SIA: WK 8, John Bartram @ Simon Gratz
In this article:
This is the first of a new series at Prep Redzone Pennsylvania where I will break down a game each week that I personally attend. Now with football back amidst little to no COVID restrictions, it’s time to get my boots on the ground and see prospects live in action.
As opposed to traditional game reporting, I will break down this star-studded game by each side of the ball, highlighting prospects who produced or excelled in their roles.
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
| QB/DB | 2022 | 5’9, 165 | QB/ATH | 2022
AJ David | WR/OLB | 2025
Aamir Pender | RB/LB | 2023 | 6’1, 230
Josh Gallashaw | WR/DL | 2022 | 6’3, 205
Leonard Herrigan | OL/DL | 2023
Headed into this matchup, I was familiar with both
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
and Aamir Pender’s games dating way back to this past Spring, where their play stood out to me. I left this game with 6+ new names out of Bartram that will stay on my radar for the duration of the season and into the future. We begin with the best player on the field that evening, that being senior quarterback
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
. This kid showed off everything that I saw on film, as well as traits that I didn’t get to pick up on tape. Bartram goes as far as David and the offensive line takes them, which was way past anything Gratz could handle.
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
’s game can be felt on every play as he takes snaps under center for the Braves, as well as doing one hell of a job locking down his side of the field when at outside corner. This kid earns the "ATH" designation. Awesome overall awareness allows him to see running lanes before they open. Great trench and peripheral vision when looking to run from the pocket. Great acceleration, he’s got pull-away speed when he reaches the second level. That home-run speed was seen on numerous occasions last Friday night, especially in the second half, where Titus pretty much took over the game and stamped a win for his Braves. The open-field burst and overall athleticism is something I expected out of Titus. What I didn’t expect to see was his solid work at defensive back. Not afraid to work in run-support, not afraid to get physical through stems of wideouts across from him. His play at defensive back solidifies that he can contribute to a winning program at the next level.
Aamir Pender shouldn’t move as well as he does given his size. Pender’s game translates well to linebacker at the next level. He isn’t afraid of anything thrown at him and was all over the field assisting on tackles and making his presence felt. Love his tough running style too. He’d be a real problem on offense if he could just shed some pounds, but that extra weight would be necessary if a transition to full-time linebacker is in his future.
Zhiyjay Louinius was another name I was familiar with going into this one. He wasn’t targeted much until the second half, where he got UP for a touchdown near the back pylon. Showed off great body control and great locating ability to haul in what was a spectacular catch.
Three new prospects that caught my eye were Adams, Gallashaw, and A.J. David, Titus’ younger brother.
Abdul Adams was productive and consistently balanced throughout his routes. Big kid, really intriguing size. AJ David and Josh Gallashaw were dominating the Gratz offensive line along with Pender. A multitude of sacks and TFL’s out of both of these prospects. Gallashaw provides serious pass rush capabilities. Both of these players carry excellent builds that are suitable to rush the passer. Long, lean frames helped both of these players wreak havoc on an offensive line that couldn’t handle said combination of size and speed. AJ David is intriguing because of how productive he was, just being a freshman. Exciting future. The night was all but dominated by Bartram’s defense.
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
may have been the best player on the field, but Samir Wylie is miles ahead of many PPL quarterbacks. I love what this kid brings to the table, the junior has a real chance to be the best QB prospect in the Pub, maybe further. Great size and great stature in the pocket. Uses his height to his advantage, scanning the field easily at just under 6’2. Provides a sense of poise in the pocket. He didn’t look rattled in the first three quarters, although looked a little frustrated in the second half, which was understandable. He can orchestrate a pass-heavy offense, a trait I don’t see many QB’s in the Pub being able to do. He possesses a smooth wind-up and release. Wowed me on a deep ball that he threw with hardly any hitch that was a damn near-perfect pass down the sideline. Wylie does the little things well. He makes his reads in a timely fashion and delivers the ball where it’s supposed to go. Doesn’t look to make too much out of plays. He’s got some dual-threat ability in him, as Gratz will give him an occasional read-option set. He doesn’t need his legs to beat you, he can do so with his arm and anticipation. I came away really impressed.
His skill group deserves credit too. Names like Kayenne Barley and Vondell Parsons stood out to me, both players on the opposite side of the size spectrum. Barley stood out to me on the sideline as he, much like Aamir Pender, has awesome size that college coaches want to unlock. He can do himself a favor and slim down a bit more because he can move as well. Bartram couldn’t stop the Wylie-Barley curl-route connection, as the two connected on passes five times on the night. Sure hands out of Barley. The kid made plays along the defensive line as well. Parson was also in rhythm with Wylie, catching multiple timing routes along the sideline. This passing attack as a whole impressed me.
Like what I saw as a whole from
Nadir Willis
Nadir
Willis
5'10" | 190 lbs | LB
North East | 2023
State
PA
and Jace Welch on the defensive side of the ball. I know both of these players are capable of more in their respective areas. Both prospects project to the college level, it’s just a matter of putting more production on tape. Really like Welch in the return game too, he flashes good lateral vision in the open field.
The player of the game may well have been Marquise Somerville if not for two huge holding penalties that wiped away two brilliant touchdown runs off the board for the junior. Doesn’t matter to me, as both holding calls didn’t necessarily attribute to the big gains. Low center of gravity, beefy, tough runner who sought out hits at the second level. Active in the passing game which is a huge plus when projecting to the next level. Active in the screen game. Legitimately think this kid is one of the more overlooked running backs in the Pub. I was familiar with his game but I’m now an advocate for his game, seeing how tough he is to bring down.
Shout out to Daryan Valladares a senior leader and prospect who drew me out to the game to begin with. So far, I’ve seen this kid slot in reps at OLB/DB/DE AND center. Might I say that this kid is 150 pounds! That says something to me, that this kid’s got all the heart in the world to not let size deter him from winning a rep. Gratz coaches trusting him to pretty much never come off the field says something to me. He recently received an official offer from Bethany College, they clearly see what I see in this kid, toughness and a great football IQ. His game was cut short due to injury, but I was impressed at his play and his ability to play both ways, seemingly never coming off the field. I saw how engaged he was after his knee injury sidelined him. He stayed in tune with what was going on throughout the entirety of the game. Love to see that, it’s something that I always want to bring up to coaches if they ever reach out.
Bartram Braves
Zhiyjay Louinius | WR/DB | 2022 | 6’0, 163 Abdul Adams | WR/DB | 2022 | 6’4, 180 Nasir Bolden | RB/LB | 2022 Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
| QB/DB | 2022 | 5’9, 165 | QB/ATH | 2022
AJ David | WR/OLB | 2025
Aamir Pender | RB/LB | 2023 | 6’1, 230
Josh Gallashaw | WR/DL | 2022 | 6’3, 205
Leonard Herrigan | OL/DL | 2023
Headed into this matchup, I was familiar with both
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
and Aamir Pender’s games dating way back to this past Spring, where their play stood out to me. I left this game with 6+ new names out of Bartram that will stay on my radar for the duration of the season and into the future. We begin with the best player on the field that evening, that being senior quarterback
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
. This kid showed off everything that I saw on film, as well as traits that I didn’t get to pick up on tape. Bartram goes as far as David and the offensive line takes them, which was way past anything Gratz could handle.
Titus Kruah
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
’s game can be felt on every play as he takes snaps under center for the Braves, as well as doing one hell of a job locking down his side of the field when at outside corner. This kid earns the "ATH" designation. Awesome overall awareness allows him to see running lanes before they open. Great trench and peripheral vision when looking to run from the pocket. Great acceleration, he’s got pull-away speed when he reaches the second level. That home-run speed was seen on numerous occasions last Friday night, especially in the second half, where Titus pretty much took over the game and stamped a win for his Braves. The open-field burst and overall athleticism is something I expected out of Titus. What I didn’t expect to see was his solid work at defensive back. Not afraid to work in run-support, not afraid to get physical through stems of wideouts across from him. His play at defensive back solidifies that he can contribute to a winning program at the next level.
Aamir Pender shouldn’t move as well as he does given his size. Pender’s game translates well to linebacker at the next level. He isn’t afraid of anything thrown at him and was all over the field assisting on tackles and making his presence felt. Love his tough running style too. He’d be a real problem on offense if he could just shed some pounds, but that extra weight would be necessary if a transition to full-time linebacker is in his future.
Zhiyjay Louinius was another name I was familiar with going into this one. He wasn’t targeted much until the second half, where he got UP for a touchdown near the back pylon. Showed off great body control and great locating ability to haul in what was a spectacular catch.
Three new prospects that caught my eye were Adams, Gallashaw, and A.J. David, Titus’ younger brother.
Abdul Adams was productive and consistently balanced throughout his routes. Big kid, really intriguing size. AJ David and Josh Gallashaw were dominating the Gratz offensive line along with Pender. A multitude of sacks and TFL’s out of both of these prospects. Gallashaw provides serious pass rush capabilities. Both of these players carry excellent builds that are suitable to rush the passer. Long, lean frames helped both of these players wreak havoc on an offensive line that couldn’t handle said combination of size and speed. AJ David is intriguing because of how productive he was, just being a freshman. Exciting future. The night was all but dominated by Bartram’s defense.
Gratz Bulldogs
Samir Wylie | 6’2, 180 | QB | 2023 Daryan Valladares | 5’10, 150 | ATH | 2022 Marquis Somerville | 5’7 | RB/ATH | 2023 Nadir Willis Nadir Willis 5'10" | 190 lbs | LB North East | 2023 State PA | 5’10, 180 | OLB/DL | 2023 Jace Welch | 5’8, 150 | DB/ATH | 2022 Kayenne Barley | 6’3, 215 | DL/LB/ATH | 2022 Vondell Parson | 5’11, 150 | ATH | 2023
Titus
Kruah
5'9" | 165 lbs | ATH
Bartram | 2022
State
PA
may have been the best player on the field, but Samir Wylie is miles ahead of many PPL quarterbacks. I love what this kid brings to the table, the junior has a real chance to be the best QB prospect in the Pub, maybe further. Great size and great stature in the pocket. Uses his height to his advantage, scanning the field easily at just under 6’2. Provides a sense of poise in the pocket. He didn’t look rattled in the first three quarters, although looked a little frustrated in the second half, which was understandable. He can orchestrate a pass-heavy offense, a trait I don’t see many QB’s in the Pub being able to do. He possesses a smooth wind-up and release. Wowed me on a deep ball that he threw with hardly any hitch that was a damn near-perfect pass down the sideline. Wylie does the little things well. He makes his reads in a timely fashion and delivers the ball where it’s supposed to go. Doesn’t look to make too much out of plays. He’s got some dual-threat ability in him, as Gratz will give him an occasional read-option set. He doesn’t need his legs to beat you, he can do so with his arm and anticipation. I came away really impressed.
His skill group deserves credit too. Names like Kayenne Barley and Vondell Parsons stood out to me, both players on the opposite side of the size spectrum. Barley stood out to me on the sideline as he, much like Aamir Pender, has awesome size that college coaches want to unlock. He can do himself a favor and slim down a bit more because he can move as well. Bartram couldn’t stop the Wylie-Barley curl-route connection, as the two connected on passes five times on the night. Sure hands out of Barley. The kid made plays along the defensive line as well. Parson was also in rhythm with Wylie, catching multiple timing routes along the sideline. This passing attack as a whole impressed me.
Like what I saw as a whole from
Nadir Willis
Nadir
Willis
5'10" | 190 lbs | LB
North East | 2023
State
PA
and Jace Welch on the defensive side of the ball. I know both of these players are capable of more in their respective areas. Both prospects project to the college level, it’s just a matter of putting more production on tape. Really like Welch in the return game too, he flashes good lateral vision in the open field.
The player of the game may well have been Marquise Somerville if not for two huge holding penalties that wiped away two brilliant touchdown runs off the board for the junior. Doesn’t matter to me, as both holding calls didn’t necessarily attribute to the big gains. Low center of gravity, beefy, tough runner who sought out hits at the second level. Active in the passing game which is a huge plus when projecting to the next level. Active in the screen game. Legitimately think this kid is one of the more overlooked running backs in the Pub. I was familiar with his game but I’m now an advocate for his game, seeing how tough he is to bring down.
Shout out to Daryan Valladares a senior leader and prospect who drew me out to the game to begin with. So far, I’ve seen this kid slot in reps at OLB/DB/DE AND center. Might I say that this kid is 150 pounds! That says something to me, that this kid’s got all the heart in the world to not let size deter him from winning a rep. Gratz coaches trusting him to pretty much never come off the field says something to me. He recently received an official offer from Bethany College, they clearly see what I see in this kid, toughness and a great football IQ. His game was cut short due to injury, but I was impressed at his play and his ability to play both ways, seemingly never coming off the field. I saw how engaged he was after his knee injury sidelined him. He stayed in tune with what was going on throughout the entirety of the game. Love to see that, it’s something that I always want to bring up to coaches if they ever reach out.
