Jordan’s Notebook: 24′ LB 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…
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Continue ReadingOver 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 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. Enough said, we’re diving into our positional rankings breakdowns with the linebackers. Let’s dive into it.
Zac Laird Twitter
Mr. Laird is a newer name to me this fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity working out of a 3-4 as a Will linebacker. We get an insight into his lateral agility and change of direction ability which he uses to put himself in positions to make plays within the box as well as on the perimeter. He has solid range and has the playing speed to make plays on the sideline. A trait to keep an eye on is his quick first step out of his stance which he uses to his advantage in both the run and pass defense. On passing downs, we get an insight into how disruptive this young man is off the edge. He showcases a glimpse of his quick hands to slip free from blockers on the way to the quarterback. There’s a clip where he does just that and is able to close quickly on the quarterback to come away with the sack. This is also where he showcased a glimpse of his foot quicks and agility to change direction to beat the offensive tackle with his active hands. This is seen in high highlights where he utilizes his quick first step to get on top of the offensive tackle before they’re set to block. If he can’t get to the quarterback this young man will put his hands up to bat the ball down. This was showcased in his film where he comes off the edge and jumps extending his hands in the air getting into the throwing lane to deflect the pass. In run support, he provided an insight into his quick strong hands to shed blocks to make a play when the run is coming at him. He also gave an insight into being able to take on outside run blocks at the point of attack. Upon doing so, we got a glimpse into his ability to maintain proper positioning and him being effective in shedding/making the tackle on outside runs to his side of the field. This young man also uses his lateral agility to stretch the field horizontally allowing his teammates to rally to the ball. Once the ball carrier or quarterback tries to bounce plays outside he can disengage the blocker to make the tackle. There are countless clips in his highlights where he closes quickly to secure the tackle on the perimeter. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Gage Homola Gage Homola 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Hampshire | 2024 IL Twitter
Mr. Homola is a newer name to me this fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity working out as a 3-4 Mike linebacker. We got to see glimpses of him being able to diagnose the run quickly as there are clips in his film where once he does he triggers downhill quickly in close space. When the run is coming at him, this young man flashed his aggressiveness to step up and take on the blocker at the point of attack. There’s a clip in his film where he ends up jolting the offensive lineman upright and sheds the block to make the tackle in the hole. A trait to keep an eye on is his ability to be in a position to make a play within the tackle box as he seems to consistently be in the right spot to secure the tackle. This is also seen when he’s dropped back into zone coverage as he can read a halfback screen in front of him well. This is seen in a clip in his highlights where he closes quickly delivering a hit right after the catch losing a few yards on the play. Once he gets to his hook/curl drop he can also take pursuit angles to make the tackle on the perimeter as well. This is seen in his highlights where he drops back into the hook/curl and plants his foot triggering to the perimeter as the quarterback tries to extend the play out of the pocket. As this happens, this young man is able to close quickly and force the quarterback to throw the ball away. It seems as if this young man is molding into more of a run stopping Mike backer, he also has potential at Tight End as well. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Ben Alvarez Ben Alvarez 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Yorkville | 2024 State IL Twitter
Mr. Alvarez is a newer name to me this fall season that took his snaps on Varsity playing out of a 4-3 as a Sam linebacker (he occasionally will play Mike). We get a glimpse into his quick twitch as well as his playing speed and lateral agility/range as he seems to be in a position to make plays in both the run and pass defense. This young man also shows quick feet as well as fluid hips and closing ability on his breaks when in coverage. There’s one clip where he’s rushing the pass off the blitz. In this clip, he’s patient at the line of scrimmage before closing on the quarterback while taking backside pursuit to deliver a hit out of bounds on the perimeter. When the run is coming at him, this young man triggers downhill quickly where he takes the block head on. One clip that stands out in his highlights in this department is the 2nd clip in his highlights. In this clip, this young man is able to take the block head on and disengage quickly after jolting the blocker. Upon doing so, he sees that the ball carrier fumbles the ball and he picks up the fumble where he returns it for a touchdown. On passing downs, he showcased his ability to make plays both in man and zone coverage. There’s a clip of him being in man coverage where he stays on the receiver’s hip pocket in tight coverage and is able to fully extend his arm to come away with the pass deflection in the middle of the field. Zone coverage is where he’s mostly utilized as he can use his instincts and awareness to close fast on the ball when it’s in the air which results in this young man coming away with interceptions. He’s quick to react to the ball as an underneath defender. This is seen in his film where he can undercut the route in the flat/corner for interceptions as well as in the hook/curl. Both of which he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with interceptions. This young man has a knack for reading the quarterback’s eyes as he continuously comes away with interceptions when doing so. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Ryder Miller Ryder Miller 5'11" | 180 lbs | LB Ottawa | 2024 IL Twitter
Mr. Miller is a newer name to me this fall season that took his snaps on Varsity working out of a 3-4 as a Mike linebacker. This young man provided insight into his closing burst which he uses to consistently chase down plays across the field in pursuit. There’s a clip in his highlights where he drops back into the hook/curl and triggers to the pass completed to the far side of the field in the flat. Upon doing so, he’s able to close quickly to secure the tackle for minimum gain on the perimeter. When the run is coming at him, he showed insight into his ability to step up and take on the blocker. As he does so, he can jolt the blocker upright and make the tackle in the hole. There’s a clip in his highlights showcasing just that where he holds down the B gap. This young man showcased flashes of his playing speed to make plays covering sideline to sideline as he can close to secure tackles on the perimeter. A trait to keep an eye on moving forward is his ability to trigger downhill quickly in close space as he showcased glimpses of doing so in his highlights. When he does, he was able to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage in the B gap resulting in either no gain on the play or tackle for loss. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Paulie Rudolph Paulie Rudolph 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Jacobs | 2024 IL Twitter
Mr. Rudolph is a name that I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity out of a 3-4 as a Mike Linebacker. When he’s coming off a blitz, he can shoot the gap and get through to blow up the play in the backfield both in run support and on passing downs. In run support, this was showcased in a clip where he uses his quick first step to get through the gap and close quickly making the tackle right as the ball carrier secures the handoff. In the pass blitz clip, he comes off a blitz through the B gap where he gets through and comes away with the quarterback sack. When the run is coming at him, this young man flashes a strong punch to jolt the run blocker to stay free and make the tackle on the play. This is also where we see glimpses of him being physical upon contact. Once this young man is able to diagnose the inside run, he uses a quick burst towards the ball and when he stays under control he makes strong physical tackles. The first clip in his highlights showcases just that where he gets to the B gap meeting the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage and sticks him resulting in no gain on the play. When in zone coverage, he has smooth and fluid pass drops to the hook/curl and gets depth in his drops as well. This young man provided an insight into his ability to read the quarterback as he undercuts the route in the hook/curl and gets his hand in the throwing lane when in the hook/curl batting the ball down. This is seen in one clip where he’s dropped back into the hook/curl and baits the quarterback to throw into the middle of the field as he’s slowly drifting away to the flat. Once this young man sees the quarterback is going to make that throw to the middle of the field he plants his foot to change direction quickly to undercut the route coming away with the interception in the hook/curl. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Jack Lesher Jack Lesher 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB Marmion Academy | 2024 State IL Twitter
Mr. Lesher is a name that was on my radar heading into this fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity working out of the 4-3 as a Sam linebacker. This young man moves like a free safety as a coverage player. He also provides insight into his quick feet as well as his fluid hips and closing ability on his breaks in pass coverage. Once he reads run, he can close on the ball carrier quickly both in the box and on the perimeter. He showcased glimpses of using his active hands to shed blocks after initial contact as well as his lateral quickness and range. There’s a clip in his highlights where he’s holding outside contain in the redzone and the quarterback is running an RPO as he’s on the move working out of platform. Once the quarterback goes to escape the pocket this young man closes on the quarterback quickly to make contact and force the incomplete pass. There’s one play that stands out in his highlights where the play is away from him and he takes pursuit. Upon doing so, he’s able to close on the ball carrier and deliver a heavy hit upon contact forcing a fumble on the play showcasing his ability to deliver the big hit at times. The first play of his highlights sets the tone as he’s able to undercut the route in the flat when in zone coverage to come away with the one hand interception grab. This young man is aware and quick to react to the ball as an underneath zone defender. he also reacts quickly to the bubble screen being run out of the slot. Upon diagnosing this, he will trigger downhill quickly to deliver a hit on the receiver right after securing the catch for a loss on the play. When this young man is in the hook/curl, he’s able to deliver a hit and get a hand in the receiver’s basket forcing a pass deflection. In this clip, he not only forces a pass deflection but ends up turning it into a tipped pass that his teammates then intercepts setting his team up in good starting field position. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Riley Sprindis Riley Sprindis 5'9" | 190 lbs | LB St. Charles North | 2024 IL Twitter
Mr. Sprindis is a newer name to me this fall season and one that took his snaps on JV working out of a 3-4 as a Will linebacker. He provided a glimpse of his quick first step when coming off a blitz and in runs support out of his stance. This young man is walked up on the line of scrimmage and showcased glimpses of being able to close on the quarterback when coming off a blitz. In this clip, he’s able to get through the gap and close on the quarterback coming away with the sack. In run support, he uses his quick first step when crashing down the line of scrimmage. In this clip, he’s working backside when doing so to make the tackle in the redzone stopping the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage to save a touchdown. Again, this analysis was taken off his JV highlights and it’s still in the air how his skill set is going to transition to the Varsity level. What I’m most interested to see is how his first step advantage is going to fair against Varsity offensive lineman. He also has potential as a running back as well. Highlights
Joey Scrivani Joey Scrivani 6'0" | 180 lbs | LB Jacobs | 2024 IL Twitter
Mr. Scrivani is a name that was on my radar heading into this fall season and one that took his snaps on Varsity working out of a 3-4 as a Will linebacker. He provided an insight into being able to put himself into a position to make plays on the perimeter using his lateral range and playing speed to limit the ball carrier’s chance of turning the corner. When the run is coming at him, he showcased glimpses of being able to use a quick punch to jolt the run blocker upright keeping him free. In his highlights, this enables him to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage for no gain as he holds down the C gap. On passing downs, he makes his impact felt as an edge rusher. Here, he provides an insight into his ability to slip free from the blocker on the way to the quarterback to come away with the sack. This happens by him utilizing leverage and his sneaky quickness off the edge. There’s one clip in his highlights where he gets the jump at the snap to work past the double team to his side flushing the quarterback out of the pocket. As the quarterback escapes, this young man plants his foot to change direction and takes the backside pursuit closing on the quarterback to secure the tackle on the perimeter. There’s also another clip where the play is going away from him as the quarterback is rolling out. Once this young man sees this happening, he bursts straight down the line of scrimmage to deliver a blow on the quarterback on the perimeter just before the quarterback went to pull the ball down to scramble further showcasing this young man’s pursuit skills. When in zone coverage, this young man can drop to the flat and is able to rally to the ball delivering a hit right after the receiver secures the catch. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
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