Marina Passing Tournament: Top Defensive Performers

Some of the top programs in Southern California gathered at Marina High in Huntington Beach last Saturday for a passing tournament and lineman competition. There were some great players at the event. Here were some of the defensive players that stood out to me throughout the day. Disclaimer: I did not get a chance to watch every team at the tournament play. Centennial (Corona) won the passing tournament and it was the first time the Huskies have ever won a passing tournament. They lost their first game to Cypress but won all the rest of their games including the championship against San Juan Hills. The corners shined for Centennial all day. Notre Dame commit [player_tooltip player_id="25243" first="Jaden" last="Mickey"] had a good day and looks bigger than he did in the short spring season. Capo Valley’s receivers were making big plays all day and Mickey shut down two of their top guys in their matchup. https://twitter.com/ballerselite/status/1231314921587007489?s=20 Two junior defensive players looked good for the Huskies, [player_tooltip player_id="145197" first="Owen" last="Chambliss"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25459" first="Aaron" last="Williams"]. Williams stood out to me because of his size and he physically dominated some receivers on 50/50 balls. He had an interception against Palmdale and was one of the most impressive players I watched all day. He has 21 offers and it’s easy to see why. Chambliss could be a linebacker or a defensive back. He could hang with any receiver on Saturday and showed good ball skills. Boise State is the only school to offer him so far but that will change quickly. https://twitter.com/owenchambliss/status/1380927327136215042?s=20 https://twitter.com/LemmingReport/status/1245117931433930752?s=20 An under the radar guy for the Huskies who was playing well was linebacker <strong>Samarai Anderson</strong>. He stopped a lot of passes up the middle on crossing routes and showed good athleticism. One of the Centennial defensive coaches told me it was his best day of the summer so far. Cypress was very impressive in pool play scoring a win over Centennial. The Centurions played a lot of two-way guys and a few of them stood out on defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="173344" first="Trevor" last="Monteleone"]</strong> was working very hard for Cypress Saturday and has very good ball skills. He had three interceptions this spring in just five games and he closes to the ball well. https://twitter.com/CHSLineSixFB/status/1416519112394559488?s=20 Safety <strong>Neil Jansen</strong> drew praise from Cypress coach Rich Feldman for his play on Saturday. He is a little undersized but very fast and has a good grasp of the team’s coverages. He always seemed to be in the right spot. I watched Pacifica more closely at the Mission Viejo tournament the Saturday before last so I only watched them briefly on Saturday. <strong>Jeremiah Ingram</strong> was once again impressive at corner for the Mariners and was being pointed out by opposing coaches as a good player. He played well against bigger San Juan Hills receivers and nobody is open for long when he is on the field. Capo Valley looked good at the Mission Viejo tournament and had another decent showing at Marina. [player_tooltip player_id="147764" first="Jackson" last="Sievers"] was moving well at inside linebacker and is big for a sophomore. Coach Sean Curtis pointed him out before a good play in the Cypress game. He is more impressive when the pads come on but it was good to see he has improved in pass coverage. https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1416455513449975810?s=20 <strong>Mark Hopkins</strong> returned from an apparent injury and is a difference maker in Capo Valley’s secondary. Defensive backs coach Daivon Dumas, who was my teammate in high school by the way, told me that Hopkins is a player to watch this fall and he’s another talented two-way player which Capo has a handful of this season. San Clemente has a ton of talent returning in its linebacker and secondary unit and they looked good in the moments I saw them Saturday. <strong>Blake Allen</strong> is a junior safety who will likely play running back for the Tritons this fall as well. He is a standout athlete who closes to the ball quickly. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="168733" first="Brad" last="Gerken"]</strong> was another player that coach Jaime Ortiz was excited to talk about. He had an interception last season as a sophomore and he helped the Tritons force some three-and-outs against Marina in the game I watched. San Clemente’s underclassmen are very promising as a whole. https://twitter.com/GerkenBrad/status/1383298494824271886?s=20