Class of ’22 Under the Radar: Blue Valley

The football programs in the Blue Valley school district in Johnson County are among the top programs in the state.  In the class of 2022, there are 20 players in the top 200 including the top 2 players in the class that play for a Blue Valley school.  Here are five Blue Valley soon to be Seniors that are looking to have a breakout year or improve upon their great Junior season in 2020. <strong>LB, [player_tooltip player_id="35591" first="Jake" last="Laurie"], 6’1, 182, Blue Valley Southwest</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35591" first="Jake" last="Laurie"] is the 7th ranked LB and the 66th ranked player in the class of 2022 overall.  In 2020, he made 72 tackles with 8 TFL, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles and a pass defensed while contributing on the offensive side of the ball as a RB.  He plays as an OLB.  Against the run, He uses his very good football intelligence and instincts to key and diagnose the play quickly, uses his good play speed and range in pursuit, plays with good leverage and uses his excellent play strength to bring down large RB with ease.  Against the pass, he is responsible for covering the slot receiver.  In zone coverage, he reads the QB as he covers the curl zone with his good athletic ability, shows good play speed in pursuit and uses his play strength and physical toughness to deliver a punishing hit to the WR preventing him from gaining significant yardage. <strong>DB, [player_tooltip player_id="113646" first="Hayden" last="Essex"], 5’11, 175, Blue Valley</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="113646" first="Hayden" last="Essex"] is the 6th ranked DB and the 80th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He plays as a nickel CB where he is responsible for covering the slot WR.  In 2020, he made 69 tackles with 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Against the pass, he is responsible for covering the flat and curl in zone coverage.  He uses his football intelligence to read the route of the receiver coming into his zone, while displaying elite closing speed in pursuit and shows excellent play strength to drive through the WR bringing him down with force preventing a big gain.  In off man, he is able to use his very good play speed and athletic ability to mirror his man on intermediate and deep routes as he stays in phase while tracking the ball in the air, boxes out the WR to put himself in good position to make a play on the ball and shows good hands as he comes down with the interception.  Against the run, he plays at a low pad level winning battles with his hands inside against TE as he sheds the block easily, keeps his eyes on the ball carrier and uses his play strength in his upper and lower body to bring down larger RB with ease. <strong>DL, [player_tooltip player_id="89494" first="Jack" last="Cecil"], 6’4, 200, Blue Valley</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="89494" first="Jack" last="Cecil"] is the 14th ranked DL and the 86th ranked player in the class of 2022 overall.  In 2020, he made 36 tackles with 3 TFL and 5 sacks.  He plays as a DE where he lines up primarily as a 5T.  He is an excellent pass rusher as he fires out low, wins the leverage battle against the OT as he bends at the apex, executes a rip move and uses his excellent play speed, athletic ability and range in pursuit of the QB while using his good form tackling ability to bring down the QB for the sack with ease.  Against the run, he fires out low, wins battles against the larger OT with his hands inside, uses his play strength and physical toughness to defeat base blocks, keeps his eyes on the ball carrier and is able to bring down the RB with force. <strong>WR, [player_tooltip player_id="113287" first="Cole" last="Stratton"], 6’0, 170, Blue Valley North</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="113287" first="Cole" last="Stratton"] is the 12th ranked WR and the 89th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He plays primarily in the slot.  He uses his very good football intelligence to effectively read the coverage showing good change of direction ability as he breaks off his stem, possesses good hands as he can make the catch with his hands on passes that are thrown on target with ease and uses his very good play speed and acceleration to outrun LB and DB for a big gain. <strong>QB, [player_tooltip player_id="35569" first="Mikey" last="Pauley"], 6’5, 200, Blue Valley Northwest</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35569" first="Mikey" last="Pauley"] is the 7th ranked QB and the 45th ranked player in the class of 2022 overall.  In 2020, he completed 92 of 157 passes for 1,369 yards and 16 TD.  He was also productive on the ground with 571 yards on 118 carries and 9 TD. When looking at the film, he is able to process the defense quickly as he finds the open receiver and delivers the ball on short, intermediate and deep passes to the correct shoulder leading to significant yardage after the catch.  He shows very good poise as he keeps his cool in the pocket when a DL or LB is coming at him both up the middle or from his blindside and uses his good athletic ability to avoid the rush as he completes the pass while on the move.  Displays good mobility as he is quick enough to beat the LB or DB to the edge and displays good play strength and competitive toughness as he lowers his shoulder into the CB who has run support in cover 2 to pick up a couple of extra yards. &nbsp;