PrepRedzoneIA Showcase Day 2 Defensive Standouts: LB/DB

Yesterday’s second and final session of our inaugural PrepRedzone Iowa Showcase saw over 100 Midwest athletes from half a dozen states converge on the TBK Sports Complex in Bettendorf for what became an exciting and action-packed 3 hours. The 110ish prospects were all skill position players and amongst the QBs, RBs, WR/TEs, LBs, and DBs there was a ton of talent and some really impressive individual performances across all position groups. In this special quad-state feature I’ll be breaking down the noteworthy defensive performances from Day 2 of our PrepRedzoneIA Showcase, and the LBs and DBs that you will see featured stood out and caught my eye for a variety of reasons throughout our testing, indy, and competition portions of the event. Let’s take an in-depth at these standout linebackers and defensive backs and their performances below; thanks for reading! Bib #31: Phillip Austin (St. John’s NW Military Academy, WI) 2022. DB. 5’10, 205 lbs. I weighed every signup who checked in to the Showcase over the two days, so I’ll confirm right now that Austin is legit 205 lbs. and looks all of it, and he was by far the largest DB at the event. Although his tape shows a true SS prospect I was impressed with the Wisconsin natives ability to cover man to man, and he showed that he had some speed to potentially cover inside WRs or TEs in coverage. He was ferocious at attacking the ball and/or the receivers hands, and multiple times we had to tell him to relax a little and not pancake receivers into the ground out of press coverage. He went hard all night and made for a heckuva tandem with his twin brother Donald. They are both receiving DIII interest and hold PWOs from Southwest Minnesota State and have the physical attributes and toughness to come in and compete on special teams and on the two-deep right away. I’m a big fan of the Austin boys. [caption id="attachment_97204" align="aligncenter" width="225"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-97204" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/01/Er0hb6-XIAEczex-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> Phillip Austin - St. John’s NW Military Academy[/caption] Bib #32: Andrew Bowman (Aquin Catholic Freeport, IL) 2021. DB. 5’10, 175 lbs. Initially caught my eye after putting up impressive numbers in both the short-shuttle and the 40-yard dash. I saw some good reps from him during 1 on 1s as well where he showed off some nice technique to force some PBUs. Also a senior who is potentially not going to have a senior season so coaches please don’t be shy! [embed]https://twitter.com/Lemmingscouting/status/1350286112892317696?s=20[/embed] Bib #34: Cody Cotton (Union Grove, WI) 2022. DB. 6’1, 170 lbs. Really started things off on a good note as he clocked in one of the fastest 40s on the night with a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash and got the coaches in attendance really excited. He followed it up with the best performance of any DBs of the night and was a relentless defensive back, particularly in press-coverage. He was efficient with his hand usage at the LOS, at the speed to stay with receivers on fades and posts, and had good eye discipline and a competitive demeanor. He was really a natural at the CB position and with his age and measurables there’s a TON to like about the Wisconsin prospect. [embed]https://twitter.com/Lemmingscouting/status/1350273649702555649?s=20[/embed] Bib #35: Tracy Davis (Norwalk, IA) 2022. DB. 5’11, 165 lbs. Kept catching my eye throughout the 1 on 1 portion of the event as he never gave up on a play and was always around the football. He could get in and out of his breaks quickly to react to WRs double-moves and was patient in man-coverage. The speed is there, the physicality is there, I loved his length and he knew how to use it, and I was also impressed with how coachable he was. He’s going to have a heckuva senior year next Fall. [caption id="attachment_97203" align="aligncenter" width="225"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-97203" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/01/Er0jfF6XMAEMbpt-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> Tracy Davis - Norwalk HS (IA)[/caption] Bib #38: Shawn Lodge (St. Vincent-St. Mary, OH) 2022. DB. 6’1, 170 lbs. First things first, the kid made the drive from the Akron area to Bettendorf for the Showcase, so no one should ever question his love or dedication to the game. Lodge was a really relentless competitor who finished every rep and had some impressive speed at the DB position. I liked his ball-skills and his hands, as he was efficient at the LOS with his jam and was physical at the top of the receivers routes but not to the point where I would think a flag would come in. I wish Ohio was a little closer to I could try to help in his recruitment a little bit more, but he shows some true scholarship potential and I hope some of my local NSIC institutions check him out! Thanks for coming, Shawn! [caption id="attachment_97201" align="aligncenter" width="169"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-97201" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/01/Er0kK-1W4AEMGnB-169x300.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="300" /> Shawn Lodge - St. Vincent- St. Mary HS (OH)[/caption] Bib #40: Camden Maas (Normal Community, IL) 2022. DB. 6’3, 185 lbs. With excellent length at the CB position, Maas also caught my eye after he showed off some impressive quickness in the short shuttle during our testing portion. I saw some nice reps from him where he used his long arms to his advantage both in his press and when the ball was in the air. Great frame with a lot of versatility on the football field. Bib #51: Tyler Jansey (Batavia, IL) 2023. LB. 6’1, 215 lbs. A sure fire P5 prospect, Jansey looks the part of a D1 athlete as only a sophomore and also moves like a LB much lighter. He was impressive during 1 on 1s and could cover RBs in space, and during the indy portion of the event I liked his hips and his ability to fire out of his stance. Would be receiving much more recruiting attention if Illinois had had a 2020 football season. [embed]https://twitter.com/Lemmingscouting/status/1350269002757656576?s=20[/embed] Bib #57: Gaetano Romeo (Lake Park, IL) 2022. LB. 6’1, 180 lbs. Although he was a little on the lighter side, Romeo tested well and hustled and was a quicker LB prospect who showed a lot of ability to cover RBs out of the backfield. Bib #58: Sam Scullion (Glenbard South, IL) 2022. LB. 6’, 185 lbs. Really great frame with long arms and a lot of room to grow and potential weight to add. He caught my eye during 1-on-1s against the RBs as he moved really well in space and could get out of his breaks fast enough to stay with the shiftier RBs. If he can add some more weight there’s a lot to like about his mobility. Bib #59: [player_tooltip player_id="65808" first="Brock" last="Skaggs"] (Washington Community, IL) 2022. LB. 6’1, 240 (!) lbs. To reiterate, I weighed in every athlete who signed into our Showcase, so let me confirm that Skaggs was actually 241 pounds, and when I saw that number hit the scale I’m sure my eyes were popping out of my head with excitement. Not only that, I also helped with testing, so I was able to personally record Skaggs run a 4.7 short-shuttle at 241 lbs! We had to stop testing for a second so the college coach helping me could make a note of the performance, and I was pumped to see him test so well. Not only that, when I made my day to the RB and LB 1-on-1s I became even more excited as I got to see Skaggs move really well in space for his size and could start and stop and get out of his cuts with a ton of explosiveness. He’s also overall just a good athlete, so he could read and react to RBs routes with no problem and covered like a backer 30 pounds lighter. He was my MVP of Day 2 for the defensive recruits. Looking forward to your future, Brock! [caption id="attachment_97202" align="aligncenter" width="225"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-97202" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/01/Er0nekbXAAMY-ok-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> [player_tooltip player_id="65808" first="Brock" last="Skaggs"] - Washington Community (IL)[/caption]