimed nine IHSAA football state championships, winning its lone 6A title in 2019. Despite outscoring opponents across the 10-game schedule, the Greyhounds are in full rebuild mode after finishing 3-7 last season.