It’s hot on the turf, but Joly, the longtime assistant coach, is not lacking for enthusiasm in showing the players the right techniques. And, not surprisingly, the white lettering that is stenciled on the front of his red T-shirt reads: “Max Effort.”

Jaylen Butera, the Red Raiders’ senior running back/safety, and Trey Drake, their junior quarterback, know a thing or two about “max effort” this summer. Five miles away, on the campus of Southwestern Central School, Trojans’ senior QB Aidan Kennedy does, too.

The trio hope their hard work and “road-warrior” mentality the last few months will pay dividends, not only this season, but also down the road as they contemplate their post-high school destinations.

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Jaylen Butera

Tom Repicci has been providing advisory and mentorship services for student athletes through PrepStar WNY since 2015. The teenage trio from the Southern Tier are among his clientele.

“It’s been a very productive summer for all three,” Repicci said. ” … My program is selective. … I want kids that have a combination of high character, good athletic talent and great grades. These three kids are all at the top of that. … They’re high-character kids. They’ll find a good spot.”

Butera, Drake and Kennedy haven’t been shy about searching out potential destinations this summer.

Butera has attended prospect camps at Rutgers, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Stony Brook; Drake has been to Pitt, Liberty, Buffalo, James Madison and Alabama; and Kennedy traveled to Rutgers, Bryant, Monmouth, Youngstown State, Pace, Sacred Heart and Buffalo.

“We just want to showcase our talents at a national level and compete with other dudes who are competing for the same thing that we’re competing for,” said Drake, who joined Kennedy as the two quarterbacks on The Post-Journal All-Star Team in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association pandemic-shortened season last spring. “Every camp was pretty much the same. My favorite one I went to was JMU. It was very well run. I talked to the quarterbacks coach a little bit and we got some contacts.”

Aidan Kennedy

Butera, The Post-Journal Player of the Year, said the four months since Jamestown’s one-point loss in the Section VI Class A championship game, have been a “really good experience.”

“I enjoyed the camps because they made me better going against other guys who are pretty good, too,” he said. “I picked up some drills I can do on my own just to prepare myself for college.”

Noted Kennedy: “It really helped me know what to expect at that level of play. I got to see what I need to improve and what things I need to get better at. … I think that helped me and just got me an eye-opener again, competing with (players from) other states and competing with talent from all over the place. I enjoyed the experience this summer.”

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Jamestown coach Tom Langworthy was an all-state high school player at Southwestern in the late 1990s and ultimately continued his academic and football career at Mercyhurst in nearby Erie, Pennsylvania.

But getting noticed coming out of high school then was a lot different than it is now.

“I’d take a VHS tape and make a bunch of copies (and send them out),” Langworthy said. “That was the way.”

The “way” has changed dramatically today as high schoolers can now show the world their talents on video posted to Hudl as well as on social media, most notably Twitter.

“The real wrinkle is you need one offer,” Langworthy said, “and it’s a copycat game, because people think they’re missing out.”

Southwestern head coach Jake Burkholder said the level of competition is the biggest draw to attending the showcases, but added connecting with the school is also very important.

“Social media and Hudl make it really easy to send film out to anybody, but when you actually go there and see them face to face and shake a hand that makes a difference,” he said

Butera and Kennedy are entering their final seasons of high school, and both are willing to exercise patience when it comes to deciding on their college futures.

“It’s something, I think, I should take my time on,” Butera said. “It also depends on what coaches want to take a chance on me. When the time comes, and God is ready and He lets me know, I’ll make a decision.

“Mainly, I want to play running back, but some schools I’m talking to see me on the defensive side of the ball. Running back would be my first option, but free school is free school. I’m a student-athlete and ‘student’ comes first.”

Kennedy is also taking a wait-and-see approach to his college commitment.

“There’s a list, and I’m still narrowing down the list,” he said, “making sure the academic part, the community part on campus, the football level and the full program lines up with what I want. I’ll be spending the next four years there, so it’s a big decision. I want to be sure I make the right decision.”

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Drake’s visit to JMU was followed immediately by a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the home of the Crimson Tide. He and his father, Ben, were gone for five days.

“Alabama is at the top,” Drake said. “They don’t compare to anywhere I’ve been. Their facilities are just really ridiculous.”

While there, the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder found himself with high school prospects who were included in the “Saban Group.”

Yes, that would be Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide’s legendary head coach.

“They brought four of us quarterbacks, seven receivers and a tight end and we went out back while the camp was going on,” Drake said. “We threw to the receivers while Saban was watching. … It was beyond anything else I’ve been to.”

Also going above and beyond are the parents of the young men from Jamestown and Southwestern.

“I want to thank my mom,” Butera said. “She’s an amazing woman. She did it all by herself. I kind of see her as a father figure, too. She has to be both. She’s done so much for me this summer. I’m so glad I got to go to these camps, because she enjoyed it, too.”

Said Drake: “I’m so thankful I have a father that does the stuff he does for me. He sacrifices so much. My mom, too. She’s been home with the kids almost every weekend this summer while we were gone. I’m just blessed to have parents like that who sacrifice so much.”

Kennedy echoed those sentiments.

“My mom and dad have always been there for me,” he said. “No matter what decisions I’ve made, I’ve always felt good having support for that.”

More decisions will be forthcoming for all three, but that’s down the road. The first step of their journey begins next week.

Game 1 of the 2021 season.