Kansas All State Team 5A: Offense

There were several players on offense in class 5A that had an awesome season in 2020.  Here are the players that made my all state team. OL [player_tooltip player_id="35385" first="Sam" last="Hecht"] Mill Valley The play of the 6’3 250 lb Senior LT enabled holes to be opened up for the RB and gave a lot of time for the QB to throw. In pass pro, he sets up quick while keeping a good base, shoots his hands quickly and keeps his feet constantly moving while showing great balance and he keeps himself from being bullrushed or beat by a pass rush move by the DE lined up in a 5T or 4i.  A very good run blocker who quickly gets his hat across the face of the 5T when executing a reach block or the 4i on a scoop block. He plays with good leverage and wins with his hands inside while displaying very good physical toughness and play strength to finish the block to the ground. OL Nic Devore Maize The 6’1 270 Senior was very tough playing on the offensive line for Maize in 2020.  He played predominantly at RT but showed great versatility playing some LT and RG as well.  Very quick off the ball as he uses his play speed and quickness to quickly gets to the edge when pulling on trap plays and uses his play strength and physical toughness to finish blocks to the ground against DE and DT.  In pass pro, he uses a jump set, plays at a good base and displays very good use of hands as he quickly places them on the inside of the DE and uses his low center of gravity to his advantage as he wins with leverage keeping the QB clean. OL [player_tooltip player_id="35419" first="Danny" last="Carroll"] Aquinas The 6’1 245 lb Senior had a great season in 2020.  Plays as a RG.  He uses his play speed and athletic ability to pull through the hole on power plays and uses his play strength and physical toughness to easily dominate LB.  When down blocking against a 3T, he fires out low and uses his good play strength and use of hands to seal off his man creating a big hole for the RB.  In pass pro, he bends at the knee, delivers a powerful punch to the 3T or 2i while winning battles with his leverage and physical toughness. OL [player_tooltip player_id="35451" first="Aiden" last="Kendall"] Newton The play of the 6’2 285 lb Senior enabled Newton to overage over 30 points per game on offense.  He plays as a LT.  Uses his very good quickness and play speed to get to the 2nd level on inside zone runs and uses his play strength to easily dominate against smaller defenders such as LB and DB.  Quickly executes reach and scoop blocks against 4i and 5T respectively and displays very good play strength and physical toughness to finish blocks.  In pass pro, he bends at the knee, keeps his feet constantly moving and wins battles against DE with his hand use, physical toughness and play strength. OL [player_tooltip player_id="35403" first="Ben" last="Purvis"] Bishop Carroll The 6’3 280 lb Senior played a big role in the success of Bishop Carroll in 2020.  He plays as a LG. Uses his very good quickness as he pulls on trap and power plays while exploding into the DL or LB creating holes for the RB.  On down blocks on NT or 2i, he takes a quick first step, plays at a good pad level, shoots his hands delivering a powerful punch, uses very good play strength in his upper and lower body to drive the DL off the ball.  In pass pro, he bends at the knee, delivers a quick, powerful strike to the inside of the DT or blitzing Will or Mike and uses his leverage, balance and play strength to give the QB time to throw. QB Cooper Marsh Mill Valley The 6’1 172 lb Senior QB led Mill Valley to another state championship in 2020.  He put up great numbers through the air as well as on the ground.  In 2020, he completed 90 of 152 passes for 1,597 yards and 16 TD while rushing for 556 yards on 111 carries and 16 TD.  He shows good poise in the pocket as he uses his athletic ability to elude LB and DL while keeping his eyes downfield finding the open receiver and delivers the ball accurately with good velocity on short and intermediate passes to the correct shoulder of the receiver maximizing yards after the catch.  Throws the deep ball with accuracy and touch as well.  Shows good mobility as he uses his play speed to escape blitzing defenders and is quick enough to pick up significant yardage. RB [player_tooltip player_id="35356" first="Julius" last="Bolden"] Wichita NW The 5’11 190 lb Senior had a phenomenal year as Wichita NW advanced to the 5A championship game.  In 2020, he rushed for 1,454 yards on 158 carries and 24 TD while catching 5 passes for 114 yards and a TD.  Displays good vision as he easily finds the open hole.  He shows good burst as he quickly gets through the hole and accelerates to top speed while using his quickness to elude defenders as well as his power to break tackles from DB as well as LB and falls forward for a few extra yards. In instances where the ball is thrown to him, he shows the manual dexterity to make catches that are thrown lower than his strike zone. RB [player_tooltip player_id="35347" first="Tank" last="Young"] Aquinas The 5’8 185 lb Senior ran all over opposing defenses in 2020.  During the season, he rushed for 1,338 yards on 200 carries and 16 TD while catching 4 passes for 16 yards.  A strong player with a low center of gravity as he uses his play strength to run over larger defenders such as LB. Shows good burst through the hole and quickly accelerates into the open field for large gains. In the passing game, he uses his play speed to separate from LB while showing good hands as he catches on target passes with ease. WR Jacob Hartman Mill Valley Jacob Hartman had a great season in 2020 catching passes from fellow all state teammate Cooper Marsh.  In 2020, he caught 38 passes for 767 yards and 9 TD while also rushing for 497 yards on 64 carries and 7 TD.  He plays both outside and in the slot and takes long strides to eat up the cushion of the CB, uses very good quickness and agility to separate and break off his stem at a 45 degree angle on slant routes or 90 degrees on dig and out routes.  Shows good hands with the ability to make catches on passes that are thrown both in and out of the strike zone.  Displays very good physical toughness as a blocker as he uses his good play strength to pancake CB while run blocking. WR Jake Shope Goddard In 2020, Goddard won 7 games and the play of the 6’1 185 lb Senior was a big reason for their success.  In 2020, he caught 71 passes for 1,191 yards and 15 TD.  He plays as a slot receiver.  Shows great quickness at the snap of the ball while showing excellent football intelligence to process the coverage and is able to find the soft spots in zone.  Displays good hip fluidity as he separates while running excellent routes enabling him to break open against off man coverage adjusting his body if need be and shows very good manual dexterity to bring down passes that are thrown inside and outside his frame.