23′ Rankings: OL Breakdowns Pt. 1
Over the next few months we’re going to be diving into our rankings positional breakdowns to highlight every single student athlete received the honor of being ranked. We’ve added over 300+ prospects to our class of 23′ rankings with another…
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Continue ReadingOver the next few months we’re going to be diving into our rankings positional breakdowns to highlight every single student athlete received the honor of being ranked. We’ve added over 300+ prospects to our class of 23′ rankings with another 100+ added to the watchlist. If you feel like you should be ranked fill out our FREE Prospect Player Index which not only gets you on our radar but also college coaches’ radar’s as they can contact you straight off your account as it’s NCAA Approved. Enough said, we’re diving into part one of our positional rankings breakdowns with the offensive lineman. Let’s dive into it.
Miles McVay Miles McVay 6'7" | 345 lbs | OL East St. Louis | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. McVay was a name that has been on my radar for some time now and one that I’ve gotten to see in person a few times this last year. The most recent time scouting him was during the IHSA 6A State Championship game where he was a sight to see. He is projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level that is dominant in both the run and pass game. What’s most impressive to me about this young man is his power, this was showcased during the State Championship game where he drove the defensive lineman back 10+ yards on the play by keeping his feet driving and playing through the whistle. He has an attacking and aggressive playstyle where he fires off the ball and latches on quickly by getting inside hand placement at the point of attack with his quick punch. This is seen when he washes the defensive lineman down as well as when he gets to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow. He’s also very agile, when he pulls he’s quick out of his stance and keeps his head on a swivel constantly looking for work upfield. Once he knocks one defender on their back he keeps going until the play is over. In pass protection, he does a good job of patiently waiting for the defender to get within arms length before latching on and closing the door. Here, he can deliver a strong punch to neutralize the pass rush at the point of attack or allow him to get hands inside before he throws the defender into the ground. All in all, there’s no doubt why he’s being sought after by a majority of the P5 FBS Schools in the country. The craziest part, he STILL has room to grow and bring some of his untapped potential to light. Highlights
Austin Barrett Austin Barrett 6'6" | 265 lbs | OL St. Charles East | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Barrett was a name on my radar heading into this fall season and one that has made a name for himself. I didn’t get the chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare it to where he was at last season to see his growth. He’s projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level making his impact felt in both the air and ground game. He fires off the ball and latches on quickly getting hands inside. Once he does so, he showcases his power by driving the defensive lineman 5+ yards downfield and finishes plays by keeping his feet driving through the whistle. He can wash the defensive lineman down as well as get to 2nd level blocks cutting of linebacker flow. What’s impressive is how he attacks and how aggressive he is in both the air and ground game at the point of attack as well as how he finishes plays. There are countless plays where he’s simply putting the defender on their back. In pass protection, he patiently awaits the rushing defender to get within arms length before latching on. Here he can either neutralize the pass rush at the line of scrimmage or force the outside rush and throw the defender into the ground. I believe he has a good foundation to build upon as he heads into his senior season and I look forward to seeing him compete. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. Highlights
Paris Patterson Paris Patterson 6'4" | 325 lbs | OL East St. Louis | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Patterson was a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that I was keeping an eye on. I got the chance to see this young man in person a few times over the last year and most recently scouted him at the IHSA 6A State Championship game. He’s projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level where he can make his impact felt in both the air and ground game. This young man can get to 2nd level blocks where he cuts off linebacker flow and can wash the defensive lineman down. This all happens by him firing off the ball and getting inside hand placement with his quick punch to latch on. When he’s pulling, his agility is showcased by him being quick out of his stance and being able to pick up the defensive back playing the alley. He doesn’t just pick up the block when he’s a lead blocker, rather he throws the defender into the ground. This young man has the power to drive the defensive lineman back 5+ yards downfield by keeping his feet driving and playing through the whistle. In pass protection, he patiently awaits the rushing defender to get within arms length before latching on. This results in him either neutralizing the pass rush at the line of scrimmage or throwing the defender into the ground. I believe this young man still has room to grow and continue to add to his good foundational skill set, I look forward to watching him do so. Currently holds a handful of FBS Offers. Highlights
Jacob Welch Jacob Welch 6'6" | 285 lbs | OL Johnsburg | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Welch was a name that I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that continues to improve his skill set. I didn’t get a chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare it to where he previously was at to see his growth. He’s projected as a balanced offensive tackle where he can make an impact in both the air and ground game. He can get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow and can wash the defensive lineman down. This all happens by him latching on quickly and getting hands inside to control the rep. This young man also has some power to him, this is showcased by him driving the defensive lineman back 5+ yards downfield by keeping his feet driving and finishing through the whistle. In pass protection, he patiently awaits the rushing defensive lineman to get within arms length before latching on. Here, he can either neutralize the pass rush at the line of scrimmage or can finish the rep by throwing the defender into the ground. I believe this young man has a good foundation to build off of as he heads into a full off season, I look forward to watching this young man compete in the fall. Currently holds offers from the FBS & FCS level. Highlights
Cooper Starks Cooper Starks 6'5" | 315 lbs | OL North Mac | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Starks was a name that I’ve had on my radar for some time now and one that continues to improve his skill set. I didn’t get a chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare his skill set to that of the previous seasons to see his growth. He’s projected more as a run blocking offensive tackle at the next level as I believe his foundational skill set leans a bit more in that direction. This young man fires off the ball where he latches on quickly getting inside hand placement and is aggressive at the point of attack. His power is showcased when he drives the defensive lineman back 5+ yards downfield and finishes plays by keeping his feet driving through the whistle. At times, he can drive the defensive lineman into the ground. This young man can also get to the 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow on the play and can wash the defensive lineman down as well. I am curious to see how consistent he would be utilized on a pulling action to either make the kickout block or block in open space and how consistent he’d be able to make those blocks to get a better insight into his agility. In pass protection, he uses his lateral movement to patiently await the rushing defensive lineman to get within arms length before latching on and closing the door. I believe this young man already has a good foundational skill set that he will continue to add onto, upon doing so he could potentially end up as a balanced lineman when it’s all said and done. I’m looking forward to his Senior Season campaign and I believe his stock is going to rise. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. Highlights
Luke Griskey Luke Griskey 6'5" | 265 lbs | OL Huntley | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Griskey was a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that I’ve been keeping an eye on. I didn’t get the chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare it to his previous seasons to see his growth. He’s projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level and has a good foundational skill set to work with. This young man fires off the ball and latches on quickly getting inside hand placement on the defender. Upon doing so, he showcases his power by driving the defensive lineman 5+ yards downfield and finishes plays by keeping his feet driving through the whistle. He can get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow and wash the defensive lineman down. This young man also does a good job of sealing the outside linebacker when he’s working down the field as the lead blocker giving his ball carrier a block to run off of. In pass protection, he can do one of two things. The first being patient as he awaits the rushing defender to get within arms length before latching on by closing the door and the second being him utilizing a quick punch right out of his stance to neatrualize the pass rush in an instant. There is also a clip where he forced the outside rush and kept his feet driving resulting in him throwing the defender into the ground further showcasing his attacking playstyle. I beleive this is only the beginning for this young man and one that’s going to continue to make a name for himself. Currently holds 1 FBS Offer. Highlights
Jacob Klink Jacob Klink 6'4" | 380 lbs | OL Hononegah | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Klink was a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that I was interested in seeing how he would perform during a full season of production under his belt. I didn’t get a chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to scout one of his games online during the post season. He’s projected more as a run blocking offensive guard at the next level that could potentially get bumped out as an offensive tackle pending his pass protection skill set developing further. This young man is quick out of his stance when he’s pulling where he can make the kickout block as well as block in open space picking up the defensive back playing the alley and sealing the outside linebacker. He can get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow as well as wash the defensive lineman down. Here, he keeps his feet driving after he latches on quickly and plays through the whistle. What I like most about this young man is how he’s utilized as a lead blocker and how well he moves when doing so. He does a good job creating running lanes for his ball carrier and has faired well in making those types of blocks on a consistent level. In pass protection, he has showcased glimpses of the potential he has in terms of his pass protection where he can close the door and latch on at the line of scrimmage to neutralize the pass rush. His aggressiveness and attacking playstyle are one to keep an eye on as he heads into his Senior Season highlights. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Trenton VanBoening Trenton VanBoening 6'7" | 280 lbs | OL Libertyville | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. VanBoening was a name that’s been on my radar for some time now and one that I was keeping an eye on during this fall season. I didn’t get the chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare them to his previous seasons to see his growth. He’s projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level that has a good foundational skill set to work with moving forward. Once he’s out of his stance, he uses his quick initial punch to gain inside hand placement which he uses to his advantage as he drives the defensive lineman back showcasing his power. This young man finishes play by keeping his feet driving and playing through the whistle – at times he can end up putting the defender on their back. He can wash the defensive lineman down as well as get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow on the play. In his pass protection, he uses his lateral movement where he will patiently await the rushing defender to get within arms length before latching in and closing the door to neutralize the pass rush. I believe this young man still has untapped potential yet to come to light and has a high upside. With a full off season, I look forward to seeing this young man progress his skill set and bring some of that potential to light heading into his Senior Season campaign. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. Highlights
Michael Jimmar Michael Jimmar 6'6" | 290 lbs | OL Plainfield East | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Jimmar was a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that continues to improve over these last few seasons. I didn’t get a chance to scout this young man in person but I was able to analyze his full season highlights and compare to where he was at last season to see his growth. He is projected as a balanced offensive tackle at the next level and brings his attacking playstyle in both the air and ground game. This young man is agile when pulling where he’s quick out of his stance and is able to block in open space. Here, he can kick out the defensive end as well as seal the outside linebacker and pick up the defensive back playing the alley. He can get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow as well as wash the defensive lineman down. His power is showcased by him driving the defensive lineman back downfield and he finishes plays by keeping his feet driving through the whistle. In pass protection, he’s able to both latch on quickly right out of his stance and bring the rushing defender into the ground as well as patiently waits for the rushing defender to get within arms length before closing the door. In both the air and ground game, he brings an attacking playstyle with him where he gets after it at the point of attack. I believe the best is yet to come out of this young man and still has untapped potential yet to come to light. Currently holds FBS & FCS Offers. Highlights
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