Turf Wars: Premium Defensive Standouts

<em>On Sunday I covered a 7-on-7 event called Turf Wars at JSerra High in San Juan Capistrano. The event featured some of the top 7-on-7 teams in the state. I did not get a chance to take a close look at every team at the event, but I did see some excellent players, some up and coming stars and hundreds of spirited student-athletes competing at a high level.</em> Premium is a prominent 7-on-7 group in Los Angeles. They brought multiple teams to the event, the most notable being the “Trendsetters”. I got a chance to watch some of the Premium teams and here are players who stood out to me. <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115433" first="Peyton" last="Woodyard"], 2024, St. John Bosco</strong></em> Woodyard is one of the top class of 2024 defensive backs in the country and he is one of the reasons teams had a tough time scoring on the Premium teams. He is long at 6-foot-2 and covers huge chunks of the field in zone coverage. His real strength is flying up the field to stop the run and break up passes with big hits, but he looks comfortable in man and zone coverage in 7-on-7. He reminds me of a taller Tyrann Matthieu. Since Sunday, he got reoffered by Oklahoma and Alabama, and picked up offers from Colorado and Michigan State. He is visiting a handful of schools in Texas this weekend. https://twitter.com/peypey_wood/status/1464372251160051713?s=20 <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115432" first="Marcelles" last="Williams"], 2024, St. John Bosco</strong></em> He is the youngest of a family full of football stars and he may have the most upside of anyone in the group. He is right around 6-feet tall, has track level speed and has room to put on muscle without hurting his athleticism. He is physical in man coverage without drawing penalties and is so smooth transitioning out of his back pedal. Colorado, Michigan State and Liberty have offered him this week and he is up to 20 offers now. https://twitter.com/cellesthegreat1/status/1486135929546829828?s=20 <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25380" first="Jshawn" last="Frausto-Ramos"], 2023, St. John Bosco</strong></em> Frausto-Ramos impressed me covering guys in the slot on Sunday. He sometimes gets lost in the shuffle because Bosco has such big name recruits in the secondary, but he can play with just about anyone. He does a good job in zone coverage and reads the quarterbacks eyes well. When covering the middle of the field, he doesn’t get tempted to cover the flat and stays with his assignment. He has 15 Division 1 offers and is one of the more versatile corners I have seen recently. https://twitter.com/JshawnRamos/status/1483502283992154114?s=20 <em><strong>Chrishawn Singleton, 2024, Inglewood</strong></em> When you watch Singleton’s film, it’s mostly clips of him effectively stopping the run as an outside linebacker. He does all the right things: takes good pursuit angles, keeps outside containment, uses the "wrong shoulder" technique to shut down pulling guards. He looked good in pass coverage on Sunday and drops to his zones very well. He reads the quarterback’s eyes and doesn’t get fooled by crossing routes or pick plays. <strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id="115429" first="Marquis" last="Gallegos"], 2024, Chaminade</em></strong> Gallegos is one of the best class of 2024 defensive backs in the state much like Woodyard and Williams above. He has good lateral speed and covers large chunks of the field in cover 3 and when he is playing quarters coverage. He is lengthy at 6-foot-1 and can jump high. He is a ball hawk with good instincts and times his pass deflections very well. Cal and Washington have offered him since Sunday. https://twitter.com/Tarek_Fattal/status/1428914983434432519?s=20 <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="273567" first="Tye" last="Smith"], 2024, Loyola</strong></em> Smith is a huge linebacker who has the speed to cover running backs and some slot guys in man coverage. His real strength is coming up to stop the run but that isn’t on display during 7-on-7 tournaments. I was impressed with how fast he was for his size and how he was always in the right spots in zone. Morgan State, Colorado State and Arizona have offered the 6-foot-1, 225 pound backer. https://twitter.com/TyeSmithJr1/status/1485134319991472129?s=20 <em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145239" first="Hunter" last="Nowell"], 2023, St. John Bosco</strong></em> I first saw Nowell when he was a sophomore at JSerra during the shortened spring season and he has put on a considerable amount of muscle since then. He had a big interception in the preliminary games and he stays in the hip pocket of receivers during man coverage. He can play corner or safety and could get some offers this offseason. https://twitter.com/HunterNowell2/status/1486220584409190400?s=20 https://twitter.com/HunterNowell2/status/1486047265097601024?s=20