2023 Top Ten film review – Part II
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One of my goals while deciding who to write about for prepredzone.com is to give as many guys who might not be household names, guys who are not going to get the national or even statewide coverage, the spotlight. Once…
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Continue ReadingOne of my goals while deciding who to write about for prepredzone.com is to give as many guys who might not be household names, guys who are not going to get the national or even statewide coverage, the spotlight. Once in a while, however, it is fun to look at the crème de la crème. Over the next few days, I will dive into the tape of prepredzonemn.com’s top ten from the class of 2023. Today, I start with our 4th, 5th, and 6th highest-ranked seniors to be.
Elinneus Davis Elinneus Davis 6'2" | 300 lbs | DL Moorhead | 2023 State MN Moorhead DL
6’4″, 300 pounds
Power Five Offers: Iowa State, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Washington
Davis is a prototypical interior run stuffer. He will not be moved off the line of scrimmage without a double team. He has a great base with massive legs to hold his ground on the inside. The rare times he is single blocked, he is strong enough to throw offensive linemen to the ground and get into the backfield. Right now, he is best when playing in a phone booth.
That being said, he has solid lateral movement and can scrape down the line of scrimmage. He does a good job using his upper body to keep separation between himself and offensive linemen. He often plays over the guard, but with his low center of gravity, he might be even more effective over the nose, using his fire hydrant of a body to eat up blockers and free up his linebackers.
Does he have impressive straight-line speed? Probably not. His forty times are not going to blow people away at this point, but how often is a defensive tackle running forty yards? Not often. How often does an interior lineman have to show good footwork in a five or ten-yard area? All the time. Davis is extremely quick – especially laterally. His footwork and upper body strength allow him to shed blockers and disrupt blocking schemes.
Carson Hansen Carson Hansen 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Lakeville South | 2023 State MN RB Lakeville South
6’1″, 195 pounds
Power Five Offers: Iowa State, Kansas State
Hansen is just a product of the Cougars’ system – right? While the scheme and offensive line no doubt form the basis of the Lakeville South offensive domination, Hansen takes those built-in advantages and exploits them to the tune of player of the year type of domination.
Hansen has explosive speed in the open field. His long-striding style eats up ground quickly and allows him to make defenders’ angles on him disappear.
What most impressed me watching Hansen was his feet. Being lined up so close to the offensive line, Hansen has to make split-second decisions with the football. The Cougars’ offense opens holes quickly, and to have success, runners must have good instincts. Hansen’s instincts are excellent. While making those quick decisions, his quick feet allow him to make multiple moves in a small space. Those feet also help him maintain outstanding balance – in the open field, especially when he bounces his way through the line of scrimmage.
The junior doesn’t just run the ball. They don’t pass often, but Hansen has nice hands and will even split out wide. He doesn’t just catch passes in the flat; he is a solid route runner too.
Grant Chapman Grant Chapman 6'5" | 280 lbs | OL Anoka | 2023 State MN OL Anoka
6’5″, 285 pounds
Power Five offers: Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State
The first thing that stood out for me with Chapman was his footwork – especially during his pass set. He is rarely out of position or caught reaching because of bad footwork. His quickness out of his stance not only helps him get into great pass protection position it also allows him to get to the outside to pick up a hook block or to get around the corner and to the next level.
I don’t want to keep harping on one aspect of his game, but Chapman’s feet also allow him to stay with players on the second and third level because of his textbook short, choppy steps.
The Tornados’ three-sport athlete is not all quickness, however. He has good knee bend allowing him to get underneath defender’s pads, stand his opponents up and use his already mentioned base and solid upper body strength to bully most defensive linemen.