The Line Showcase: Defensive Line Standouts Session 1

Today, I had the opportunity to spend time scouting not only talent from Wisconsin, but also talent from the surrounding states at The Line Showcase held at Elkhorn High School. To highlight the performances and players that caught my eyes, I will be breaking it down into four articles. One article for the defensive line group during session one, one article for the offensive line during session one and then the same for session two. I’ll list each player, the year they graduate, and their high school. After that I will provide a quick snapshot of what each player showed me during their session. So let’s not waste anymore time and dive in! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="104377" first="Mason" last="Desrude"], 2023- Nicolet</strong> <img class=" wp-image-113909 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/02/mason-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="221" height="294" /> This was the second time I have been able to watch Mason live during this offseason. Durin<span style="font-size: 1rem;">g his session today he proved to me that he has been grinding this offseason since the first session ended. I could see</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> that he has definitely continued filling out well and hitting the weight room consistently. I loved watching D</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">esrude’s performance during the one on one drills. Multiple times he won with his overall speed and quickness. His initial step gave him the advantage and then his equally as fast hands allowed him to get the offensive lineman’s hands down and then fly past them to get to the dummy. The 6’2" 215 lbs edge defender has a ton of potential and I love to see that he is developing. Big things ahead for the sophomore!</span> <strong>Steven Wauer, 2022- Muskego</strong> Steven was an impressive looking defensive lineman on the hoof. I don’t have his measurements yet, but he looked to be all of 6’3" with long arms to match and a thick frame throughout. Wauer caught my eyes during the defensive line drills. Specifically, the drill that showed off the player’s ability to bend. It was impressive to see that size and length be able to go from shuffling to running in a tight circle while also bending to pick up a towel off the ground. He was able to do it rep after rep without losing speed too. That ability to bend is going to be hard to stop on the edge of the defense if he is able to carry it over to the field. Muskego has several defensive linemen graduating this summer, so I expect Steven to be one of the players to step into those holes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31231" first="Gabe" last="Alyousef"], 2022- Oak Creek</strong> I was already a fan of Gabe’s after watching his junior film during our current rankings update. I left today’s Showcase an even bigger fan. Gabe fit right in with the biggest and baddest dudes in the trenches, coming in at about 6’2" 275 lbs. One of the most impressive parts was that it wasn’t a sloppy 275. He carried it well and he was able to generate a lot of power and push along the interior of the defensive line. I was able to watch him do the powerball toss. He had one of the better ones that I watched, showing off that upper body strength and quickness combination. The combination of the recent film review and seeing how impressive he is in person really bumped him up for me. Great day today for the Oak Creek product, and I know it translates to the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31298" first="Evan" last="Oberg"], 2022- DeForest</strong> It was great to have a chance to see Oberg in attendance. DeForest is one of the many schools that have had to move their season to the Spring due to Covid, so I haven’t been able to see how he has developed. I was impressed with what I saw. Evan looked like all of the 6’4" 250 lbs from his Twitter page, and WOW does he carry it well. It was in every aspect of the day too. Evan won several 1 on 1’s with his strength and short area quickness while lining up at the DT position, and he was a smooth, yet powerful, athlete in the drill work. I think he is really going to show off this Spring and put himself on the radar for a lot of schools. I think he started putting himself on those radars today. This is a kid to watch. <strong>Kameron Shaw, 2022- Warren Township (IL)</strong> This dude is put together. Kameron is roughly 5’11" 235 lbs and none of that weight looks like bad weight. He is cut up and has a very solid amount of thickness throughout his entire frame. He has an extremely powerful lower body and it translates into him being able to absolutely launch off the line at the snap of the ball. His get off could have possibly been the best of the session. That quickness made him nearly impossible to block in the head to head battles. Shaw also blew up the drills when I was watching his group. The drills really showed off the body control and flexibility as he was able to bend with ease at the ankles, and knees instead of at the waist. This was a really good day for Kameron, and I am glad he was able to come up from Illinois to compete. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31296" first="Nick" last="Blatnik"], 2022- Arrowhead</strong> Nick had an impressive day. Coming in, I was interested in seeing which side of the ball he was going to workout at as he played on both sides for Arrowhead. He went with the defensive line and it looked like a good choice. I really liked Nick’s build. He looked very athletic, but also very strong and sturdy. That is exactly how he looked in drills and battles. The 6’3" 255 lbs DT was fun to watch in the head to heads. He was able to attack in multiple ways. He could use quick hands to gain separation and his quick feet to get position to win the rep and then on the next rep he would muscle his way to the dummy bag behind the OL. Nick’s versatility at the position and also his position versatility are going to make him a big target for schools. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31103" first="Khalin" last="Jackson"], 2021- Menomonee Falls</strong> Khalin went off in session one! From start to finish, Jackson showed off the outrageous quickness in his 5’8" 270 lbs frame. In the drills, he demonstrated the flexibility and the bend that will make him an impact at the University of Jamestown. You can discount him for the size all you want right up until you see what he did in the one on one drills against some of the top trench talent from around the Midwest. It is not an understatement when I say that Khalin was unblockable in one on ones. In one rep he showed off a spin move that left the offensive lineman grabbing at the air. Other reps he whipped the offensive lineman with a wild first step and effective hand fighting. When you look at the things that Jackson can control, it is clear that he has developed those traits to a very high level. I had a blast watching him compete today.