Drake Rabe gets unique experience at prestigious Manning Passing Academy

Childress quarterback Drake Rabe has had quite the summer so far with the adjective busy being an understatement.

In June alone, Rabe made the Texas circuit of football camps hitting Stephen F. Austin State, Trinity University and TCU while also helping the Bobcats to the Texas 7-on-7 state football championships in College Station.

To cap off camp season last weekend, Rabe crossed a major item from his bucket list getting to attend the ever-prestigious Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, LA., operated by the first family of football – Archie, Cooper, Peyton and Eli Manning.

“It was such a cool experience,” Rabe said. “All counselors are Division I starting quarterbacks. To have all of those guys working with high school quarterbacks in one place is very rare. It’s an experience I’ve never seen, and many don’t get. I didn’t get to meet Peyton or Eli, but I did see them coaching. I did talk to Cooper for a moment.”

While Rabe was at the Manning Passing Academy, he was mentored by Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck, Clemson starter and Austin Westlake state champion QB Cade Klubnik and was coached by Middle Tennessee State quarterback Nick Vattiato.

“They taught me so much,” Rabe said. “We went through so many drills and then played 7-on-7 every night. There were so many unbelievable high school guys there. One thing I took to heart was making the right reads and trusting my teammates. They taught me not to focus on one receiver and use the entire field and look at every one of them. They also talked to me a lot on leadership aspects and patience.”

Childress head football coach Bo Helm has noticed all the time and dedication put in by Rabe and says that is exactly what he expects from a leader.

“Drake is dedicated to working hard,” Helm said. “As a coach you appreciate how much time he puts in and the summer he’s had. Drake spends a ton of time studying and is a student of the game. It’s been fun watching him grow.”

Rabe, a soon-to-be senior for the Bobcats, begins his third year under center for the Bobcats entering the 2024 season.

As a junior last year, Rabe took major strides in his role helping Childress to an 8-4 record and a run to the area round throwing for 2,206 yards with 21 touchdown tosses. With a special summer like this now under his belt, Rabe hopes he can take all of that experience and apply it to making this senior season special.

“I want to be a great teammate,” Rabe said. “I want to enjoy this time with my team and make this a great year. We always shoot for the ultimate goal of Jerry World, but I hope we can continue to build as a team each week. We just want to work to get better with the goal of a district title and go from there.”