Players to Watch in 2021: Lawrence

Lawrence High School had an incredible season in 2020.  They finished 9-1 and finished ranked 6th in the state.  Free State finished 0-6 but they were a young team and are returning several starters from last year.  Here are five players from Lawrence to watch this season. <strong>DL, [player_tooltip player_id="35563" first="Tai" last="Newhouse"], 6’3, 285, Free State</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35563" first="Tai" last="Newhouse"] is the 5th ranked DL and the 46th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  He plays as a DE where he lines up in a 5T.  He shows good burst off the ball, quickly shoots his hands with a powerful punch and quickly sheds the block from the OT.  He uses his instincts to take the correct angle in pursuit of the RB while displaying great closing speed as he quickly gets to the ball carrier and uses his play strength and leverage as he drives through the RB to make the tackle.  As a pass rusher, he is incredibly quick for his size as he displays the athletic ability to execute stunts and twists and beats the OG with his quickness and agility.  He then uses his good play speed to close in on the QB forcing him to throw the ball quickly than he anticipated leading to an incomplete pass. <strong>TE, [player_tooltip player_id="35645" first="Cole" last="Watson"], 6’4, 210, Lawrence</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35645" first="Cole" last="Watson"] is the 4th ranked TE in the class of 2023 and the 76th ranked player overall.  In 2020, he began the season as a LG but converted to TE later in the season.  He played a huge role as Lawrence went 9-1 and was one of the top teams in the state.  Plays as a Y TE as well as an H Back where he is predominantly used as a blocker.  Shows excellent run blocking ability as he fires out low, shoots his hands quickly with good placement on the frame of the SAM Linebacker and uses his very good play strength to drive him off the ball creating a huge lane for the RB.  When executing a reach block, he uses his very good quickness to get his hat across the face of the 7T and uses his excellent physical toughness to finish the block to the ground for a pancake.  He is a very good pass blocker as well as he keeps his feet moving constantly and is strong enough to anchor against DE lined up in a 4i while using his reactive athleticism to stay in front of his man as the DE executes a twist. <strong>QB, [player_tooltip player_id="35595" first="Jet" last="Dineen"], 5’11, 180, Free State</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35595" first="Jet" last="Dineen"] is the10th ranked QB and the 76th ranked player in the class of 2022.  He scans the field well as he makes whole field reads as he drops back, uses his very good quickness and elusiveness when LB are blitzing from the outside as well as up the middle as he escapes the rush while making good decisions with the football as he delivers an accurate ball while making all the throws on the passing tree.  On QB design runs, he uses his very good play speed and athletic ability as he accelerates to top speed quickly while in the secondary, displays good play strength as he can break tackles from LB and is fast enough to run away from DB en route to large gains. <strong>OL, [player_tooltip player_id="35637" first="Acen" last="Villegas"], 6’0, 275, Lawrence</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35637" first="Acen" last="Villegas"] is the 14th ranked OL and the 113th ranked player overall in the class of 2022.  His stellar play on the line during the 2020 season enabled the Lions of Lawrence High School to go as far as they did.  He plays as a LG.  While run blocking, he quickly gets his hat across the 3T and uses his very good leverage, hand use and play strength to drive his man off the ball with ease.  When blocking at the 2nd level, he uses his good quickness and play speed to get to the MLB and uses his size and play strength to overpower his man with ease finishing the block to the ground.  When pass blocking, he bends at the knee, sinks his hips as he anchors, and shoots his hands quickly and violently delivering a powerful punch to the 3T or 2i and keeps his feet moving to maintain a good distance between him and the QB. <strong>RB, [player_tooltip player_id="35608" first="Elijah" last="Harshaw"], 5’11, 165, Free State</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="35608" first="Elijah" last="Harshaw"] is the 20th ranked RB and the 160th player overall in the class of 2022.  He displays excellent vision as he sees the open hole and uses his good burst to quickly accelerate to top speed when running through the hole.  He also possesses excellent quickness and agility to bend it back or bounce it to the outside while using his very good play speed to elude LB while in the secondary for big gains.  He is also a reliable receiver coming out of the backfield as he displays the play speed to get behind DB while running wheel routes and displays very good hands as he possesses a catch radius that enables him to make the catch on passes that are thrown high. &nbsp;