Five Juniors to Watch: 5A

There are several great soon to be Juniors who play in class 5A.  Here are five of those players that are looking to improve upon their impressive Sophomore season of 2020. <strong>TE, [player_tooltip player_id="87669" first="Will" last="Anciaux"], 6’6, 215, Kapaun Mt. Carmel</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="87669" first="Will" last="Anciaux"] is the 2nd ranked TE and the 11th ranked player in the class of 2023 overall.  In 2020, he caught 18 passes for 338 yards (18.8 ypc) and 2 TD.  Lines up usually in tight.  Uses long strides and very good play speed to get behind SS on seam routes and corner routes.  He does a good job of tracking the ball in the air and adjusts his body if need be while possessing a very good catch radius that enables him to make the catch on passes that are thrown high.  He is a very good run blocker who uses his long arms to beat the 7T to the punch as he places his hands on the frame of his man while displaying very good play strength as he drives him off the ball while creating a big lane for the RB to run through. <strong>LB, [player_tooltip player_id="87673" first="Conner" last="Neill"], 6’0, 205, Maize South</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="87673" first="Conner" last="Neill"] is the 3rd ranked LB and the 19th ranked player in the class of 2023 overall.  He plays as an OLB.  He uses his good football intelligence to quickly key and diagnose the play, displays good play strength and hand punch as he defeats the reach block from the TE, uses his very good play speed and range in pursuit and shows good form tackling ability as he plays at a low pad level, wraps up and drives through the RB negating his progress. He is very good in coverage as he uses his athletic ability to stay in phase with the TE and uses his good range, closing speed and form tackling ability to prevent a big gain. <strong>OL, [player_tooltip player_id="35650" first="Jacob" last="Lamb"], 6’3, 255, Wichita Northwest</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35650" first="Jacob" last="Lamb"] is the 4th ranked OL and the 27th ranked player in the class of 2023 overall.  He plays primarily as a LT but will also play RT as well.  When run blocking, he fires out low, shoots his hands quickly with great power and placement as he uses his very good play strength in his upper and lower body to drive the 5T several yards off the ball on base blocks.  On reach blocks, he uses his very good quickness to get the outside shoulder of the 5T to gain outside leverage as he seals him off enabling the RB to run to daylight. <strong>QB, [player_tooltip player_id="119031" first="Weston" last="Fries"], 6’2, 170, Salina South</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="119031" first="Weston" last="Fries"] is the 5th ranked QB and the 35th ranked player overall in the class of 2023 overall.  In 2020, he completed 115 of 221 passes for 1,569 yards and 16 TD.  He sees the whole field while making multiple reads, makes good decisions with the football as he finds the open man and delivers an accurate ball with great touch to all areas of the field on short, intermediate and deep passes while displaying great poise in the pocket as he stands tall with a blitzing MLB in his face.  He is primarily a pocket passer but does show the mobility and play speed to turn the corner on QB design runs and pick up a first down if need be. <strong>WR, [player_tooltip player_id="87658" first="Justin" last="Stephens"], 6’3, 190, Maize</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="87658" first="Justin" last="Stephens"] is the 7th ranked WR and the 42nd ranked player in the class of 2023 overall.  He lines up in tight as well as in the slot.  He is a very good route runner as he displays good hip fluidity as he breaks off his stem at a 45 degree angle on slant and post routes, tracks the ball in the air and displays very good hands as he possesses a catch radius that enable him to make the catch on passes that are thrown both in and out of his strike zone.  He also shows the ability to make the catch consistently in contested catch situations.  He is an outstanding run blocker as he plays at a low pad level, keeps his feet constantly moving, shoots his hands quickly and wins battles with his hands inside against the larger OLB negating his progress at the point of attack. &nbsp;