Inside look at WCA club team: OC Elite

With the absence of traditional high school football, club football has been on the rise, particularly the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/01/winner-circle-and-other-club-football-leagues-on-the-rise/">Winner Circle Champions League</a>. The league is run by Winner Circle Athletics, a training facility in Corona led by ex USC football standout Jordan Campbell. Every week, the league has games at a field in Chino. According to Campbell, the league currently consists of 34 teams and 18 games each weekend with 1,500 players playing (approximately 44 players per team). The teams provide their own equipment, uniforms and insurance. Recently, the city of <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2021/02/02/winner-circle-club-football-league-receives-notice-of-violations-from-city-of-chino/">Chino notified Winner Circle Athletics of some violations</a>. The company will have to obtain a business license and special events permit by March 1. But that doesn’t effect the teams that are playing in this “season”. Some teams feature a roster of athletes from various schools. Other teams are made up of local high school teams with a handful of other players mixed in. OC Elite is the former with players from various Orange County schools. Below are notable players from the team. Some have scholarship offers, some have already committed and some are sleepers. Shlomo Bass, OL, Fairfax, 2022 Bass is arguably the best offensive lineman in the LA City Section. He is 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds which overpowers most players in the City Section. He can play on both sides of the line and despite his big frame has the athleticism to make blocks down the field in the running game and on screens. Bass has been on everyone’s radar since his dominant sophomore season and I expect him to garner a bunch of Division III offers when the season resumes. He has an offer from Ottawa University in Arizona. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11119879/5dc87c8415f7250d60fe5dc3">Hudl link</a> https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1308949779716747265?s=20 Michael da Rosa, WR, Ocean View, 2021 He is 6-foot-1 but plays like a 6-4 guy because he has good reach and and jumping ability. Solid route runner who finds holes in zone defenses and has the ability to pick up some extra yardage after the catch. He has great hands and can play out wide or in the slot. Has five offers: Nebraska-Wesleyan, La Verne, University of Saint Mary, Bethany, Sterling College. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11863892/5fe17bd7ff02381028d30758">Hudl link</a> Jamaal Fisher, WR, Pacifica, 2021 Fisher put up massive numbers for Pacifica last season which earned him First Team All-Empire League honors. He caught 46 passes for 993 yards and eight touchdowns, which is well over half of the team’s receiving yards and 75 percent of its touchdowns. He gets separation in man coverage and is a good enough route runner to get open against defensive backs who are bigger and stronger than him. Fisher has an offer from McPherson College and when he links up with Pacifica quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="39430" first="Darius" last="Cowens"] during the shortened season, I expect more offers to roll in. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13159146/Jamaal-Fisher">Hudl link</a> https://twitter.com/PHS_Mariners/status/1187572901110640640?s=20 Caden Herr, DB, Mission Viejo, 2021 Herr is an interesting prospect because he got good playing time as a sophomore at Trabuco Hills but didn’t get a ton of time as a junior at Mission Viejo. He has good closeout speed to the ball and is particularly good at zone coverage. He fits into a lot of defenses as a nickel defensive back and can be a really solid cover 2 safety. He hits hard and has good football instincts. He needs more playing time to develop into a good college player, which is why the club league has been helpful. He has five offers, to lover level schools, and I expect him to get early playing time in college as a special teams player. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/6639580/Caden-Herr">Hudl link</a> Roee Lachmish, OL/DL, Mission Viejo, 2021 Lachmish has been getting rave reviews from people who follow the club league closely and it’s easy to see why. His high school film is solid and he mostly plays 3-technique on the defensive line. He is quick and gets into the backfield easily and is difficult to beat in the running game. In the club league, he has been thrown into the offensive line and held his own against players with Power 5 offers. Lachmish has no offers yet but I expect him to get some soon if scouts look at film on some of the higher-profile players. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9839947/Roee-Lachmish">Hudl link</a> https://twitter.com/diablocjohnson/status/1358575612013645824?s=20 <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/08/capo-valley-qb-dartanyon-moussiaux-wins-las-vegas-throw-down/">Dartanyon Moussiaux</a>, QB, Capistrano Valley, 2021 Moussiaux is one of the top unsigned quarterbacks in Southern California. He is 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds with a nice arm and has improved with every rep he has taken. He was behind Division 1 caliber quarterbacks when he was at Santa Margarita and JSerra and he transferred to Capo Valley where he led the South Coast League in passing. The reps he is getting with OC Elite are helping him a lot as well as winning the Las Vegas Throwdown competition this offseason. Has offers from Lake Erie and New Mexico Highlands and would have benefitted greatly from a full senior season. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9205065/Dartanyon-Moussiaux">Hudl link</a> Braden Pegan, WR, San Juan Hills, 2022 Pegan has been getting a lot of praise from scouts for his performance during offseason camps. He is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds and brings down any ball that is near him. He runs good routes, has kick returner type speed and wins jump balls. He had a 90-yard touchdown reception in the club league which was essentially a hitch where he broke a tackle and outran the entire defense. He will be a big part of San Juan Hills’ offense if they get a season and will certainly garner offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11414281/Braden-Pegan">Hudl link</a> https://twitter.com/bradenpegan/status/1360101499502686208?s=20 [player_tooltip player_id="25441" first="Kadin" last="Semonza"], QB, Mission Viejo, 2023 Semonza has impressed scouts with how polished he is as a quarterback for his age. He has a feel for the position and a high football IQ. What’s impressive about him is he has excellent timing with the receivers on the OC Elite team despite getting very little practice time with them. With [player_tooltip player_id="25053" first="Peter" last="Costelli"] enrolling early at Utah, Semonza may get some varsity playing time as a sophomore if there is a season and I expect him to excel. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11412934/Kadin-Semonza">Hudl link</a> Kade Zimmerman, WR, Irvine, 2021 Zimmerman set a school-record at Irvine as a junior with 79 receptions and had over 1,000 yards receiving. He doesn’t have great speed out of the gate and is often well-covered, but when he is in space he can really turn on the jets. He has a big catch radius and has the strength to beat defensive backs on 50/50 balls. I was skeptical of Zimmerman because of the level of competition Irvine plays against, but he has impressed at the club level against quality defensive backs. He holds an offer from Black Hills State. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9560034/Kade-Zimmerman">Hudl link</a> https://twitter.com/UTRScouting/status/1285636537997316097?s=20 OC Elite Roster Marquez Anderson, TE, Mission Viejo, Sr. [player_tooltip player_id="25304" first="Elijah" last="Barclay"], WR, Salpointe Catholic (AZ), Jr. Shlomo Bass, T, Fairfax, Jr. Jonathan Becerra, DE, Mission Viejo, So. Corey Beck, WR, Irvine, Sr. Tyson Bell, DT, San Juan Hills, Sr. Dylan Bennett, LB, San Juan Hills, Sr. DeAndre Brunings, LB, Mission Viejo, Jr. Zachary Burton, DE, ? Michael Da Rosa, WR, Ocean View, Sr. Broghan Daley, WR, Dana Hills, Jr. Daniel Dominguez, LB, Mission Viejo, Jr. Israel Faamatau, OL, Mission Viejo, Jr. Jamaal Fisher, WR, Pacifica, Sr. Deuce Frierson, DB, Mission Viejo, So. Charles Frum, DB, Mission Viejo, Sr. John Gaines, RB, San Juan Hills, Jr. Joey Garofalo, OL, Mission Viejo, Sr. David Hallal, DB, Choate Rosemary Hall (formerly Orange Lutheran), So. Caleb Harrell, WR, Irvine, Sr. Caden Herr, LB, Mission Viejo, Sr. Peter Kelso, DB. Capo Valley Christian, Sr. Roee Lachmish, DL, Mission Viejo, Sr. Ruben Lopez, DB, Mission Viejo, Jr. Joe Malfavon, DL, San Juan Hills, So. Kenny Manassero, RB, Mission Viejo, Jr. Jack Marta, LB, Villa Park, Sr. Luke Meyer, DT, Capo Valley, Jr. Cole Monach, WR, San Juan Hills, Jr. Dartanyon Moussiaux, QB, Capo Valley, Sr. Ryan Murphy, OL, Mission Viejo, Sr. AJ Nkele, OL, Serra (Gardena), Sr. Hunter Nowell, DB, JSerra, Jr. Braden Pegan, WR, San Juan Hills, Jr. Caden Perez, LB, ? Nino Remigio, WR, Mater Dei, Sr. Chase Schmidt, DB, San Juan Hills, Jr. Tyson Scott, RB, Mission Viejo, Sr. [player_tooltip player_id="25441" first="Kadin" last="Semonza"], QB, Mission Viejo, So. Jackson Smith, DB, El Dorado, Sr. Jordan Tolmaire-White, DB, Golden Valley, Jr. Kaymond Wallace, DB, Bellflower, Sr. Brenndan Warady, LB, Mission Viejo, Sr. Damarian Ward, DE, University, Sr. Jaden Williams, DE, San Juan Hills, Jr. Dom Williams, DT, ? Kade Zimmerman, WR, Irvine, Sr. Tate Zimmerman, LB, Irvine Jr.