Jordan's Notebook: 24' DL Breakdowns

Over the next few months, we're going to be diving into positional breakdowns to highlight every single student athlete on our radar to help get their name out there to the College Coaches that subscribe to our service. We've added over 200+ prospects to our class of 24' rankings. If you feel like you should be ranked fill out our FREE <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/">Prospect Player Index</a> which not only gets you on our radar but also college coaches' radar's as they can contact you straight off your account. Enough said, we're diving into our positional rankings breakdowns with the defensive lineman. Let's dive into it. <hr /> [player_tooltip player_id="271274" first="Chris" last="Ellen"] <a href="https://twitter.com/Chris_Ellenn">Twitter</a> Mr. Ellen is a newer name to me this fall season that took his snaps on Varsity working out of a 1 tech. The first clip in his highlights makes your eyes get wide. In this clip, you get to see his explosive burst off the ball paired with his active hands to get into the backfield quickly. Once he does so, he picks up the fumble and returns it for a touchdown providing an insight into his long speed as well as his quick acceleration. This young man has the speed and explosiveness off the ball to penetrated the backfield on a consistent basis putting him in a position to secure sacks and tackle for losses. In the run game, he can use his violent hands paired with his explosive first step off the ball to get into the backfield quickly. This is seen in the 2nd clip in his highlights where he comes away with the Safety for his team after getting through the gap and bringing the ball carrier down in an instant. All of this happens with his initial quickness fof the ball which he uses to threaten gaps and has showcased himself as an impact gap shooting 1 tech interior lineman. This young man also has a play in his highlights where he showcased his strength to anchor versus a double team run block, here he uses his active hands to get through to make the tackle. He can also take on the offensive lineman run block with good leverage and hand use where he also showcased the ability to disengage to make the tackle on runs at him. On passing downs, he showcased his power by jolting the offensive lineman back with his quick initial punch and drives the lineman backward into the pocket forcing quarterback pressure on the play. This young man can also mix in a club/swim move where he uses his quick hands to beat the pass blocker. Once he beats the offensive lineman and is near the quarterback, he can disengages to close quickly on the quarterback forcing throwaways as well as coming away with the sack. All in all, this young man has a high ceiling heading into his Junior Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15834064/617f1e8aab9272091069be3f">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="161196" first="Edward" last="Kentra"] <a href="https://twitter.com/EKentra">Twitter</a> <img class="size-medium wp-image-147292 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/05/Kentra-Edward.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Mr. Kentra is a name that was on my radar heading into this fall season and one that took his snaps on JV working as a 7 tech/edge rusher. We got a glimpse into this young man's quick feet and quick first step to get to the turn point before the offensive tackle. Once this happens, he's able to turn the corner providing an insight into his ability to dip his shoulders to turn the corner while maintaining his leverage and pad level. There are glimpses in his highlights where he was able to chasedown plays with backside pursuit and has the ability to get to the perimeter to finish tackles/sacks when he gets close to the play. There's a clip in his highlights where he's able to come away with the tackle for loss showcasing a glimpse of his closing burst when chasing down the line of scrimmage in backside pursuit. On passing downs, this young man provided a glimpse into his initial quickness as he has the potential to become a dangerous speed rusher off the edge on the Varsity level. This young man showcased glimpses of his active hands to swim/club the offensive tackle's hands down which enables him to stay free and gives him space to rush the passer. His initial quickness at the snap allows him to get on top of the offensive tackle before they're set to block as well where he's able to generate pressure on the quarterback and force throwaways. Again, this analysis is taken from his JV Highlights and we still have to see how his skill set is going to transition to the Varsity level. In my eyes, he has a high potential of molding himself into an edge. He currently has a good foundational skill set in that area and I look forward to seeing how he produces during his Junior Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15834698/617c8c49d224e3045c5186e0">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="271287" first="Luke" last="Kumskis"] <a href="https://twitter.com/LKumskis">Twitter</a> Mr. Kumskis is a name that came onto my radar towards the end of the fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity as a 7 tech/edge rusher. This young man provides an insight into being able to use his quick first step at the snap to get on top of the offensive tackle before they're set to block. There are clips in his highlights where once he turns the corner he's able to flush the quarterback out of the pocket and close quickly forcing throwaways. In the run game, he's able to get out of the blocks quickly to set up to take on the offensive lineman run block where he showcased his good base/leverage and hand use. Upon doing so, he can disrupt plays in the backfield and can come away with the tackle for loss. There's a clip in his highlights where he showcased just that coming away with the tackle for loss after shooting the gap. This happens with his initial quickness off the ball which he uses to get through gaps to come away with the tackle for loss as well as generate pressure on the quarterback. On passing downs, he flashes the ability to free himself up to come away with the quarterback pressure and sack on the play. This happens after he beats the offensive lineman with a speed rush off the edge utilizing a swim/club move to bat the lineman's hands down. Once he does so, he can disengage and close quickly on the quarterback forcing throwaways. If the quarterback goes to escape the pocket this young man can close quickly forcing throwaways as well. He can also take backside pursuit flat down the line of scrimmage to secure the tackle on the perimeter. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15746401/614005f45b47670a34bcad52">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="271872" first="Jack" last="Gallier"] <a href="https://twitter.com/JackGallier4">Twitter</a> Mr. Gallier is a name that got on my radar during the middle of fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity working across various positions on the line. He provided an insight into his agility and balance as he's able to move through traffic well without losing his footing to make the tackle. This is seen in his highlights where he crashes flat down the line of scrimmage cutting across the offensive tackle's face into the B gap to make the tackle for no gain. He can hold outside contain and remain gap sound when he holds down the C gap. There's a clip in his film where he holds contain before he can free himself up closing quickly on the ball carrier to secure the tackle on the perimeter for no gain. This young man did showcase glimpses of being able to get hands on the run blocker where he can lock out and press the offensive lineman backward. Once the ball carrier goes to make a move this young man can disengage and close on the ball carrier putting himself in a position to make a play on the ball. What I'm most interested to see as this young man continues to develop is his closing burst within the tackle box to finish plays as throughout his film he showcases his use of the closing burst to make a play on the ball. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14190369/61932a7f5caaca0460f74bd4">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="271804" first="Dexter" last="Niekamp"] <a href="https://twitter.com/DexterNiekamp">Twitter</a> Mr. Niekamp is a name that came onto my radar during the middle of the fall season where this young man took his snaps on Varsity working as a 7 tech. This young man provided an insight into his speed and quick first step to penetrate the backfield putting him in a position to come away with the tackle for loss as well as disrupt plays. He can get down the line of scrimmage and through traffic to close on the defender from behind to secure the chasedown tackle when taking backside pursuit. When he's holding C gap contain, he can disengage to close once the ball carrier tries to bounce the play outside. This young man provided an insight into his ability of being quick to shoot his hands into the blocker and shed quickly which puts him in a position to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage resulting in no gain on the play. He showcased glimpses of being able to cause blockers to over st to the outside making it free to counter back inside with a rip/swim move to disrupt plays in the backfield. This is seen specifically in one clip in his film where he gets into the backfield and is able to swipe his hand down the defender's chest forcing a strip as he's bringing the defender down further showcasing his ability of being molded into a run stopping lineman. When taking pursuit he gives strong effort which is seen in one clip in his film in particular. In this clip, this young man is able to grab the defender's jersey with one arm and pulls the defender back into his arm's reach to secure the tackle. This also gives an insight into his strength. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11565458/6188a9caa680d70b84327c6c">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="252447" first="Blake" last="Wendt"] <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeWendt2">Twitter</a> Mr. Wendt is a newer name to me this season and one that took his snaps on JV working out of a 1 tech. This young man showcased glimpses of his quick first step to penetrate the backfield putting him in a position to come away with tackle for losses and to disrupt play as well. When playing against the run, this young man provided an insight into his ability to quickly shoot his hands into the blocker and shed quickly to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain. This all happens by him taking on the offensive lineman run block by maintaining a solid base/leverage and his hand use. He also showed glimpses of being able to use his initial quickness off the ball to threaten gaps and showcased his potential of being molded into an impact gap shooting 1 tech lineman. Again, this analysis is off his JV highlights and we have yet to see how his skill set is going to transition against Varsity competition. I'm looking forward to seeing how this young man produces in his Junior Season Campaign as he has high potential and could very well make his impact felt in games. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeWendt2/status/1468421825952690182?s=20&t=XdXRgnkWND5q6V8EQqd4Bg">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="271817" first="Rocco" last="DiLeonardi"] <a href="https://twitter.com/RoccoDileonardi">Twitter</a> Mr. DiLeonardi is a name that was on my radar heading into the fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity that can line up across the line. This young man provided an insight into his speed and explosiveness off the ball to penetrate the backfield to come away with the tackle for loss and sack. This is also where he showcased a glimpse into his change of direction ability to turn the corner and finish at the quarterback. When playing against the run, he can get down the line of scrimmage and through traffic efficiently utilizing his speed to close from behind. There's a clip in his highlights where he stays close on the puller's hip putting him in a position to make a play on the ball carrier. This young man also provided an insight into being able to disengage and close quickly once he's near the ball carrier. This goes hand in hand with his quick first step which he uses to gain the step advantage in both run and pass situations. On passing downs, he uses his quick first step at the snap to get on top of the offensive lineman before they're set to block and is a threat to take the edge on the speed rush. There's one clip in particular in his highlights where he's able to use his active hand to turn the corner on the offensive tackle and close quickly on the quarterback to strip the ball by clubbing down as he makes initial contact on the quarterback. It's these types of clips in his highlights that make you believe the best is yet to come out of this young man and that he has the potential to wreak havoc throughout all four quarters of each game. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15823469/6189fd4290eebf0a4010d226">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.