Woodward Football’s Top Returners For The 2021 Season

Woodward Academy, which is one of the most popular football programs in the state of Georgia, under-performed in the playoffs last season, and fell to Warner Robins in the second round. The final score not only saw Warner Robins as the winner with the final score being 30-7, but the game also concluded the high school football careers of plenty of talented seniors. This included the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="33676" first="Khari" last="Gee"], [player_tooltip player_id="33725" first="Ozzie" last="Hoffler"], and [player_tooltip player_id="33768" first="Alan" last="Wright"]. Regardless, there were flashes of talent and promise with plenty of the younger players, and the Eagles will certainly be looking to continue to rebuild their program next season, and to build upon some of the talent in which they will be retaining. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="95160" first="Damari" last="Alston"]- </strong><em>RB</em><strong> </strong> The fact that Alston has already racked up over 50 offers should come as no surprise. When you cut on his film, you can instantly see why, as he not only has the size, build, and power to play RB at the next level, but he has the lower body strength in his running style to make it a long way. Alston also has decent change of direction, but the strength in his game comes from his footwork, great balance, and his ability to keep his legs moving through contact. With this, Alston also has great bust, and explosive running ability, which helps him to sift through multiple layers of the defense, and to make the big play. He also does a good job of using his hands to shed defenders when necessary. Going into next year, expect Alston to start narrowing down where he will play at the next level. We guarantee the team will be a Power 5 program. <strong>Maxwell Crow- </strong><em>WR</em><strong> </strong> While Crow has plenty of growth to do next season as he takes on more time, there are a few traits that he has that already makes him very talented. Not only does he move quickly off the start of his routes, but he also has decent footwork as well. While we would like to see him explode out of his breaks on intermediate routes more, this does not change the fact that he does a good job of gaining separation on short routes. With this, he has good hands, and catches the ball cleanly from various angles. Next season, if he can manage to put on more weight, and to gain a bit more speed, we certainly feel that he can become a big time play maker for his team. <strong>Andrew Hines III- </strong><em>DE</em><strong> </strong> Hines, who has already began to shine for the Eagles as a Freshman, shows plenty of promise as a DE. Not only does he have the height, length, and frame to be effective as he continues to grow into his body, but he also has great lateral and vertical movement skills. Due to this, he is great when making tackles in the backfield, and also does a good job of being able to make plays from sideline to sideline as needed. Hines also shows decent quickness, and explosiveness off of the edge, allowing him to move past linemen and make plays. While he does an okay job of rolling his hips, we want to see him continue to work on his technique going into this next season, and to be able to use his hands, and arms for extension more effectively. <strong>Spencer Snipe- </strong><em>LB</em><strong> </strong> When playing the LB position, Snipe plays with good spacial awareness, and he also has good instincts. Along with this, not only does he have a solid burst and is able to take good angles, but he has a good feel for where the ball will be at all times. This helps him to be able to play full speed, relentless football. When making contact, he does a good job of delivering a good pop, and he also uses good leverage when making tackles. With this, while he plays high at times, we like his overall athleticism for his age, and for the position he plays, because he almost makes it look easy when he causes big time stops for his team. Snipe also has a great sink and bend, and his lateral movement skills are just as good as his vertical movement skills. Going into next season, we expect him to be a big time player for his team, and look for him to also improve in how he moves out of his breaks.