Class of ’22 Under the Radar: Wichita

Over the years, the city of Wichita has produced some great players like Barry Sanders (Wichita North) as well as several state championship teams.  There are several talented players in Wichita this season and here are five Seniors to keep an eye on who are looking to have a breakout season or improve upon their great Junior season in 2020. <strong>RB, [player_tooltip player_id="35553" first="Joel" last="Underwood"], 5’9, 190, Wichita Southeast</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35553" first="Joel" last="Underwood"] is the 6th ranked RB and the 50th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He displays good vision as he finds the open hole while adjusting on the fly on power plays.  He is a shifty back as he uses his short area quickness, agility and change of direction ability to make LB and DB miss while using his good play speed to pick up significant yardage.  He displays very good competitive toughness as he shows the ability to come up big in the red zone as he is a threat to score a TD in this area every time that he has the ball in his hands. <strong>LB, [player_tooltip player_id="35581" first="Jerome" last="Ragin"], 5’10, 200, Wichita West</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35581" first="Jerome" last="Ragin"] is the 9th ranked LB and the 73rd ranked player in the class of 2022 overall.  In 2020, he made 25 tackles.  He plays as an OLB.  Against the run, he uses his good football intelligence to quickly key and diagnose the play, his good range and play speed in pursuit and his good play strength to bring down the RB or QB with ease.  Against the pass, he uses his quickness to patrol the hook/curl zone while keeping his eyes on the QB, he uses his good play speed in pursuit of the slot WR and is able to catch him from behind preventing a big gain. <strong>WR, [player_tooltip player_id="91385" first="Caquoy" last="Patterson"], 5’7, 155, Wichita East</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="91385" first="Caquoy" last="Patterson"] is the 15th ranked WR and the 104th ranked player overall.  He plays in the slot.  He uses his very good quickness and excellent hip fluidity to separate at the top of his route from larger DB on an out and up.  He shows very good ability to track the ball in the air and possesses the manual dexterity to make the catch on passes that are thrown in his strike zone as well as over his shoulder.  Upon catching the ball, he shows excellent contact balance as he absorbs the hit by the larger DB as he bounces off the hit and uses his very good acceleration to run away from all defenders and score a TD. <strong>ATH, [player_tooltip player_id="35632" first="Dialo" last="Watson"], 6’2, 170, Wichita South</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35632" first="Dialo" last="Watson"] is the 13th ranked ATH and the 121st ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He is used as a WR on offense and a FS on defense.  In 2020, he caught 7 passes for 189 yards (27.0 ypc) and 5 TD while making 39 tackles and a forced fumble on defense.  Against the run, he uses his long arms and good hand use to beat the C to the punch as he strikes the frame of the OL and uses his very good play strength to shed the block.  He uses his very good instincts to take the correct angle in pursuit of the RB while playing at a good pad level as he shows good form tackling ability to bring down quick RB with ease.  As a WR, he plays on the outside as an "X".  He uses his good play speed and quickness to get behind the CB on fade routes while tracking the ball in the air and shows an impressive catch radius as he is able to catch passes that are thrown high while keeping his feet in bounds for the TD. <strong>OL, [player_tooltip player_id="35556" first="Keyvan" last="Stallings"], 6’0, 245, Wichita Northwest</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35556" first="Keyvan" last="Stallings"] is the 25th ranked OL and the 163rd ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He plays as a LG.  While run blocking, he fires out low and uses his very good quickness to get his hat across the face of the 4i while executing a reach block.  He delivers a powerful punch to the frame of his man and uses his very good leverage to drive him off the ball creating a big hole for the RB.  While pass blocking, he bends at the knee, keeps his feet moving constantly while winning battles with his hands inside against the blitzing ILB.  He sinks his hips well as he anchors while keeping a good distance between himself and the QB.  He also displays good physical toughness as he tosses the LB to the ground with ease. &nbsp;