Kentucky 7on7 Preview: 502 7v7, 15U

LOUISVILLE-- Although 7on7 season has already started, we still enter preview mode here in the early Spring season of 7on7 football! We start in the city I called my home for five years, and check out the 15U bunch from 502 7v7 based here in Louisville and a program that has many solid prospects from top to bottom. We will kick these articles in two parts, starting with 15U and coming up next will be 18U. What did I grasp from this 15U bunch? It might sound like an easy statement to make, but this group has tons of upside. There are prospects from my eyes that are just scratching that surface of their potential, and others that really have put together some solid tape already at a young age, but of course as any coach will tell you with their youngsters, it is all about development. We take a look at coach Chad Smith’s bunch of upcoming talent rising up their stock in the 502! The Roster with Evaluations We pulled as much tape as we could from this 15U bunch, and have put together 12 prospect evaluations from the prospects we were able to find film on from all over the 502 area code. Check them out! Coryon Alston | Dupont Manual | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2G9eun">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/AlstonCoryon">Twitter</a> Coryon shows some good take off speed from the top of his route. I certainly think this young man can grow on being more instinctive with his route running as he develops in the coming years. He shows some raw ability to get better in the coming years, based on the light tape I found from his sophomore season. Brendan Bates | RB | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FePK2">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Brenden_Bates23">Twitter</a> I like the smoothness and vertical in this kid’s game from watching a few clips. Brendan shows some elusiveness with his cuts inside and some solid footwork when working the outside lanes as well. I really like the potential this young man has at the running back position for the Bulldogs in the near future. While he keeps developing those skillsets mentioned above, along with some added strength in the weight room over the coming years. Delshawn Cheffen | ATH | W.E.B Dubois Academy | 2025 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GQfnu">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/DelshawnCheffen">Twitter</a> Delshawn has some upside with all three levels of the field. He shows a solid hangtime on his punts for just an incoming sophomore. He shows some nice speed out the gates of his routes, and has some good game-managing skills to let his QB1 know he’s open. I would say the biggest development in Delshawn’s game is his tackling ability, as he can develop some more significant pop in his tackling ability to throw the ball carrier to the turf. A promising 2025 prospect out of Dubois Academy in my eyes. Mike Curry Jr. | RB/WR | St. Xavier | 2025 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GgjmN">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/mik21e_">Twitter</a> I certainly love watching the agility Mike has in his footwork from start to finish on tape. He also has great speed that is just scratching the surface with how much quicker this young man can get. I can see the wide receiver traits in this kid, as he shows a good reach while working on short routes. Another development for this young man is his closing speed, as I would love to see him finish his runs with stronger endurance. Mike is certainly one of the more promising prospects on this list so far, and you will be certainly seeing him on our 2025 watchlist over the next several months. [player_tooltip player_id="313642" first="Connor" last="Franklin"] | LB | Christian Academy of Louisville | 2024 | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14157838/615a501e066abf0688f4e47b">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/c_franklin2024">Twitter</a> When I watch Connor on tape, I see a kid that plays a lot bigger than the measurables might show (6’0 180). Connor makes great physical contact at the middle linebacker position from what my eyes can see. He also shows good range to cover space around near the edges of the field. He shows good patience, and attacks the ball well beyond the first level of the field on especially on the run. 7on7 will certainly grow this young man’s game in pass coverage, which should put Connor on our upcoming 2024 watchlist coming out right before Fall. Immanuel (Manny) Gray | RB | St. Xavier | 2025 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GZM0F">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/ImmanuelGray1">Twitter</a> Do not be fooled by this young man’s size, because his speed and shake in his footwork certainly make up for it. You can see his eyes open up big when this kid finds the open field as that is when you see his full speed on display, which I’m sure stands out huge in 7on7. Immanuel shows good durability in his lower body from what I grasped from his tape, as you can tell this kid does some work in the weight room and I would be willing to bet will do more this offseason. Could be another 2025 watchlist prospect in my eyes in the near future! Colin Jefferson | Louisville Male | 2026 | <a href="https://twitter.com/colinjefferson0">Twitter</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/colinjefferson0/status/1471936819411533831[/embed] Beckett Kennedy | Louisville Male | 2026 | <a href="https://twitter.com/BeckettKennedy3">Twitter</a> Beckett is a basketball prospect that made my Prep Hoops Next, 2026 All-Tournament Team from last season from our Indianapolis Tournament in 2021. Click <a href="https://prephoopsnext.com/2021/02/23/nates-all-tournament-team-class-of-2026/">here</a> to see where he ended up! Nick Lanham | TE/LB | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EK2et">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/NickLanham8">Twitter</a> The most recent tapes I have seen from Nick show off his outside balance at a significant level as QB [player_tooltip player_id="148268" first="Kolter" last="Smith"], has a sizeable target to throw to at 6’1 200. Nick shows a good twitch when turning on his routes as far as the eyes can see and will only develop as he gets more reps. His 2020 tape, shows me that this kid has been a smash mouth linebacker in the past on the defensive side of the ball. Would love to see more tape with that skillsets he put together there. https://twitter.com/VilleBulldog/status/1498048080721190915 [player_tooltip player_id="313820" first="DeAndre" last="Malone"] | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2HEyE4">Tape</a> &<a href="https://twitter.com/DeAndreMalone6"> Twitter</a> DeAndre shows a consistent jump off the snap, to become an imposing attacker into the backfield. His quick trigger lines up well with his contact-level which DeAndre certainly has even more space to improve on that skillset with two more seasons left to develop. This kid is very instinctive around the football, and I am willing to bet he will have a college football home when his career is over for the Bulldogs based on what I see on tape today from my eyes. [player_tooltip player_id="313640" first="Francis" last="Saysay"] | Louisville Seneca | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GGi9T">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MtsSaysay">Twitter</a> Good golly, can Francis fly fast off his routes, if you blink you might miss where he’s at! This young man is a certified speedster on multiple levels of the football field and your one goal should be trying to catch him and quick before he catches the open field. Francis is a solid route-runner especially on his intermediate routes. He does a solid job with his hands catching the football around some decent traffic areas as well. Finished 2nd in the 60 meter and 200 meter at Kentucky state track in February. Francis is a WR prospect I would love to see what he can do with his vertical, as that would be a skillset would pop off more on his tape in the near future! Would really like to see this young man on our upcoming 2024 watchlist in the future. Kamari Taylor | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2G99ri">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Kamar1Tayl0r">Twitter</a> Kamari might have quite limited tape, but there is one thing he certainly has, very quick springs to get to the football. He also has a physical presence to get into the pathways of the ball carrier. He might have the most impressive one-clip film I have seen throughout my time covering the Midwest in a while. Excited to see how his 7on7 and future seasons progress for this young man! More 15U Prospects to Watch this Spring Season: Jordan Williams | Louisville Male | 2026 Kemari Young | Louisville Male | 2026 Chayce Burton | Louisville Male | 2026 Keenan Cames | Spencer County, Taylorsville | 2025 Steron Davidson | Louisville Male | 2025 Do you want Prep Redzone Kentucky to do a preview on your Kentucky-based 7on7 program this spring? Feel free to shoot an email to Nate Wahl at Nate@PrepRedzone.com, or DM our Twitter account @PrepRedoneKY or @NWahlScouting.