Douglas County Football’s Top Returners For The 2021 Season

Towards the end of last season, the Douglas County Tigers saw a bit of a downhill slide. This was due to the fact that they lost 3 out of their last 4 games, including their playoff game against Buford to close out the season. Against Buford, the Tigers saw themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard, as it read 48-0. To make matters worse, some of their losses resulted in the fact that they finished with an overall 4-3 record within their region as well. Needless to say, even though the team had a season record of 7-4, the Tigers certainly want better for themselves, and will be looking to improve upon what they achieved in 2020. In 2021, they certainly have the talent to go on a run, and see success in the playoffs if they play their cards right. <strong>Samson Israel-</strong> CB Israel has been instrumental for the team's secondary as he has managed to hold his own at the CB position. Not only does he stick to his man well, but he plays physical football, and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. In coverage, he matches up well by using his feet, and hands. As plenty of scouts say, he does a good job of holding his own when its a "fist fight in a phone booth," which is when he has to be physical in man to man, and situations in which he may seem to be on an island. While we are not sold on the way he flips his hips, he does a good job of using his speed, and his is not bad at turning and running with the receiver. Israel positions himself well to make plays when needed, and is so good at it, that it results in turnovers at times as well. Moving forward, if he can work on the way he plays with technique, as well as his fluidity and lack of false steps, he can take his game to next level in 2021. <strong>Jirah Douglas-</strong> RB Douglas, who will be playing for the Tigers next season, will certainly be a good contribution to the team's offense. Last season, when playing for Hiram, he showed the ability to cut through defenses, and to be able to catch out of the backfield and take the ball the distance. Not only does he have good vision of the field, but his feet are decent enough to help him adjust at the line of scrimmage. Douglas is a bit of a straight line runner, but overall, we like the pad level that he runs at, and his ability to be shifty through the tackles, and to keep his legs moving on contact. This helps him to gain a ton of yards on the ground, and it results in big plays and touchdowns as well. As the 2021 season approaches, we would like to see Douglas improve, and add an explosive gear of speed to his game. This will make it even harder for opposing defenses to stop him with the ball in his hands. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34013" first="Shakai" last="Woods"]-</strong> LB Woods, who we feel is one of the more underrated LB's in the state, certainly has the length, aggressive playing style, and size to play the position at a high level. This helps him as he takes various angles to make tackles in the running game, as well as when he runs head up on ball carries. Woods' bit of burst helps him to make plays in pursuit, and to stop defenders in the backfield before plays can even begin. We also like the burst, and explosive ability that he plays with, especially on contact. To improve in his game though, we would like to see him improve in his footwork, and the sink and bend that he plays with. Ultimately, this will help him to be able to change direction better, and to be able to get in and out of his breaks more cleanly. <strong>Monte Gooden-</strong> WR / CB Gooden can be seen to be a great asset for the Tigers, as he not only plays offense, but he also plays defense and special teams. While he is a bit of a raw WR, he does a great job of making plays after the catch. His burst, and speed allows him to stack defenders, which puts him in position to make good catches, and to be able to get up the field and gain positive yards for the offense. His footwork can be a bit raw as well, but there is no denying his ability to turn the corner when necessary. He also is good at tracking the football, catching the ball from various angles, and looking the it into his hands. At times though, he can catch with his body, which can result in drops if this is not adjusted now. Moving forward, we would like to see him work on his ability to catch the ball cleanly and consistently, as well as his footwork out of his breaks, and in his routes.