Jordan's Road Trip: 7A State Championship

We kickstarted the game with WN getting on the board with a 38 yard TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id="20863" first="Mark" last="Forcucci"] to Seth Kortenhoeven with 11:49 left in the 2nd giving them the lead 7-0. WN would then capitalize again, this time a 29 yard TD pass from [player_tooltip player_id="20863" first="Mark" last="Forcucci"] to Casey Morrison with 4:49 left in the half expanding their lead 14-0. To close out the half, WN defender Trent Gabriele picks up a fumble and returns it 28 yards for a TD putting WN up 21-0. SR would get on the board with 3:38 left in the 3rd with a 10 yard TD run from [player_tooltip player_id="153409" first="Tommy" last="Ulatowski"]. WN would then score twice with Luke Beedle from 1 yard out on both TDs to give them a 35-6 victory. Wheaton North 35 St. Rita 6 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93JJFIjT8h0">Game Highlights</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64ZT_UU5F-A">7A State Champions Wheaton North Post Game Press Conference</a> <hr /> St. Rita #3 [player_tooltip player_id="155283" first="Kaleb" last="Brown"] 6'0 195 22' WR <a href="https://twitter.com/ikaleb35">Twitter</a> Mr. Brown can make defenders miss in open space showcasing his elusiveness, as he does so he has the next level gear to blow by the 2nd level of defenders. Upon securing the catch he gets vertical quickly and can make something out of nothing by reversing the field. When he lines up in the backfield, he has the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackles and once he does he bursts through the line of scrimmage. When running quick slants he gets to the defender's toes before quick cutting into the soft spot of the zone coverage resulting in a completion downfield to move the chains. There's no double why Ohio State University offered this young man, below are a few of his game highlights. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465122071315374081?s=20 #16 [player_tooltip player_id="153409" first="Tommy" last="Ulatowski"] 6'2 185 22' QB <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyUlatowski">Twitter</a> Mr. Ulatowski can make level 1, 2, and 3 throws when working in platform navigating the pocket well. He can also get the ball out quickly when running RPOs and adds zip on the ball when doing so. When taking deep shots downfield, he adds a touch on the deep ball. When pressure is coming and flushing him out of the pocket this young man can do one of two things. The first being rolling out of the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield to find an outlet, the second being pulling the ball down to scramble (which evidently enough resulted in a TD on the night from 10 yards out). In my eyes, has the potential to play FBS ball given a team wants to develop him into their system. If not, might fall to an FCS/D2 program. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465127781642166274?s=20 #71 [player_tooltip player_id="20900" first="Valen" last="Erickson"] 6'6 305 22' OL <a href="https://twitter.com/ValenErickson">Twitter</a> Mr. Erickson fires off the ball and latches on quickly in the run game, when he does he's able to control his gap by being aggressive at the point of attack. This is shown when washing the defensive lineman down, working up to 2nd level blocks to cut off linebacker flow, and finishing plays by playing through the whistle. In pass protection, he uses his lateral movement to patiently await the rushing defensive lineman to get within arm's length before quick punching to get inside hand placement. Once he does this, he controls the rep from there. There's no doubt why The University of Missouri offered this young man, he has a bright future ahead of him. #48 Matt Kingsbury 6'4 220 23' LB <a href="https://twitter.com/MattKingsbury3">Twitter</a> Stats: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack Mr. Kingsbury triggers downhill quickly in close space which he uses to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain on the play. This young man also disengages from blocks to make the tackle and isn't afraid to deliver the heavy hit. On passing downs, he can sack the quarterback when coming off a blitz. When he isn't able to get the sack, he gets pressure on the quarterback by overpowering the opposing offensive lineman working him back to collapse the pocket. Our National Scouting Director said it best in this tweet below. https://twitter.com/Lemmingscouting/status/1465423077995651081?s=20 https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1464738074252955650?s=20 #20 [player_tooltip player_id="161712" first="DJ" last="Stewart"] 6'0 205 24' RB <a href="https://twitter.com/djstew2024">Twitter</a> Mr. Stewart is a downhill runner that keeps a low center of gravity to bounce off hits and break arm tackles. He finishes plays by keeping his feet driving and fighting for extra yards as the opposing defenders tried to bring him down. This young man was running like [player_tooltip player_id="20875" first="Jordan" last="Anderson"] was in the 4A State Championship when the ball was in his hands as he continued to run through tackles. He still has room to develop further and hone his craft in the off-season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up with an FBS G5 or FCS offer if he's able to increase his speed and showcase what he can do with a full plate of carries. It's too early to say what classification he's currently at as he doesn't have a full plate of load work in the backfield on Varsity this season. That being said, keep an eye on him these next two seasons as his stock is sure to rise. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465122957768933379?s=20 Wheaton North #5 [player_tooltip player_id="20863" first="Mark" last="Forcucci"] 6'1 185 22' QB <a href="https://twitter.com/ForcucciMark">Twitter</a> Mr. Forcucci was a man on a mission in this 7A State Championship. He showcased that he can control velocity through all levels (level 1, 2 & 3) and can add a touch on the ball as well. When working in platform, he does a good job navigating the pocket as he feels the pressure well and can climb the pocket to deliver a strike downfield. When working out of platform, he has a fluid flip of his hips to throw on the run and has both halves of his body working in unison. His legs are a threat to the defense as he can pull the ball down if nobody is open downfield to move the sticks and isn't afraid of contact when doing so. What's most impressive is his ability to extend plays as he's flushed out of the pocket, he does so by keeping his eyes downfield to find an outlet for the completion. There's a clip of this below along with a few of his game highlights. He's currently verbally committed to play FCS Football at The College of the Holy Cross, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up getting some love from FBS caliber teams after his impressive performance to win the 7A State Championship. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465125850517581824?s=20 #4 Seth Kortenhoeven 6'2 195 22' WR <a href="https://twitter.com/sethkort">Twitter</a> Mr. Kortenhoeven attacks the ball at the highest point to come down with the contested catch and wins his route over the top by understanding as well as utilizing leverage. He does so by getting to the toes of the defensive back and breaks the defender off at the top of the route to create separation. This young man can also secure catches with the defender draped all over him and utilizes a toe tap to come down with the sideline grab. Once he secures the catch, he gets vertical quickly which resulted in his TD on the night. The clip is below. In my eyes, he has the potential to be a D2/NAIA receiver in a west coast or spread offensive scheme. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465126793443254276?s=20 #33 [player_tooltip player_id="135840" first="Ross" last="Dansdill"] 6'4 220 23' LB <a href="https://twitter.com/rdansdill10">Twitter</a> Stats: 8 tackles, 1 TFL Mr. Dansdill triggers downhill quickly in close space and disengages blocks to make the tackle on the play. He does a good job of working gap to gap as he patiently waits for the ball carrier to commit to a gap before he attacks. This young man uses his lateral quickness to extend plays horizontally allowing his teammates to rally to the ball and limits the chances of the ball carrier turning the corner. On passing downs, he gets pressure on the quarterback when coming off a blitz. When he does so, he uses his hands at the point of attack to bat down the offensive lineman's hands and pairs that with a swim move to gain inside leverage to collapse the pocket. His aggressive playstyle and his ability to rally to the ball quickly to get his nose in there on every play catch your eye. There's no wonder why he's been getting a lot of FBS P5 interest this season. He still has no offers on the table, I expect a few offers to land in the coming months as his overall body of work this season speaks for itself. Old Video Clip from 2021 Playoff Game vs Willowbrook below. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1459649200409427974?s=20 #34 Rex Kroger 6'2 210 22' LB <a href="https://twitter.com/rexkroger">Twitter</a> Stats: 4 tackles Mr. Kroger is the 2nd part of this linebacker core that has held the "bend but don't break" mentality on this defense. In simple terms, he's a smaller version of [player_tooltip player_id="135840" first="Ross" last="Dansdill"]. This young man works gap to gap plugging up the holes and forcing the ball carrier to bounce the play outside. In close space, he triggers downhill quickly to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and disengages blocks to make the tackle on the play. In my eyes, he's more of an NAIA/D3 LB prospect with his 4.7 40 speed. If a team were to have him switch to DE, I could see him possibly being a D2 caliber player if a team would want to work with him to develop those skillsets. He also has room to add to his frame which goes in his favor. #30 Luke Beedle 6'1 185 23' RB <a href="https://twitter.com/beedle_luke">Twitter</a> Mr. Beedle is a downfall runner that has the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackles. He keeps a low center of gravity to bounce off hits and break weak arm tackles. This young man finishes plays by keeping his feet driving fighting for extra yards and plays through the whistle. The best is yet to come for this young man as he has another season to continue to hone his craft and develop himself, with his senior campaign coming in Fall 2022 be on the lookout for him. It's too early to say what caliber player this young man is at the moment. He did showcase glimpses of the type of player he could become, will need to wait until he gets a full workload in the fall season to get a better insight. https://twitter.com/PRZJordan/status/1465128270467407875?s=20 <hr /> Be sure to follow <a href="https://twitter.com/PRZJordan">@PRZJordan</a> regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football as well as <a href="https://twitter.com/prepredzoneIL">@PrepRedzoneIL</a>. Want to be ranked? Fill out our FREE <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/">Prospect Player Index</a>, another tool to help you in your recruiting journey.