Spring Breakout Potential: Offensive Line

The Spring Breakout series continues with our final offensive group. The offensive linemen that are still available and playing this spring is a talented bunch that should be on the radar of college programs from several levels. If they aren’t, I predict that they are about to be once the spring season gets underway this Friday. In this article, we will continue to do what we have done throughout this series. I will provide a quick scouting report from their current film and then provide a look into their current recruiting interest based off their posts on Twitter. Let’s see the big guys that Wisconsin still has to offer! [player_tooltip player_id="30855" first="Skylar" last="Neff"], 2021- Black Hawk/Warren (IL) Our first breakout candidate comes from the 2019 Division 7 State Champions. Skylar comes in with very good size at 6’2" 270 lbs. He definitely looks the part of a college offensive lineman and his junior film matches. I love the aggressive mentality and the finish that he shows in his run blocking. Essentially every play on his junior highlights is him bury a defensive lineman, linebacker, or defensive back into the ground. The range and athleticism to not only get to the second level, but to then consistently make the block on smaller, more agile defenders is impressive. A large part of that success can be given to his body control as well. Skylar doesn’t get caught reaching. It isn’t a reach to say that Neff is one of the best senior run blockers still available. Black Hawk/ Warren fit his traits perfectly as they were a very run heavy offense. There isn’t much need to throw when you have bulldozers like Neff clearing the way. Neff does come into this spring with four offers from the D3 level. That’s a great place to be at this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a other schools, and maybe even some D2 schools, take notice of him and come offering. Right now, those four offers come from UW- River Falls, Ripon College, St. Norbert’s College, and Beloit College. Any school would be very lucky to add a kid with Neff’s talents at this point in the recruiting process. [player_tooltip player_id="30865" first="Zachary" last="Walters"], 2021- Sun Prairie Next up we have a versatile offensive lineman from Sun Prairie. Zachary has experience and strong film playing guard and tackle during his junior season. The 6’2" 260 lbs OL is set to really put himself onto the map this spring thanks to his well rounded game. As a pass blocker, Walters does a good job using his length to quickly gain control of defensive lineman and I really like the way he consistently keeps his hands inside on the defender’s chest. Once he has the contact, Zachary’s reactive athleticism allows him to easily mirror defenders and he has the anchor strength, so being driven back isn’t an issue. In the run game, Zachary still does a good job of using his length to gain the advantage, and from there he shows off his lower body strength to drive defenders way off the ball. Add in the fact that Walters does a great job of blocking through the echo of the whistle and you get a kid poised for a great spring! College programs have taken a little bit of notice since his junior season, but I believe that is just the beginning if he has continued to develop since his 2019 film. Currently, Walters holds two offers. One from the D2 level in Upper Iowa, and one from the D3 level in St. Norbert’s College. I have a strong sense that more schools from the D2 and D3 levels are going to be joining those two in pursuit of Zachary’s abilities as this spring season plays out. [player_tooltip player_id="31038" first="Gavin" last="Tanner"], 2021- Omro Gavin is an intriguing prospect on the offensive line. He checks in at 6’4" 240 lbs, so he will need time to continue to fill out at the next level. However, what he currently shows on tape tells me there is a lot to work with and once he reaches the necessary size he could be a force for a team at the next level. His junior film shows a raw prospect with the potential to develop into a steal for a D2- D3 program. Watching Gavin in the run game is fun. He already has the strength to toss defensive linemen around and create a lot of push off the line of scrimmage. As he continues to fill out and develop his hand usage, Gavin could be a force for a run heavy team looking for a tone setter in the trenches. As a pass blocker, you can see the natural athletic ability to slide and change directions as he mirrors defenders. It will be key that he can maintain that as he continues to grow. The potential is definitely worth taking a shot on Gavin. There is a ton of interest that has been shown to Gavin throughout the past year based on his Twitter account. He has received a lot of Junior Day invites from the D2 and D3 levels. He has gone on several visits as well. As far as offers, it looks like he currently sits at two. One coming from Culver- Stockton, and the other coming from Carthage. I believe that is just the start for Gavin. Like I said above, the potential is worth the investment into his development. [player_tooltip player_id="31141" first="Adonis" last="Cotto"], 2021- Racine Case Our final senior in this article comes from Racine Case. The 5’11" 255 lbs guard is going to be a kid to watch and see how he has developed. The compact prospect actually plays with a surprising amount of short area quickness for his size. That first step has shown to give him the upper hand in the run game. He doesn’t have the greatest overall length, but that first step allows him to get the positioning he needs to win the rep. That athleticism goes further than his first step too. Adonis’ film shows an effective puller and he has no issue getting to the second level to make key blocks. He has the strength to move the interior defensive linemen he has faced along with those second level defenders. D3 programs should have their eyes peeled for Cotto’s film as it comes out throughout the spring. If he has continued to develop from what he showed as a junior he could be a steal. Adonis has received some interest from the next level. He has gone on a couple of visits and received several Junior Day invites last spring. That interest eventually developed into what looks like two offers so far; McPherson College and Culver- Stockton. If he can show that he has continued to develop since 2019 with consistent film this spring, I wouldn’t be shocked to see more of those schools that showed interest to come back with offers. Adonis is definitely a player to keep track of this spring. [player_tooltip player_id="31300" first="Trey" last="Steele"], 2022- Eau Claire North The sophomore film for Trey shows a player just scratching the surface on his potential. You can see the body control starting to develop and the natural athleticism that allowed him to move with relative ease. Those two areas and his hand usage definitely needed work, though, to take him to the level of being able to become a college prospect. I was able to watch Trey live at The Line Showcase where he checked in at a clean 6’3" 275 lbs. I can confidently report that his body control, athleticism, and hand usage have all improved leaps and bounds. In the one on one battles he maintained excellent technique while smoothly sliding laterally to shut down pass rush attempts. His anchor strength looked very good as well. Defenders were not able to get him off balance and his active hands made it so he could easily control the defender. College coaches are going to love what they see this spring out of the Eau Claire North product. There hasn’t been any interest posts on Trey’s Twitter account yet, but that is going to change. I have no doubts about that. What his account does have a lot of is reports of him dominating at the camps and showcases that he has attended. He didn’t just catch my eye at The Line Showcase. Several other scouts included him in their best players from the event articles and he was picked as a Top Performer by the coaches running The Line Showcase. The only question is does the interest from college programs start after the season or soon after it starts. I can’t wait to find out. I predict a good amount of interest coming his way either way.