Highlight Reel: Yahya Black DE/OT Marshall
High School football in Minnesota is only 48 days away. There is nothing better to get into the football mood than watching some highlights. Therefore leading up to the start of the 2019 season, I will be starting a series…
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Continue ReadingHigh School football in Minnesota is only 48 days away. There is nothing better to get into the football mood than watching some highlights. Therefore leading up to the start of the 2019 season, I will be starting a series showcasing some of the best highlight tapes of the top players in the state of Minnesota.
Yahya Black, DE/OT, Marshall
Yahya on his official visit at Iowa.The first player we will look at is Yahya Black. Yahya (Captain of the “best-name-team”) is a 6’5″ 250 pound Senior offensive and defensive lineman for the Marshall Tigers. He was highly recruited from all of the top schools in the midwest, headlined by Iowa, Minnesota, and Kansas State. His primary position is defensive end or outside linebacker, where he often makes his opposition look silly while rushing the passer. Yahya recently committed to the University of Iowa on June 6th, where I expect him to have the ability to showcase his true potential to the entire country.
full (4:16) highlight tape:
Analysis:
Offense–
Even though Yahya was recruited as a pass rusher, last season as a Junior he showed that he is still very talented as an offensive lineman. His great footwork helps him effectively protect his quarterback in pass protection. In the run game, he is able to effectively create holes for his backs. When Yahya is able to get his hands on his defender, he rarely lets them go.
Lastly Yahya has terrific finishing ability. To be a great offensive lineman you have to be able to finish your blocks, and he does just that. You could see on his highlights he repetitively gets pancake blocks, while humiliating opposing lineman. Even though Yahya will be playing on the defensive side of the ball at Iowa, he will make quite the impact on the offensive side of the ball for Marshall his Senior year.
Defense–
Yahya has “next-level” size for his position. He dwarfs the opposing offensive linemen, making him almost look like an NFL player going against youth players. To go along with his god-gifted size, he also has natural athleticism. Yahya’s combination of speed and strength shows up all over the field.
Yahya Black photo from hudl.com
His first step off of the line of scrimmage instantly gives him an advantage against any opposing offensive tackle. Although his pass-rushing skills are still a bit raw, you can see that the potential is there. Yahya relies on his pure strength to rush the quarterback, but it clearly works well for him at this level. To be successful at the next level he will obviously have to start adding a spin move, a rip move, or a swim move. Lastly Yahya’s motor may be the strength of his game. His highlights are obviously just his best plays, but you can see he does all he can to chase down the ball carrier even when the play goes away from him. Yahya is definitely in the same class of elite pass rushers in Minnesota, with players like Aaron Witt or Kaden Johnson.
Last season as a Junior, Yahya had eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Those are some of the best numbers in the state. In comparison Kaden Johnson had only three sacks and 11 tackles for loss, and Aaron Witt had three sacks and 16 tackles for loss. These numbers are only part of the argument for Yahya being the best pass rusher in the state of Minnesota.
Team Success–
Football is a team game, and great players influence their team’s success. Yahya’s pressence was felt all over the field last season for Marshall. In 2018 the Tigers finished with a 7-1 record in the regular season. Black bolstered the run game, creating 287.5 rushing yards a game on the offensive end. The Tigers also had one of the best defenses in all of Minnesota. They only allowed a ridiculous 11.25 points per game during the regular season! Marshall eventually fell to Dassel-Cokato in the second round of their section tournament. Even though Marshall didn’t get the result they wanted in the postseason, I think Yahya and company will be hungry for revenge in 2019.
Next Level Comparison: Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland Browns
I obviously don’t think Yahya is as good as the number one overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but I think they play very similarly. Both are nearly the same size.
- Y Black: 6’5″ 240 pounds
- M Garrett: 6’4″ 270 pounds
Myles Garrett’s high school tape is almost a carbon copy of Yahya’s. Garrett obviously has god gifted athleticism, but if Yahya keeps putting in the work, and becomes more consistent, I think he could show flashes of rushing the passer as well as Garrett.