HOPKINTON - Cam Kenney is an All-American. He has competed against the best in his age group. He recently attended a camp in Atlanta and will suit up next month at Dallas Cowboys headquarters and over the winter in Orlando – football meccas.
He’s 14.
Just two years of football has produced a 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame he sculpts in his basement full of barbells and bars – dubbed “the dojo” - with his body-building father.
Kenney, a sixth generation Hopkintonian, is the son of a former Hiller captain and has more than a dozen relatives who have served in that role at Hopkinton High. A green and orange flag with an “H” in the middle waves above the porch of the family’s home just off Route 135.
But Cam is not following that familiar route, instead choosing his own path.
The former hockey player who was named a starter at defensive end during his first-ever week of football practice for Hopkinton Middle School has become a sought-after offensive lineman. Camps and combines will summarize his summer schedule.
The rising eighth-grader can hardly believe his quick rise within the sport.
“If you talked to me my first season playing, I would have never expected any of this to be happening – going down to play at places like Georgia and Texas,” Cam Kenney said Tuesday afternoon. “Football down there is a way of life – I just wouldn’t have believed you.”
Kenney recently returned from a four-day, invitation-only camp called The Show in Atlanta that is produced by NXGN, founded by former New England Patriot Brent Williams. The week before, Kenney attended Football University – a camp of 160 players held at Belmont Hill High – and was the lone middle schooler chosen to play in next year’s Under Armour All-America Game.
In mid-July, Kenney jets off to play in the Dream All-American Bowl at The Star in Frisco, Texas, aka the world headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys.
The whirlwind schedule has the Kenneys humbled. And excited.
“Am I completely surprised with how he’s excelled in the sport? Yeah. It does surprise me,” said Jeremy Kenney, a former competitive weightlifter for 13 years who retired in 2021 after placing second at Nationals in weight class. “We just watched the Under Armour game from this past year three months ago. And now he’s going to play in it. It’s crazy.”
“I’m starting to get the hang of it,” Cam said of the travel and exposure. “It’s a great experience. I haven’t had a bad experience yet.”
A family of Hopkinton captains
The family represents a large branch in a tree of Hopkinton football captains. While next-door neighbor and cousin Tommy Chatten was a basketball captain in 2023, Cam’s uncle Brian Chatten was the Tri-Valley League’s Lineman of the Year in 2001. Jeremy Kenney, Jeff Kenney, Mike Mansir, Jamie Deiana and the Schiloskis (Rich, Pete, Phil and Rob) are among Cam’s many relatives to captain the Hillers.
But Cam Kenney will not wear their familiar orange, green and white. He will start in the fall at Dexter Southfield in Brookline, which has produced recent Division I college players Luke MacPhail (quarterback, Utah Tech and previously Syracuse) and Jacob Kraft (receiver, Boston College).
But Cam Kenney calls Dexter Southfield a “lineman school.” Franklin’s Sullivan Weidman (West Virginia) and Newton’s Netinho Olivieri (Penn), a pair of offensive linemen, both played at Dexter and rising senior Hardy Watts, a 4-star interior offensive lineman, has made official visits to Clemson, Duke, Michigan and Wisconsin. Liam Andrews will be a freshman defensive lineman at Penn State this fall while offensive lineman Dom Silvia will be a Charlotte freshman.
“It’s going to be different, but I’m sure I’ll adjust fine,” Cam said of attending Dexter. “I already have some buddies there from football. I’m excited. It’s going to be a fun time.”
How does dad feel about breaking the chain?
“I put it on Cam,” Jeremy Kenney said. “Is this something you want to pursue? My exact words were: you can stay here – obviously I played for Hopkinton; it’s been a great town for us – or we can find the best competition in the state and try to see what you’ve got. And he said, ‘I want to play against the absolute best you can find.’”
Jeremy recalled attending Hopkinton’s annual Thanksgiving Day game at Ashland last November and seeing a list of former Hiller captains to play in the series that dates back 100 years.
“I just envisioned his name being up there some day,” he said. “Once the schools started reaching out to us, (a), it was an honor that they were interested in my son and (b), he wanted the best competition he could find so it seemed like a no-brainer.”
Cam Kenney a 'high prospect for college coaches'
Cam immediately impressed the coaches at the Football University camp at Belmont Hill on June 16. He was quickly upgraded to compete against high school-aged players, according to Randdy Lindsey, one of the coaches at the camp and the head coach at The Rivers School in Weston.
Lindsey broke down Cam’s ability as an offensive lineman, saying in an email that “Cam can sit on would be rushers and has the innate ability to pick up blitzes, twist and to stand his ground while creating a clean pocket from the tackle position. In the run game Cam consistently pushes the line of scrimmage forward, allowing ball carriers to want to run behind the 6’1”, 235lbs frame.”
Lindsey also addressed Cam’s choice of position.
“Most kids his age are unrealistic where they should play. Cam gets it!” he said. “I believe that will make him a high prospect towards college coaches.”
That brings up the elephant in the (weight) room. Cam is already appearing on recruiting web sites and is still a middle schooler. Is it too early to think about playing college football?
“They come at you earlier and earlier now,” Jeremy Kenney said. “He’s really looking at being the best that he can be. Dexter’s giving him a great opportunity to get a fantastic education and be a part of a great team (7-2 last season; lost in NEPSAC Joe Lang Bowl to Hamden Hall, 35-34, when DS was stopped on a 2-point conversion attempt with no time left). All that stuff, if it comes our way, if and when the time is right, we’ll deal with that.”
“I’m just trying to work hard and be the best I can be for the team,” said Cam, whose favorite player is 11-time Pro Bowler and offensive lineman Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers.
Cam Kenney will play against schools from all over New England this fall and will participate in the Under Armour All-America eighth grade game in Orlando after Christmas. His goal for that prestigious game isn’t related to a possible future college. But he wants to make a good showing for his home state.
“Recognition for Massachusetts,” is his plan. “I feel like football-wise we’re overlooked for the most part. I want to show people that Mass. has some kick to it.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
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