Jonah Masterson and Carlisle Koestler used to play youth baseball together at Vicksburg’s Halls Ferry Park, but hadn’t seen each other in a while since moving on to high school. Last week at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., the pair got reunited at the Manning Passing Academy.

Masterson, a freshman at Porters Chapel, and Koestler, a freshman at St. Aloysius, are penciled in as the potential starters at quarterback at their respective schools when preseason drills begin on July 26. Both said the Manning Passing Academy, which is run by NFL quarterbacks Eli Manning of the New York Giants and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, along with their father Archie, was full of benefits.

“It was my first year to go to it. There were a lot of famous people there. Not only did you have Eli and Peyton, but Alabama’s starting quarterback (Greg McElroy) was there as were a lot of other college quarterbacks,” Koestler said.

And that was not all. Each of one of the Mannings brought one of their pro wide receivers to the camp.

“Austin Collie of the Colts was there for Peyton and Eli brought in Hakeem Nicks,” Koestler said.

“It was a lot of fun,” Masterson said. “We got a lot of repetition in. Peyton and Eli were really good about coming in and working with your group at times. But generally how they do it is have a college quarterback work with your group. We had Adam Weber, a quarterback from Minnesota. He showed me a lot of good things.”

One of things Weber asked his charges about the offense they run.

“I told we were going to run the spread at PCA. He told me a key to running it the right way was to maintain your poise in the pocket. Don’t get rushed into throwing the football,” Masterson said.

Koestler said his tutor was Landry Jones from Oklahoma, who started last year in place of former Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford.

“We mainly worked on recognizing routes. We did tons of drills. He helped me a lot. Especially with technique things,” Koestler said.

The work at the Manning camp should help both players function well even though they will be freshman starters this season.

“I know if I continue to work hard, I can do well. But we’ve got a lot of guys who can play quarterback here,” Koestler said.

Koestler and Masterson were part of a handful of kids from the Vicksburg area who attended the academy. Warren Central’s Chase Ladd and Warren Central Junior High’s Alex Stephans also participated.