23′ Rankings: LB Breakdowns
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 which is NCAA Approved. Enough said, we’re diving into part one of our positional rankings breakdowns with the linebackers. Let’s dive into it.
Jake Scianna Jake Scianna 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Lincoln-Way East | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Scianna is a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that made his mark showcasing what he’s capable of producing with a full season under his belt. I can see him being a Mike backer that can flourish in either a 3-4 or 4-3 defense. He has good lateral range and he puts himself in a position to make plays both in the box as well as on the perimeter. This all happens with him using his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier to turn the corner and utilizing his closing speed to cover sideline to sideline as he’s a rangy defender. He can get pressure on the quarterback off the edge blitz utilizing his good initial quickness as he’s working against the offensive tackle. Here, he can close space and turn the corner, once he does he can disengage and close quickly on the quarterback to come away with sacks or throwaways. His instincts in both the air attack and run game are impressive as he consistently puts himself in a position to make a play. In run support, he triggers downhill quickly in close space where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. He has quick hands which he uses to shed blocks to either make the play or at least disrupt the play at the line of scrimmage. When the run is coming at him, he takes on blocks head on where he can jolt the offensive lineman back at the point of attack and can disengage to make the tackle. When the run is going away from him, he flows to the ball while working gap to gap and can take backside pursuit to come away with the chasedown tackle. He’s a strong tackler that wraps up and cleans up plays in open space. In zone coverage, he gets to his drop in the hook/curl where he can get his hand in the throwing lane to tip the pass which was then intercepted by his teammate. Once that happened this young man turned into a lead blocker pancaking the opposing team players in his way making a lane for his teammate to take that interception into the endzone for a Pick 6. If the ball is thrown in front of him in zone coverage, he closes quickly and secures the open field tackle in the hook/curl. All in all, this young man is one heck of a player and one that continues to increase his stock. Currently has FBS Interest. Highlights
Ross Dansdill Ross Dansdill 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Wheaton North | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Dansdill is a name that was on my radar heading into this fall season and one that I got a chance to see in person once during the regular season as well as another time during the 7A IHSA State Championship Game. I can see him being a Mike backer that has an edge working more like a 3-4 thumper but can also hold his own in a 4-3. This young man has good lateral range which he uses to put himself in a position to make plays both in the box and on the perimeter. He uses his lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier to turn the corner and uses his closing speed to cover sideline to sideline further showcasing him being a rangy defender. On passing downs, he can get pressure on the quarterback when coming off an edge blitz. Here, he uses his good initial quickness to close space and turn the corner on the offensive tackle. Once he turns the corner he can disengage and close on the quarterback quickly to come away with the pressure and forcing throwaways. His instincts in the run game are impressive as he consistently puts himself in a position to make a play. This young man triggers downhill quickly in close space where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and can work gap to gap. He has quick hands which he utilized to shed blocks to make a play or at least disrupt the play. This is seen when he takes on blocks head on where he can jolt the offensive lineman back at the point of attack and disengages to make the tackle when the run is coming at him. When the run is going away from him, he can flow to the ball and take backside pursuit to come away with the chasedown tackle. He’s a strong good tackler that can clean up plays and wrap up in open space. When he’s in zone coverage, he can get his hand up when he’s in his hook/curl coverage drop to deflect the pass in the throwing lane. Coming off of winning the 7A IHSA State Championship, look for this young man to hold down the middle of this defensive unit and come ready to improve his stock during his Senior Season Campaign. Currently has FBS Interest. Highlights
Zach Choromokos Zach Choromokos 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Wheaton-Warrenville South | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Choromokos is a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that I got a chance to scout one of his games online. I can see him being a Mike backer that can work either out of a 3-4 or a 4-3 at the next level. He has good lateral range where he can put himself in a position to make plays both in the box and on the perimeter. His lateral quickness comes in handy when he’s covering sideline to sideline as he limits the ball carrier to turn the corner. When he comes on a blitz, he uses his initial quickness to close space and turn the corner on the offensive tackle. Once he does so, he can disengage and close quickly to come away with the quarterback sack or force a throwaway off the pressure he generates. When the run is coming at him, he can trigger quickly in close space to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and uses his quick hands to shed blocks to either make a play or at least disrupt it. He can also hold outside contain at the snap before triggering to work gap to gap if the play is run away from him where he can flow to the ball and take backside pursuit to come away with the chasedown tackle. This young man cleans up plays and wraps up well on a consistent basis. When in man coverage, he can punch the inside shoulder of the receiver and stays on the receiver’s hip pocket putting him in a position to get a hand in the basket forcing pass breakups. All in all, this young man is poised to make his impact felt during his Senior Season Campaign and one that you should keep an eye on moving forward. Currently holds no offers nor any interest from what I see, I expect that to change quickly during this off season. Highlights
Jack Sadowsky Jack Sadowsky 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB Batavia | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Sadowsky is a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that works out of a dominant linebacker core that Batavia continues to produce year in/year out. I can see him being a 4-3 Sam backer/ 3-4 Will Backer at the next level. He has a quick first step paired with his initial quickness to get on top of the offensive lineman before they are set to block. This is seen in his pass rush skill set. Here, he can win the snap with his initial quickness and has active hands against the offensive lineman. He can close space and turn the corner on the offensive tackle, once he does he can disengage and close on the quarterback quickly to come away with the sack or force a throwaway off the pressure he generates. In run support, he’s quick in close space where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage when the run is coming at him. He possesses the ability to shoot the gap and gets through for backfield penetration which happens by him using his quick hands to shed blocks to either make the play or at least disrupt the play when working gap to gap. When the run is going away from him, he can take backside pursuit to come away with the chasedown tackle downfield. Switching gears to pass coverage, when he’s in zone coverage he can get to his hook/curl drop and deliver a heavy hit forcing pass breakups. All in all, this young man is one part of a deadly linebacker core that Batavia possesses. Currently holds a handful of FBS Offers. Highlights
Matt Kingsbury Matt Kingsbury 6'4" | 230 lbs | LB St. Rita | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Kingsbury recently transferred to St. Rita and in his first season there he made his mark holding down the middle of the field. I can see him being a Mike backer that can get it done in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense at the next level. I could also see him being a 3-4 Sam backer being utilized as a force player. He has a high motor and is rangy when he’s working laterally where he showcases his good tackle radius as he makes plays outside his frame. In his pass rush, he has a quick first step and uses his initial quickness to get on top of the offensive lineman before they are set to block. He can blow up the running back during his pass rush where he can jolt the running back backward into the quarterback pocket to collapse it. When working against an offensive lineman, he can beat them by using his quick hands as he uses a swim move and can win the snap with his initial quickness. The play that stands out the most out of his pass rush ability is seen on the first play of his highlights. Here, he delivers a heavy hit on the quarterback forcing a fumble and then not only recovers the fumble but picks it up to take it to the house for a defensive touchdown. His instincts/awareness are one to watch as well as he’s consistently in a good position to make a play. When the run is coming at him, he triggers downhill quickly in close space to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and has the ability to blow up the play in the backfield. He uses his quick hands to shed blocks to either make the play or at least disrupt the play when working gap to gap. He does a good job cleaning up plays in open space as he flies to the ball and is a heavy hitter. In zone coverage, he can trigger quickly to passes thrown in front of him when he’s in his hook/curl drop where he delivers a heavy hit forcing pass breakups. All in all, his stock has seen a rise these last few weeks and I expect it to only continue to rise. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. Highlights
Christian McKinney Christian McKinney 6'1" | 220 lbs | LB Homewood Flossmoor | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. McKinney is a name that came onto my radar heading into this fall season and one that had a good Junior Season Performance. I can see him being a 4-3 Sam backer/ 3-4 Will backer given his current foundational skill set. He has a quick first step and has the initial quickness to get on top of the offensive lineman before they’re set to block. He can beat the offensive lineman with his quick hands as he uses a swim move and can win the snap with his initial quickness when coming on his pass rush. Once he’s able to get past the offensive lineman, he can disengage and close on the quarterback quickly to come away with the sack or force a throwaway off the penetration he generates. When the run is coming at him, he can shoot the gap and get through for backfield penetration. This results in him either coming away with the tackle for loss or disrupting the play enough when working gap to gap. He can also trigger downhill quickly in close space and can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage upon doing so. All in all, he’s a heavy hitter that flows to the ball and can take backside pursuit to come away with chasedown tackles when the run is going away from him. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. Highlights
JaMycheal Towns JaMycheal Towns 6'3" | 190 lbs | LB St. Rita | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Towns is a name that I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that got his first full season under his belt since transferring to St. Rita. I can see him being a 3-4 Will backer/4-3 Sam backer at the next level. He has a quick first step and the initial quickness off the edge to get on top of the offensive lineman before they are set to block when he’s rushing the passer. He can beat the offensive lineman with his quick hand as he uses a swim move and can win the snap with his initial quickness. After he closes space and turns the corner he can disengage and cover quickly generating pressure on the quarterback resulting in a throwaway. When the run is coming at him, he uses his quick hands to shed blocks to either make the play at the line of scrimmage or at least disrupt the play. When the run is away from him, he can clean up the play well in open space which he makes by flowing to the ball. In zone coverage, he can deliver heavy hits in the flat forcing pass breakups as well. All in all, he’s apart of an up and coming St. Rita linebacker core that’s looking to make a repeat appearance to the 7A IHSA State Championship. Currently holds no offers from what I see, look for this to change in the coming months. Highlights
Drew Surges Drew Surges 6'2" | 190 lbs | LB St. Charles North | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Surges is a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and I got a chance to scout one of his games online during this previous fall season. I can see him being a Mike backer that can get it done working out of a 3-4 or a 4-3 at the next level. I can also see him possibly being utilized as a 4-3 Sam backer as well. He has a quick first step and the initial quickness to get on top of the offensive lineman before they are set to block when he’s coming off a blitz on passing downs. On passing downs, he can beat the offensive lineman with his quick hands as he uses a swim move and can win the snap with his initial quickness. Once he beats the offensive lineman, he can disengage and close quickly forcing a throwaway off the pressure he generates. When the run is coming at him, he can shoot the gap and get through for backfield penetration while working gap to gap. This all happens with his quick hands to shed blocks to either make the play or at least disrupt it. When the run is going away from him, he can clean up plays in open space by wrapping up and securing the tackle. What I like most out of this young man is how he is in zone coverage. Here, he gets hands on the slot receiver when he’s pressing by punching his outside shoulder delaying his release off the line. This in turn disrupts the timing of the route with the quarterback and can either force a coverage sack or an incomplete pass. There’s still a lot of potential yet to come to light out of this young man as he continues to hone his craft, with a full off season this year look out for this young man during his Senior Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers from what I see, should change in the coming months. Highlights
Joseph Kingsbury Joseph Kingsbury 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB St. Rita | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Kingsbury is related to the other Kingsbury in this article and both made their impact felt this fall season. I can see him being a 3-4 Sam/4-3 Will backer at the next level. I could also see him being utilized as a force player as well. He’s a rangy defender that has the lateral quickness to limit the ball carrier from turning the corner. He can beat the offensive lineman with his quick hands as he uses a swim move and can win the snap with his initial quickness. This happens when he’s coming off a blitz where once he beats the offensive lineman he can disengage and close quickly forcing a throwaway off the pressure he generates. He’s quick in close space where he can meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage when the run is coming at him as he works gap to gap. He also uses his quick hands to shed blocks to either make the play or at least disrupt it. If the run is going away from him, he doesn’t give up on plays. Rather, he takes pursuit angles to make the tackle downfield. His instincts/awareness is one to keep an eye on as he’s able to sniff out screen plays quickly and upon doing so can blow it up for a loss on the play. When in zone coverage, he can get to his coverage drop and trigger to the flat quickly to clean up the play by securing the open field tackle. All in all, he has a solid foundation under his belt and I look forward to seeing him build upon it as he heads into his Senior Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers from what I see. Highlights
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