Jordan’s Notebook: 23′ Breakdowns Pt. 3
We’re back with Jordan’s Notebook Series diving into the Class of 23′ Player Breakdowns. Welcome to part three of this multiple-part series as we cover a range of positions in each. The goal is simple: covering as many student athletes…
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Continue ReadingWe’re back with Jordan’s Notebook Series diving into the Class of 23′ Player Breakdowns. Welcome to part three of this multiple-part series as we cover a range of positions in each. The goal is simple: covering as many student athletes as possible, regardless of college projection, to be a resource in getting their name out there further. If you’re wondering how to get on our radar, it’s simple: Fill out our FREE Prospect Index
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Ryan Tate-Walker Ryan Tate-Walker 6'1" | 195 lbs | DB Homewood-Flossmoor | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Tate-Walker is a safety that provides glimpses of his foot quicks to close quickly on the ball carrier/quarterback both when he’s playing the alley or coming down as the quarterback escapes the pocket to turn the corner. When he’s in the box, he provides glimpses of being able to take the block head on where he then can jolt the run blocker upright when the run is coming at him. He then is able to disengage the run blocker to meet the ball carrier at/near the line of scrimmage for no/little gain on the play. There’s a clip in his highlight where he’s holding the edge fighting against the slot receiver’s crack block. Here, this young man delivers a good initial punch on the receiver before he locks out and long arms. Upon doing so, he’s able to hold the edge and disengage the block to secure the tackle as the ball carrier tries to run outside zone. This results in this young man coming away with a tackle for loss. Switching gears to what I believe is his strong suit is his pass coverage and ball skills. In the first clip in his highlights, he’s in man coverage against the slot receiver where he uses his read step to quickly diagnose the pass before he’s able to undercut the route in the flat. He then comes away with the interception and returns it for a pick-six. He can also get it done out of zone coverage as well. In this clip, he’s playing as a single high safety where he sees the receiver coming across the middle on a slant route. This young man then plants his foot transitioning quickly from his backpedal into triggering downhill where he then jumps the route in the hook/curl zone. This results in this young man coming away with the interception and returns this for a pick-six as well. When he’s in man coverage, he provides insight into staying on the defender’s hip pocket keeping him in a position to make a play on the ball to either come away with the interception or force a pass breakup. I believe if he’s able to continue the consistency of his pass coverage transitions and flip of his hips, he’ll see opportunities come his way. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Calvin Lee Calvin Lee 5'9" | 170 lbs | WR St. Rita | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Lee is a slot receiver that provides a threat in all areas of the offensive attack that provides glimpses of his ability to break long runs after securing the catch. There’s a clip in his highlights where he’s in the slot and secures the curl route. He then takes his first few steps angling towards the sideline before stopping on a dime using a spin move to make the defender in pursuit miss, so much so the defender falls to the ground. Here, he then gets vertical as he ends up breaking a weak grab tackle before being brought down to the ground. If he continues to work on that explosive first step I believe you’re going to see this young man taking a lot more underneath routes to the house/breaking long runs. There’s a clip in his highlight that catches your eye in terms of his hand/eye coordination. Here, he’s going against “off” coverage and runs a seam route out of the slot where he’s able to work through the second-level defenders finding himself wide open. He then angles his route to the sideline where he’s able to secure the catch right before he falls out of bounds. I expect more of his receiving skill set to come to light during his Senior Season Campaign as he’s utilized in a similar way that Standout Kaleb Brown Kaleb Brown 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB St. Rita | 2022 State IL was utilized and he can potentially have a breakout season as a result. I’m also interested to see what his full route tree looks like. What’s equally as impressive is his running ability. In the first clip in his highlights, he runs a jet sweep where he’s able to stay tight to the offensive tackle’s block before getting upfield. He’s then met by defenders but he keeps his feet driving to break a long run using his foot quicks before he gets brought down inside the five-yard line. In the next few clips, he runs jet sweeps as well further showcasing his foot quicks to gain a step on the second-level defenders and break a long run as a result. Let’s not forget about run blocking either. There’s a clip in his highlights where he seals the outside linebacker giving his ball carrier a running lane to hit on the outside zone play. The ball carrier is able to get past this young man’s block and breaks a long run for a touchdown. He also provides insight into being aggressive once he makes contact with the defender as he’s run blocking. He does so by keeping his feet driving and is able to sustain his block long enough for the ball carrier to get by. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Vernon Malone Vernon Malone 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB Bradley Bourbonnais | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Malone is a cornerback that provides insight into coming down from his cover three drop to secure the underneath route in the flat. In the first clip in his highlights, he’s in man coverage and ends up turning the wrong way BUT he gets his head around quickly getting himself back into a position to make a play on the ball. He then goes up for the contested catch in the middle of the field getting his hand in the receiver’s basket to force a pass breakup. When he’s in man coverage, he provides insight into staying on the receiver’s hip pocket through the route keeping him in a position to make a play on the ball. Even if he gets broken off at the top of the route he can get himself back into a position to make a play on the ball and can play trail technique well. In terms of run support, he provides insight into being able to square up to the ball carrier to secure open-field tackles along the sideline. There’s a clip in his highlights where he’s at a two-high look and is able to trigger downhill closing on the ball carrier as the ball carrier tries to turn the corner. This young man then meets the ball carrier at the turn point securing the tackle along the sideline for no gain on the play. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Weston McAllister Weston McAllister 6'2" | 160 lbs | QB Pittsfield | 2023 State IL
Mr. McAllister is a quarterback that runs the option and isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder on the head-up defender to deliver a “pop” playing through contact. This young man provides glimpses into having a quick compact release. He also provides insight into being able to stand strong in the pocket getting the ball off under pressure as there’s a defender in his face. This is mainly seen when he’s running screen plays and on rollouts. There are also glimpses of his ability to put the ball between the linebackers and safety in the middle of the field. In one clip in particular, he puts a touch on the ball delivering the pass right into the soft spot in zone coverage which resulted in a touchdown pass. There’s not a big pool of film to go through as this sample was from one game, he does show glimpses of what his full skill set can be/develop into as he stands at 6’2 160. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Ethan Mccarter Ethan Mccarter 6'0" | 170 lbs | WR Dekalb | 2023 IL Twitter
Mr. McCarter is a slot receiver that provides glimpses of making the first defender miss once he secures the catch and at times he can break weak grab tackles as he gets vertical upon securing the catch to gain extra yards on the play. In the first clip in his highlights, he goes up for a 50/50 ball where he plays above the rim to secure the contested catch over the defender. He provides insight into his ability to run a double move using a good break at the top of the route to gain inside leverage on the zone defender – he’s then able to secure the contested catch. What’s most impressive is his ability to adjust to the ball on deep shots downfield to play above the rim. So much so that in one clip in his highlights he’s able to secure the contested catch over two defenders upon doing so. This young man also provides glimpses of being able to find the soft spot in zone coverage where he’ll sit to become an outlet for his quarterback. His foot quicks are one to keep an eye on as he can close the cushion on defenders playing in “off” coverage and at times can win over the top as a result. In the run game, he’s used on jet sweeps and is able to use his lateral quickness to turn the corner. He also can keep his feet driving to break weak grab tackles in the process. This young man is a reliable target for his quarterback in the air attack and has plenty of routes in his route tree that he can run. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Xavier McClendon Xavier McClendon 6'5" | 310 lbs | OL O'Fallon Township | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. McClendon is an offensive tackle that provides glimpses of being a scary blocker in open space as well as being able to dominate when drive blocking. Once he gets his hands inside he can put the defender into the dirt at times. There’s a clip in his highlights where he delivers a strong punch at the point of attack and is able to drive the defensive end down the line of scrimmage as he keeps his feet driving through the whistle. So much so that he stays latched on through the whistle and finishes the play by driving the defender five yards downfield. This play started on the left hash mark and he down blocked the defender to the mid-line of th field. Throughout his highlights, he provides glimpses of being able to cut off linebacker flow once he gets to the second level block where he then keeps working through the whistle. In the first clip in his highlights, he gets out of his stance and has a free release to the second level where he comes on an angle block to deliver a strong punch on the linebacker. He ends up jolting the linebacker back before he puts the linebacker into the dirt and falls on top of the defender. This creates a running lane for the ball carrier as this young man was the lead blocker which results in a first down on the play. Switching gears to pass protection, he provides glimpses of being able to slide out to pick up the edge rusher. There’s a clip in his highlights where he does just that and is able to ride the edge rusher outside before finishing the play by throwing the defender into the ground. One thing to note, it does seem as if his kick step needs further development as he seems to not get enough width out of his stance at times allowing the rushing defender to gain a step when taking the edge rush. His knee bend is also one to watch as he gets a tad bit high out of his stance at times. Now, if a rusher tries to take the inside rush shooting into the B gap this young man showcases glimpses of being able to ride the rushing defender down the line of scrimmage before washing the defender down. All of this being said, this young man does deliver a strong punch both when he’s in pass protection and when he’s run blocking which can jolt the defender upright. Be sure to keep a close eye on this young man, in my eyes, it’s only a matter of time before we see his recruiting stock skyrocket. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Edward Clark III Edward Clark III 5'11" | 160 lbs | DB Crete-Monee | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Clark III is a cornerback that has developed his press technique quite well so far in his high school career and is a trait to keep an eye on moving forward. In one clip in his highlights, he gets hands-on quickly delivering a punch to the inside shoulder of the receiver giving him the leverage advantage as this jolts the receiver upright getting the receiver off his route line. This young man then keeps his feet driving as he’s latched on and throws the defender out of bounds taking the receiver away as an option for the quarterback. In the first clip in highlights, he’s in man coverage where he’s able to run with the receiver on the deep shot downfield staying step for step before he goes up for the 50/50 ball. This young man is then able to contest the catch by getting his hand in the receiver’s basket forcing a pass breakup. His fluid flip of his hips keeps him in a position to make a play on the ball when he turns to run on deep shots downfield and limits the chances of him being broken off at the top of the route. In run support, he provides glimpses of flowing to the ball to secure the tackle along the sideline. He also provides glimpses of being able to lock out the run blocker before disengaging to secure the tackle along the sideline as the ball carrier tries to turn the corner. All in all, this young man does a good job when pressing the receivers and I would be interested to see how he’d fair being utilized as a Nickel Corner as well. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
Brock Wiley Brock Wiley 6'2" | 205 lbs | DL Quincy Notre Dame | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Wiley defensive end working as a 7 tech that can get it done both in stopping the run as well as in his pass rush. There’s a clip when the run is coming at him and he’s able to square up holding C gap control. Here, he’s able to meet the ball carrier in the hole securing the tackle at the line of scrimmage. Throughout his highlights, he provides glimpses of being able to disengage blocks to secure the tackle at the line of scrimmage and I’m interested to see how his run-stopping technique is going to develop during this offseason. Once he’s able to get out of his stance on the run away from him he can flow to the ball by taking pursuit to secure the tackle. There’s one clip in his highlights where he comes off the edge quickly at the snap. Here, he’s in the backfield right as the quarterback is going through his read on the option. This young man is then able to swing the quarterback to the floor as he’s securing the tackle for loss which forces a fumble on the play. Now, where I believe his strength currently is at is in his pass rush as, simply put, he’s a game-changer in this area. In the first clip in his highlights, he’s quick off the ball utilizing a quick first step to beat the offensive tackle to the turn point and is able to turn the corner generating pressure on the quarterback. He does so by delivering a hit on the quarterback right as the quarterback is getting the ball off forcing an incomplete pass. He also provides glimpses of closing on the quarterback once he gets into the backfield. What’s eye-opening about this young man is how he’s able to mix in the bull rush once he gets to the turn point. There’s one clip in his highlights where this happens. Here, he’s able to drive the offensive tackle back collapsing the quarterback pocket and is able to get a hand on the quarterback as the quarterback is getting the ball off. This impacts the throw making it underthrown and his teammate is almost able to come away with the interception to capitalize off the pressure this young man generates. Currently holds no offers. Highlights
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