Top prospects from over 20 states came to Chicago to compete at the 2020 Rise & Fire camp this past weekend. Among them were a group of prospects from Indiana. Although the number of prospects from Indiana was few compared to other states, they certainly made their presence felt. Here are my top 5 IN standouts from the camp...
With a number of FBS offer QB’s in attendance, Duce may have had the best showing of the whole group. I had multiple coaches come up to me throughout the day to make sure I had eyes on him. Everything he did looked effortless. He was a standout in both drill work and during the team compete periods. Displayed a quick/compact release and was accurate on his short, intermediate, and deep throws the entire day. When it came to the team compete periods... He showed the ability to anticipate multiple new receivers routes and fit the ball in tight spaces. He may lack the prototypical measurables that Power 5 teams are looking for, but he is a D1 talent. Duce is a prospect that any team with a quarterback need should be keeping a close eye on.
The first thing that stands out about Arieon is his height and length as a defensive back. That may not seem like a big deal to the average fan, but his frame is a trait that college coaches drool over when it comes to recruiting the position. Not only does he have the measurables, he backs it up with a great skill-set. With the size of a safety and the coverage skills of a corner, Arieon is a prospect that has the potential to play any spot in the secondary. Very athletic, great hip mobility, quick out of his breaks, and extremely competitive. Defensive back is another position that had multiple FBS offer kids in attendance, and Arieon graded out as one of the best. He was outstanding in drill work and the competition period. Also did a great job covering WR’s who have FBS offers.
Tavarious first stood out during drill work with his smooth backpedal and efficiency out of his breaks. Often times that doesn’t carry over to the competition portion of these events, but he continued to be lights out when it was time to cover the WR’s. He is lightning quick, displayed great man to man coverage ability, and receivers were rarely able to get separation on the day. I was a fan of his play going into this event and left even more impressed after his showing here. Player that doesn’t have any offers right now, but he is a D1 prospect and one to watch this fall.
Tristan is a prospect that I didn’t know a lot about before the event, but he will be a kid that I track closely during the coming season. Posseses the measurables that college teams look for and an arm to go with. I did not see a lot of his reps, but the ones that I did see were impressive. When you turn on the film, you see an athletic QB that does his best work on the move. QB’s with his type of skill-set often struggle in a confined camp setting when forced to stand in the pocket. That was not the case with Tristan. He looked extremely comfortable throwing in the pocket and Impressed me most with his deep ball. Also showed the arm strength to make every level of throw. He is definitely a QB prospect, but he has the size and athleticism to play other positions as well.
- DB Jackson Griffin - Center Grove HS, 2022
The lone underclassmen on this list did not play like an underclassmen. He fit right in with the more experienced players at the event. I was impressed with his footwork and technique during the reps I saw. Two things that you look for when evaluating DB’s are competitiveness and swagger/confidence... Jackson has both. You saw him compete his butt off and never back down to a challenge. One thing that you see from a lot of young DB’s is they give up on a play the second they are beat off the line... I loved the fact that you never saw Jackson give up on a play, and because of that he was able to recover and break up the pass when it did happen. He is still developing, but I think he is a prospect that you will be hearing more about in the coming years.
