22' Rankings: Stock Risers Still Available Pt. 1

We've published our final version of the Class of 2022 Rankings here for Illinois totaling over 600 student athletes across ALL of IL (8A down to 1A Football). With this being the senior class and their recruiting process coming to an end here shortly we're going to be diving into Stock Risers Still Available in this two part series to give them exposure as they try to find a place to call home. Without further ado, let's dive into Stock Risers Still Available Part One. <hr /> [player_tooltip player_id="263881" first="Nathan" last="Gibbons"] <a href="https://twitter.com/NathanMGibbons">Twitter</a> Mr. Gibbons was a new name to me during this fall season but after a few games he was one of the names at the top of my radar. After reviewing his full season highlights his stock rose on our rankings and I can't believe I missed this young man in our previous rankings. He's projected to be more of an edge playing as a 7 tech and if need be can turn into an 8 or 9 tech if the strong side has a tight end. I could see him transitioning into a 3 tech on passing downs to gain a better matchup against the interior offensive lineman utilizing his pass rush. This young man is aggressive at the point of attacks where he uses his hands to shed blocks as well as shoot gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration he generates. He works gap to gap and disengages the block to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. During passing downs, he uses his quick first step to close space between him and the offensive tackle before batting hands down and turning the corner generating pressure on the quarterback as well as flushing him out of the pocket. This young man mixes in a bull rush showcases his power as he drives the offensive lineman back collapsing the quarterback pocket. One avenue I would be interested in seeing is if he ends up being utilized as a 4-3 outside linebacker that's walked up on the line of scrimmage as he has a good foundational skill set that could transition over to that position. In my eyes, he's an FCS potential prospect that could potentially drop to D2/NAIA. If this happens, I believe he has the potential to turn into a three year starter. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11840144/61797c93a019f4042c1fbf86">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="151181" first="Suleiman" last="Abuaqel"] <a href="https://twitter.com/King_SuleimanA">Twitter</a> Mr. Abuaqel was a name I heard about coming into this fall season and upon viewing his full season highlights as well as seeing him in person during the 5A IHSA State Championship his stock rose on our rankings. He's projected to be an edge 7 tech at the next level as he makes his mark felt in both the air and ground defense. This young man slips blocks and shoots gaps to disrupt plays in the backfield off the penetration he generates and he doesn't give up on plays by taking backside pursuit to come away with the chasedown tackle. He works gap to gap and disengages blocks to make the tackle at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. On passing downs, he uses his quick first step to close space quickly between him and the offensive tackle before using his hands at the point of attack to bat hands down and turn the corner generating pressure on the quarterback. This young man has a good speed rush and bull rush where he's able to mix in both. His power gets showcased during his bull rush as he drives the offensive tackle into the quarterback's pocket flushing him out and making him work out of platform. He also has a quick reaction to come away with an interception off a tipped pass and then return it for a touchdown. I could see him possibly being moved around the defensive line on certain downs to find the best mismatch putting him as a 1 tech, 3 tech, and even a 4i on top of his 7 tech. In my eyes, he's an FCS caliber prospect that could potentially become a three year starter as he has a good foundation heading into the next level. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11529792/61340e7ad468b506c87af7f9">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="156764" first="Danny" last="Martisek"] <a href="https://twitter.com/Dannymartisek">Twitter</a> Mr. Martisek is a name I was keeping an eye on during this fall season and upon watching him live during the 8A IHSA State Championship as well as analyzing his full season highlights he deserved a bump in his rankings. He's projected more as a free safety at the next level that could also be utilized as a rover. His coverage skills are impressive as he has a good foundational skill set in that area and he can be called upon to secure open field tackle on the perimeter. In zone coverage, he uses his smooth and fluid transitions to cover sideline to sideline. Here, he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the interception as well as force pass breakups in his deep half responsibility. In man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chance of him being broken off at the top of the route and puts him in a position to make a play on the ball. This is exactly what he does as he's able to undercut the route and come away with the interception (this was seen during the 8A IHSA State Semi Final matchup where he came away with the game sealing interception against Loyola Academy. If it's a run play, this young man triggers downhill quickly where he's able to secure the open field tackle on the perimeter. What I'm most interested to see is how this young man gets utilized at the next level, his versatility is high on the defensive side of the ball and can also be used as a receiver as well as a return man. In my eyes, he's an FCS caliber prospect that could potentially drop to D2/NAIA level. If that happens, whichever team that gets this young man is getting above market value for this young man. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/5171216/61a7fe3b8cd3dd0568ed58fc">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="211939" first="Derek" last="McClinon"] <a href="https://twitter.com/mcclinon_derek">Twitter</a> <img class=" wp-image-243849 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/12/141-Derek-McClinon-Jr.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="256" /> Mr. McClinon made his impact felt this fall season and if you turn on his film you'll see why. This in turn not only earned him a spot on our 7A All State Team, it also earned him a bump in our rankings. He's projected to be a Z receiver at the next level but can also hold his own as an X. What's interesting about this young man is his versatility of being able to line up across the board, at times lining up in the slot to create a mismatch against the linebacker. This young man understands spacing as he can find the soft spot against zone coverage where he'll sit to become an outlet for his quarterback and can make the catch in traffic. he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the contested catch and can win over the top of the defense when left one on one. Upon securing the catch, he gets vertical quickly as he weaves in and out of defenders in open space. In the return game, he changes his gears quickly after he gets vertical setting up his team in good starting field position as well as returning a few for touchdowns. I believe he has untapped potential yet to come to light and has a good foundations skill set as he gets ready to transition to the next level. What's going to be interesting to see for this young man is how much weight is put on his potential by college coaches to determine which level he'll land at. In my eyes, he's an FCS PWO potential prospect that has a high upside as he still has room to not only develop further but also add to his frame. He could very well drop to the D2/NAIA level or quite possibly end up at the D3/JUCO level. If this happens, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up winning some accolades at those levels as well as possibly being a three year starter. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11150197/617db96fa019be054c3329ec">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="229014" first="Isaiah" last="Johnson"] <a href="https://twitter.com/NoflyzoneZay">Twitter</a> Mr. Johnson was a name I was keeping an eye on heading into this season as he was taking over the primary corner role after standout Jahmar Daniel graduated in the spring. After analyzing his film it's certain that he increased his stock to improve his ranking. He's projected as a balanced corner that can get it done in both the air and ground defense. I could also see him being transitioned into a free safety at the next level with his good foundation of coverage skills. When in zone coverage, he's able to trigger to the flat leaving his deep third responsibility once he diagnoses the play is headed there forcing pass breakups. He does so by getting his hand in the receiver's basket as well as at times delivering a heavy hit. When in man coverage, he stays on the receiver's hip pocket limiting the chances of him being broken off at the top of the route and putting him in a good position to make a play on the ball. That's exactly what this young man does as he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the interception. This all happens with the smooth and fluid transitions that he showcased limiting the chances of the receiver getting to his toes. In run support, he can trigger downhill to clean up the play by making open field tackle on the perimeter. He was tasked with covering the opponent X receiver each game in coverage where he can hold his own. In my eyes, he has the potential to be an FCS PWO prospect that could possibly drop to D2/NAIA or drop to the D3/JUCO level. If that happens, I could see him making his impact felt instantly whether that's on the defensive side of the ball or via special teams with his first year on campus. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13125942/6173ac74041d8c0520bb1c0b">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="236411" first="Elliot" last="Cassem"] <a href="https://twitter.com/elliot_cassem">Twitter</a> <img class=" wp-image-243808 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/12/95-Elliot-Cassem.jpg" alt="" width="386" height="257" /> Mr. Cassem was a name I had circled coming into this fall season as I got to see glimpses of what he could do during the shortened spring season. I wanted to wait and see what he could do with a full season production under his belt before moving him up on the rankings and upon analyzing his full season highlights he's more than deserving of being bumped up. He's projected as a 3 down back at the next level as he's a workhorse that has some speed to him as well. I could also see him being used in the air attack more at the next level as he has the skill set to catch out of the backfield on short/intermediate routes as well as running wheel routes every now and then. This young man has the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackles where he bursts through the line of scrimmage and has that next level gear to outrun pursuit angles as well as blow by 2nd level defenders. He maintains a low center of gravity while he keeps his feet driving breaking weak arm tackles in the process and uses his lateral quickness to turn the corner. If the front side running lane gets clogged up and the defense over pursues, this young man can find the cutback lane where he'll use a quick cut to hit it and fight for extra yards upon doing so. In the return game, he gets vertical quickly setting his team up in good starting field position and has the ability to break one for a touchdown. The good foundation that he has paired with his potential yet to come to light gives this young man a high ceiling which will be interesting to see how college coaches put weight on that. In my eyes, he has the potential to become an FCS PWO caliber prospect that will most likely drop to the D2/NAIA level. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11479062/61931bbe90ef7d034419fa8f">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="65721" first="Vinny" last="Iannantone"] <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyIannanton2">Twitter</a> <img class=" wp-image-207646 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/IMG_5603-rotated-crop-2815x1848-1632691356-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="410" height="269" /> Mr. Iannantone was a name I was keeping an eye on this fall season and I initially had him on the watchlist coming into this fall season as he was playing behind University of Illinois Commit [player_tooltip player_id="20875" first="Jordan" last="Anderson"] who commanded a handful of carries per game this limiting the chances this young man had to showcase what the could do. This fall, that all changed as this young man took over the role for a majority of the season as his fellow teammate was resting up an injury. I got the chance to see him in person during the regular season as well as at the 4A IHSA State Championship, that on top of analyzing his full season highlights results in him raising his stock on our rankings. He's projected as a three down back at the next level primarily used as a downhill runner. He can catch out of the backfield if called upon to do so, but these are limited to short/intermediate routes where he can make the catch consistently. This young man has the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackles where he bursts through the line of scrimmage and gets vertical quickly upon securing the handoff. He has the lateral quickness to turn the corner and maintains a low center of gravity as he keeps his feet driving breaking weak arm tackles in the process. His body control is one to keep an eye on as he stays up after contact by putting his hand in the ground. Upon clearing the 2nd level, he weaves in and out of defenders in open space. I believe this young man best fits an offensive scheme that is a power heavy team focused on running between the tackles as his skill set translates the best into that type of scheme. In my eyes, he's an FCS PWO potential prospect that will most likely drop to the D2/NAIA level as he was a late bloomer this season. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11676844/61a673415b3d130a5cb27d5e">Highlights</a> <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.