Twitter Mania: Week 1 Defensive Standouts pt. 2

IHSA Football got kickstarted here last Friday for Week 1 of the season and there were many impressive performances. To cover as many of your performances we posted a tweet on Twitter asking you to drop your highlight tape showcasing your performance from your Week 1 games. Without further ado, here are Twitter Mania’s Week 1 Defensive Standouts from across the state. <hr /> [player_tooltip player_id="118756" first="Mitch" last="Larkin"] Palatine 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/Mitch_larkin16">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: This young man has the closing speed to cover sideline to sideline. You might think that running a half-back swing route would get past him but you would be mistaken as seen in his highlight film. Mr. Larking takes on blocks head-on before disengaging to fill holes in run support. [player_tooltip player_id="135832" first="Luke" last="Woodson"] Deerfield 22’ ATH <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeWoodson2">Twitter</a> Stats: 16 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 151 rush yards, 25 reception yards (1 TD) Eval: This young man is a sight to see on both sides of the ball. On defense specifically, he has a knack for being in the right place to make the play. Once the ball is snapped Mr. Woodson pops his hips to take a read step then plants his back foot to attacks downhill filling holes in run support. As he does so, he meets the ball carrier at/near the line of scrimmage for little to no gain on the play. His closing speed comes in hand when he does this and for covering sideline to sideline as well. Mr. Woodson also had an impressive performance on the offensive side of the ball as well. [player_tooltip player_id="155264" first="Colin" last="Nesler"] Genoa Kingston 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/_colinnesler">Twitter</a> Stats: 9 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 17 carries for 92 yards Eval: Mr. Nesler gets off of blocks to fill holes in run support meeting the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. Before the ball is snapped he will creep up to the line of scrimmage to put him in a better position to make a play if it’s a run. This young man is also one to watch on the offensive side of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="155523" first="Javon" last="Criswell"] Bradley Bourbonnais 22’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/criswell_vito">Twitter </a> Stats: N/A Eval: The Bishop McNamara transfer is back at Bradley Bourbonnais. Once this young man diagnoses the play as a run he will plant his back foot into the ground to attack downhill with his closing speed to make the tackle. He also has quick reaction time as the ball was overthrown by the opponent’s Quarterback resulting in this young man coming down with an interception. Jordan Cardwell Richards 22’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/jcxc__">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Once Mr. Cardwell diagnoses the play he plants his back foot and attacks. This is seen in run support as well as in pass coverage. In run support, he’s able to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage at times as well as using shuffle steps forcing the play to extend horizontally. In pass coverage, he uses his closing speed to attack the receiver to make the tackle on the play. This young man plays both the pass and run well, look for him to build off of this performance heading into Week 2. [player_tooltip player_id="65845" first="Quintin" last="Hale"] Thrownwood 22’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/Qhale22">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: The Minnesota State University Commit had a short highlight film for Week 1 but it showcases what he does well. Mr. Hale dropped back into coverage and read the Quarterback’s eyes to undercut a pass into the endzone to come away with the interception. His second play highlights his "thumper" ability where he uses his closing speed to attack downhill delivering the hard hit on the ball carrier. Andrew Johnson Oswego 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewJ13774599">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Johnson has to hold his outside gap responsibilities on the first half few plays on his highlight tape which is why you see him making backside chasedown tackles. That being said, when he doesn’t have to hold his gap responsibility he fills holes in runs support by attacking downhill to make the tackle. This young man can also get pressure on the Quarterback off the edge as well. [player_tooltip player_id="65814" first="Robby" last="Purchase"] Joliet Catholic Academy 22’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/rpurch21">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Purchase fills holes in run support quickly meeting the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain. He also diagnoses the play quickly and attacks once he does so. As he takes his read step he pops his hips then plants his back foot into the ground going full speed to make the tackle. This is seen in multiple clips in his highlight tape in both the run and pass defense where he delivers the heavy blow to the ball carrier. It was a good Week 1 showing for Mr. Purchase, look for more to come as the season continues. Maaz Adnan Palatine 22’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/maaz_adnan9">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: You might think that Mr. Adnan would be afraid of contact since he’s a smaller defensive back but you would be mistaken. This young man gets off of blocks to make the tackle in run support as well as plants his back foot to attack downhill to make the open-field tackle. In pass coverage, he’s able to stay with his man in the redzone and get his hand in there to force an incomplete pass. [player_tooltip player_id="155500" first="J.T." last="Harris"] Mt. Carmel 22’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/JtHarris21">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: This young man is technically sound, when he’s dropping back in pass coverage he has the skillset to flip his hips to cover his man downfield and can plant his backfoot to attack downhill quickly. If it’s a run play he changes directions quickly with his closing speed to make the open-field tackle. When he’s in pass coverage he locks up the defender by staying on his hip pocket giving no room for the receiver to break him off at the top of the route. Let’s not forget that Mr. Harris also has the ability to undercut routes and delivering hard hits both forcing incompletions. [player_tooltip player_id="148599" first="Karl" last="Schmalz"] Notre Dame 23’ DL <a href="https://twitter.com/schmalz_karl">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Schmalz showcased a variety of defensive line moves in Week 1 showcasing what he can do. These included bull rushes where he pushed the offensive lineman into the backfield getting pressure on the Quarterback, swim move/use of hands at the point of attack getting him into the backfield quickly resulting in the Quarterback being flushed out of the pocket/sacked and stopping the run. The last move is the push and pull technique which helped him shed blocks and make the tackle on the play. [player_tooltip player_id="158007" first="Kiefer" last="Tarnoki"] Sycamore 23’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/KTarnoki">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Tarnoki kicks off his Week 1 highlights with a fumble recovery after coming off the edge on a blitz. This goes hand in hand with the common thread in the rest of his highlight tape. He comes off the edge quickly, especially when blitzing, getting into the backfield at a moment’s notice after the ball is snapped. This puts pressure on the Quarterback forcing incomplete passes. Upon taking his read step, he’ll turn to flip his hips allowing him to change direction to take pursuit angles to make the take downfield. Braedon Hellinger Oswego 23’ LB <a href="https://twitter.com/23braedon23">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Hellinger does a good job of filling holes in run support, once the ball carrier committees to a hole he plants his foot to attack. If the ball carrier is still deciding on which hole to take this young man will shuffle step into each one which extends the play horizontally giving his teammates time to make the tackle. He also isn’t afraid to deliver a heavy blow as seen with a receiver running an underneath crossing route and getting drilled as he attempts to secure the catch. Kole Sneed Oak-Park River Forest 23’ DL <a href="https://twitter.com/Kole_so_fresh">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Mr. Sneed has a shorter Week 1 highlight. In his highlight he showcased that he can fill the gaps in run support, even shedding the block to meet the running back at the line of scrimmage. This young man also doesn’t give up on plays as he takes pursuit angles to make the tackle downfield. [player_tooltip player_id="161322" first="KJ" last="Parker"] IC Catholic Prep 24’ DB <a href="https://twitter.com/KJ_Parker14">Twitter</a> Stats: N/A Eval: Wow, you wouldn’t think this young man was only a 24’ based upon his Week 1 highlight tape. Mr. Parker was flying around being a menace on the defensive side of the ball forcing fumbles, getting an interception, and multiple PBUs. His technical skills are one to watch, he has fluid flip of the hips and takes good breaks on the ball getting him in position to make plays on the ball (which he did). His closing speed helps him cover sideline to sideline and he’s not afraid to attacks downhill to fill holes in run support. This is a young player that, in my opinion, is going to blow up as his high school career progresses (possibly even at the end of this season). <hr /> We’re going to continue this trend of going to Twitter to highlight as many of you young men as possible each week to help you, the student-athlete, get your name out there further. Be sure to follow @jamaskane regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football, @PrepRedzoneIL, and @PrepRedzone.