2022 Watchlist Breakdown: Orange County Part 2

Photo: Courtesy of Santa Margarita football

Michael Huntley May 20, 2021 @ 07:39 AM

Last week I broke down the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/05/2022-rankings-reaction-orange-county-players/">players from Orange County</a> that made the updated 2022 rankings on Prep Redzone. Now it’s time to break down the 13 players who didn’t quite crack the top 200 but made the new Watch List. Here is <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/05/2022-watchlist-breakdown-orange-county-part-1/">part one</a> of the breakdown of Orange County players on the Watch List. [player_tooltip player_id="143138" first="Nathan" last="Kornely"] plays quarterback for a Villa Park program that has sent quarterbacks to Division 1 programs for the past decade. He improved each time he took the field and his arm strength is above average. He threw 19 touchdown passes in six games and his decision making got better the second time I saw him play just weeks after the first time I saw him. https://twitter.com/nkornely14/status/1393021480678543367?s=20 [player_tooltip player_id="142002" first="Zack" last="Miller"] is a big right tackle from Orange Lutheran. He is 6-foot-7, a thrower on the track and field team and moves well for his size. He is a better run blocker than pass blocker but his pass blocking is still above average. He blocks down very effectively on runs and is mobile enough to reach linebackers on outside runs. [player_tooltip player_id="142003" first="Sione" last="Moa"], or "Toa" as he is known to some people, is the nose tackle for Mater Dei’s elite defense. He eats up double teams which opens up lanes for Mater Dei’s elite linebackers to stop the run. He is excellent as a pass rusher for a nose tackle with a good mixture of power and finesse moves. He impressed at the National Preps Showcase in San Diego in February and will garner some recruiting attention this fall. https://twitter.com/GiantSkillz/status/1347673927548502016?s=20 [player_tooltip player_id="143139" first="Cole" last="MONACH"], it’s capitalized in our database for now, is the perfect counterpart to [player_tooltip player_id="141899" first="Braden" last="Pegan"] at San Juan Hills. He runs good routes and is physical enough to get separation in tight coverage. He isn’t as fast as Pegan but he’s still a good deep threat and sure-handed. Monach is 6-foot-1 but plays like a guy who is 6-foot-4 and will have more eyeballs on him this fall now that he is on everybody’s radar. I saw [player_tooltip player_id="142005" first="Josiah" last="Murray"] and two other Los Alamitos running backs break the school record for rushing yards in 2019 against a solid Newport Harbor team. He didn’t play for the Griffins this spring but played club football before that. He has elite speed and maintains body control throughout the run. Santa Margarita center [player_tooltip player_id="143134" first="Kilian" last="O’Connor"] is my favorite offensive line prospect on the Watch List. He is only 260 pounds so some schools won’t even give him a look, but they should. He is an outstanding pass blocker who has good footwork and always keeps his hips square. He can handle bigger defensive linemen who use power moves and has fast enough feet to block speedy blitzers in the passing game. O’Connor has an offer from Columbia. [player_tooltip player_id="142010" first="Ta’ita’i" last="Uiagalelei"] is a defensive lineman for Mater Dei who is quick off the ball and can cause problems in the backfield. He played with an injury for Mater Dei this spring and will be a challenge for opposing offensive linemen this fall. He has long arms and can control offensive linemen when he rushes the passer and is well-coached. He will get some offers this fall.  