Standouts from Cincinnati Hughes versus Aiken

Friday night I made my way down to Willard Stargel Stadium near downtown Cincinnati to watch the Hughes Big Red take on the Aiken Falcons.  The Big Red controlled this game from pretty much the start in route to a 36-0 win.  In this article I take a look at some of the players that caught my eye. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Hughes</strong></span> <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-207385 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Marvin-Good-crop-648x426-1632661263-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />2023 QB Marvin Good 6’0 175-</strong>  Good has a slender athletic build. He stands tall in the pocket and displayed good accuracy.  Good showed a strong ability to make plays with his legs as well.  Good showed the ability to escape the pocket and get yards out of structure, and he was also used in some zone reads.  Marvin is a kid that could also transition to wide receiver at the college level due to his athleticism. I project Marvin as a D2 ATH. <strong>2023 RB Saleem Ford 5’10 205-</strong>  Saleem ford was the man that Hughes head coach Chris Mobley would called on when they needed tough yards.  Saleem is a perfect fit for a zone run offense due to his ability to see running lanes, put his foot in the ground, and get upfield.  There were many times where Ford simply ran through tackles at times with his <img class="size-medium wp-image-207383 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Will-Gilden-crop-648x426-1632661195-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /><span style="font-size: 1rem;">great leg drive and determination.  I project Ford to the D2 level.</span> <strong>2022 RB Keyontrez De’Vaughn 5’10 192-</strong>  Keyontrez did not have a big night this weekend as Aiken did a good job of bottling him up.  That being said you can see the things makes him so dynamic.  He’s an explosive player that has the ability to make guys miss.  His versatility makes him that much more valuable as he can line up in the backfield and make plays or he can be split out and be a threat to catch the ball and make plays. <strong>2022 DB Will Gilden 6’0 175-</strong>  Gilden has a slender athletic build.  He’s a smooth athlete who shows fluid hips.  He can turn and run with ease.  Gilden looks comfortable and confident out there.  He’s not out there taking risks trying to make flashy plays he’s just rock solid. <strong>2022 WR Amaru Lindsey 6’2 180-</strong>  Lindsey broke loose and made a couple of nice plays that ended in pay dirt.  Lindsay has a good blend of size and quickness that can cause problems for opposing defensive backs. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Aiken</strong></span> [caption id="attachment_207392" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/DonYae-Freeman-crop-642x421-1632661723.jpg"><img class="wp-image-207392 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/DonYae-Freeman-crop-642x421-1632661723-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="34434" first="Don’yae" last="Freeman"][/caption]<strong>2022 LB [player_tooltip player_id="34434" first="Don’yae" last="Freeman"] 6’1 230-  </strong>Freeman is committed to play football at Eastern Illinois.  The first thing you notice about Freeman, is that he absolutely passes the look test.  In the run game he can read, react, and come up and thump.  The thing that surprised me though was how well he moves in coverage.  I think he’s definitely a 3 down linebacker at the college level. <strong>2022 DB Tavian Lewis 6’2 175-</strong>  Lewis’s height and length jump out when you him line up.  What I like is how he uses that length.  He does a great job of combining that length with physicality at the line of scrimmage as a presses and jams opposing wr’s.  He also does a nice job of slipping blocks to make plays in the run game.  He’s not just physical though.  He can get off the jam, flip his hips, run, and cover.  Tavian currently holds multiple D2 offers. <strong>2022 FS Malachia Solomon 5’10 170- </strong> Solomon played the deep part of the field.  He has great ball awareness and ability to make plays on the ball.  He does a great job of read and using pursuit angles to make plays.  Holds an offer from Lake Erie College. [caption id="attachment_207387" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-207387 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Tavian-Lewis-crop-724x475-1632661479-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Will Gilden[/caption] Big props to Coach Mobley of Hughes and Coach McCall Aiken for the work they’re doing for these kids.  These are definitely two programs to keep your eye on!