Tale of the Tape: Highlight Film Evaluation Pt. 1

<span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to recruiting, one of the most important factors of a potential recruit’s process is film because the film does not lie.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A player’s film is an active resume of their on-field work. It displays skill, technique, football IQ, and effort. Oftentimes, scouts who have a serious interest in a player want to see how the prospect performs throughout all aspects of the game. Highlight film doesn’t show the whole picture, but it should be a prestigious preview of a player’s potential that gets viewers hooked and excited for more. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The five writeups listed below are based on the available highlight clips that the players submitted for evaluation.</span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Aiden Knapke | Cherry Creek | 5’10”, 160lbs | 2025 FS</b></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Knapke is an extremely electrifying player with an elite set of skills that few freshmen possess. He has great footwork while in coverage and an uncanny ability to read plays, allowing him to be a contributing factor against the pass and the run. In his film, you can see that he is a fast and physical player who comes downhill to clean up plays by making hits and disrupting passes. Knapke looks like a high-motor player who brings intensity to every play, whether it’s on defense or special teams.</span> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6390370/614fa87ef326910878fd8f3f’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/6390370/614fa87ef326910878fd8f3f" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="153727" first="Jackson" last="Gridley"] | Cherokee Trail | 6’1”, 205lbs | 2022 DL/LB</b></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Gridley is a relentless player with elite vision and fantastic awareness. He appears to be used to working through double teams to find success and dominate at the line of scrimmage. He disrupts running lanes, engages pulling linemen in the backfield, and pursues the ball carrier as a trailing defender. Gridley’s awareness is not limited to the run game. When facing the pass, he keeps his eyes on the quarterback while engaged with his blocker and crowds the passing lane if the ball is thrown in his direction.</span> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11695018/615b542f9681560aa0f26d28’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11695018/615b542f9681560aa0f26d28" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="154451" first="Tanner" last="Fleck"] | Douglas County | 6’2”, 250lbs | 2022 OL/DL</b></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fleck has a quick first step when firing off the ball at the snap. He has fast hands and a ton of power, making him difficult to beat once he’s engaged. He does a great job at continuously working to keep his hands inside while driving his opponent back. His athleticism can be seen when he’s shooting up to the block at the second level and when he’s running downfield as a lead blocker.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Keeping Fleck out of the backfield when he’s lined up at his defensive tackle position is near impossible for opposing offensive linemen. He’s even faster off the ball and uses the speed in his hands to effortlessly swim past defenders. His quick acceleration and overall speed help him to be a disrupting force in the backfield by pressuring quarterbacks and chasing down ball carriers.</span> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/2023459/615a73b3c1250905507256a0’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/2023459/615a73b3c1250905507256a0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="149358" first="Levi" last="Paxton"] | Florence | 6’4”, 175lbs | 2023 QB</b></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Paxton is a tall quarterback with a big arm and dangerous mobility, making him a viable option in the run game in addition to the pass. He has impressive footwork as a passer with quick drop steps and a fluid pocket presence. He can also throw on the run almost as well as he can from the pocket. His long strides and impressive speed give him an advantage against defenders, especially when he finds a crease within the defense. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Paxton checks a lot of the boxes that college recruiters are looking for, including a level of confidence that reinforces his role as a leader and field general. Being able to command the other ten players in the huddle and on the field is just as important for a quarterback as being able to throw the ball, which are two things Paxton does extremely well.</span> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16127559/61797faa90ef610ccc5cf692’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16127559/61797faa90ef610ccc5cf692" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>[player_tooltip player_id="221081" first="Braeden" last="Fitz"] | Denver South | 6’2”, 170lbs | 2023 OLB</b></span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fitz covers the field well while maintaining leverage and finishing the play with solid tackling abilities. As an edge player, he does a great job at containing the outside to either force the ball carrier back inside and trailing or cleaning up the play and making the tackle himself.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">His speed makes him the perfect backside defensive end tasked with the responsibility of getting in the backfield or trailing the run. Fitz is quick enough to flush quarterbacks out of the pocket and fast enough to catch them.</span> <a href="http://iframe%20src=’//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13253813/615ca890b018990b88b49020’%20width=’640’%20height=’360’%20frameborder=’0’%20allowfullscreen/iframe"><iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13253813/615ca890b018990b88b49020" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></a>