Under the Radar: Olathe

With eight players in the top 150 in the class of 2023 and 17 players in the top 200 in the class of 2022, it is safe to say that there are several talented football players in the Olathe school district.  Here are five players from Olathe that will look to have a breakout season in 2021 or improve upon their impressive season in 2020. <strong>ATH, [player_tooltip player_id="127724" first="Jordan" last="Allen"], 6’3, 225, Olathe South</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="127724" first="Jordan" last="Allen"] is the 7th ranked ATH and the 55th ranked player overall in the class of 2023.  On defense, he plays as an OLB and plays as a TE on offense.  In coverage, he is responsible for covering the slot WR.  In off coverage, he shows a smooth backpedal while using his good football intelligence to read the route of the receiver, he tracks the ball in the air, looks the ball into his hands and comes away with the interception easily. Against the run, he quickly keys and diagnoses the play, defeats the reach block of the TE by delivering a powerful hand punch to the frame of the TE as he stacks him at the point of attack as well as his play strength and physical toughness to shed the block.  He plays at a low pad level and wraps up while driving his shoulder through athletic RB bringing him down with ease.  On offense when he is asked to block, he fires out low, uses his good quickness and play speed to get to the second level and uses his play strength, hand use and leverage to drive the ILB several yards out of the play. <strong>RB, [player_tooltip player_id="124032" first="Eric" last="Butler"], 6’1, 205, Olathe South</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="124032" first="Eric" last="Butler"] is the 13th ranked RB and the 72nd ranked player in the class of 2023 overall.  On power plays, he shows good vision and patience as he waits for the OG to pull and set up the block.  He shows very good burst through the hole as he accelerates to top speed quickly and displays good play speed as he is able to outrun LB with ease.  He displays good contact balance and power as he keeps his balance after initial contact in the secondary by LB and DB and is able to break tackles from DB that are playing with excellent leverage easily as he runs behind his pads and falls forward for a few extra yards. <strong>DL, [player_tooltip player_id="35596" first="Trevor" last="Vinzant"], 6’0, 210, Olathe West</strong> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="35596" first="Trevor" last="Vinzant"] is the 10</span>^th<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> ranked DL in the class of 2022 and the 67</span>^th<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> ranked player overall.  In 2020, he made 48 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, an INT and a pass deflection.  He plays as a LDE and RDE where he lines up in a 5T as well as a 4i.  Shows excellent burst off the ball as he quickly uses his hands and play strength to bullrush the OT backwards into the QB and is quick enough to beat the OT with an inside move.  Uses his very good motor, range and athletic ability in pursuit of the QB and brings down the QB with force for the sack.  Against the run, he uses his play speed, hand use and quickness to shed reach and scoop blocks with ease while keeping his eyes on the ball carrier at all times as he brings down the RB for a TFL.</span> <strong>LB, [player_tooltip player_id="91409" first="Michael" last="Anderson"], 6’0, 205, Olathe West</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="91409" first="Michael" last="Anderson"] is the 13th ranked LB and the 108th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  In 2020, he made 69 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 pass defensed and a half sack.  He plays as an ILB and OLB.  Against the run, he displays good football intelligence to key and diagnose the play quickly, uses his good range and play speed in pursuit, plays at a good pad level and displays very good play strength in his upper and lower body as he explodes into the RB bringing down larger ball carriers with ease.  Against the pass, he uses his very good burst and play speed as he executes a blitz, uses his play speed and motor in pursuit of the QB and delivers a punishing hit as the QB releases the ball leading to an incompletion. <strong>DB, [player_tooltip player_id="89269" first="Kenrick" last="Osei-Bonsu"], 6’2, 175 Olathe North</strong> Kendrick Osei-Bonsu is the 12th ranked DB and the 118th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  In 2020, he made 25 tackles with 6 pass break ups and 1 fumble recovery.  He plays predominantly as a field CB.  In man coverage, he is patient with his hands at the line of scrimmage while matching the feet of the WR, uses his play speed to stay in phase with his man all over the field while displaying good ball skills as he tracks the ball in the air and times his hands effectively to get in the way of the pass trajectory for a pass break up.  Against the run, he is a willing tackler who plays with good leverage and uses his good play strength in his upper body, lower body and core to bring down larger and quick RB with ease.