Kentucky 7on7 Preview: 502 7v7, 18U

LOUISVILLE-- We stick around the 502 to finish up our 7on7 preview of 502 7v7, this time focusing on the older kids in 18U. After watching nearly 20 tapes from top to bottom of this 18U roster, all I can say is this group sky’s the limit for college football potential in the Bluegrass. I found so many prospects from this group that I believe can play on Saturdays, and some even than I feel you can find on playing Division I college football too. Take a look at the 16+ prospects I evaluated from this 18U group from 502 7v7 based in Louisville! Caleb Benton | DB/WR | Louisville Ballard | 2022 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GNfUL">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/cbenton_7/media">Twitter</a> Caleb shows off a solid twitch off the top of his route as well as good speed on his routes. I like this young man’s adrenaline on quick routes as he shows agile footwork to be able to flip the field and then blaze away with that solid speed we mentioned above. Caleb also has longer strides than you might expect out of prospect that stands at 6’0 170 pounds. The biggest development for this kid offensively is working his balance, as he shows a raw ability as a pass-catcher that can develop more progressions when the ball is within reach. I certainly think his best spot for the next level comes from the cornerback position, as he shows reactive feet to circle back to the football in a quick span of time and has a great ball tracking ability. College coaches still looking for 2022s, I believe this young man could be a good one to take a look at, as I think he has enough development to turn into a nice college player. I like him as a small school prospect with a couple offers already on his resume. Isaac Bowman | WR | Louisville Trinity | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GQxTL">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacB_2">Twitter</a> Isaac a slot receiver that might not have the biggest stature (5’9 180) but shows some great hands on multiple levels of the field. Isaac has juice left in the tank to improve his agility, as although he has a solid shift in his feet, I can read with two more years there is more pep coming out of his footwork to come. What do I love about Isaac’s tape the most? This dude is a team-player that doesn’t fear throwing a few blocks to give his running back a bigger cushion to run thru and can draw off separation on short routes by engaging with the linebacker, and then can create a window of opportunity to become a pass-catcher later in the play. He shows room for development on becoming more engaging on his routes, especially on shorter throws from his quarterback. I think this young man has some upside with two seasons remaining for Louisville Trinity. Montel Campbell | SS/WR | | Louisville Ballard | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GkqiP">Tape</a> & <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GkqiP">Twitter</a> Watching Montel’s versatility despite not having too much film, is a great view of his potential for his football future. This young man has a long reach and can make a athletic interception on balls that might be slightly out of reach for other strong safeties. Not to mention, I like Montel’s physicality when flying into run coverage from the second to the first level of the field as he has a punch that is for sure worth watching. He is very consistent on moving the pile backwards when making contact on the ball carrier. Bright future for this young man, as I could see him on our upcoming 2024 watchlist coming out in the coming months. Deshaun "DJ" Cooper | CB | | Louisville Male | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2H5YKT">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/DeshaunCooper6">Twitter</a> Deshaun has a nice ball-tracking ability and a longer reach on tape than you might expect as I think this kid has some growth coming on that vertical of his. He has excellent instincts on his reads to attack early to place himself in the best spot to make a big play in pass coverage, as he does this routinely on his tape. Deshaun shows off some efficient footwork as well in his arsenal. This is yet another prospect from that 502 7v7 group I would like to see on our upcoming 2023 rankings, as there is a lot of solid skill out of this young man. Malachi Embers | WR | Christian Academy of Louisville | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FrVFB">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MalachiEmbers">Twitter</a> This young man’s speed off the snap got an "Oof" from me, which always a great sign out the gates of a tape review. Malachi shows off great footwork on a stop and go route and is a defined blazer when it comes to his speed as a occasion slot back moving in pursuit. Yet again, not the biggest kid on the field but heck, he will deeply lock into assisting his rushing attack with a strong punch into the defensive back. The more reps I see out of this kid doing this consistently, the more I love watching his tape as I love how much he puts the team game first and is actually fundamentally sound with his blocks. He may not have the ideal measurables, but is certainly a prospect I will for sure remember from this Class of 2023 out of Louisville. Joshua Fuller | FB/LB | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FzDnA">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/joshfuller1290">Twitter</a> Joshua I would call a bruiser running back that isn’t the fastest dude on the field, but a kid that will certainly push the ball ahead for every yard especially in the redzone for the Bulldogs. This young man has great patience in waiting for the play to develop, and then will make his move. I actually see this kid’s speed break out more around the outside edge, as that is when you see the burst come out the strongest. This young man is well-develop at 5’10 190 pounds, as might not be the most agile runner with his footwork, but has a few years to develop even more ground especially with development on working on the inside gaps, which is where I like him running the most. As a linebacker too, I would love to see this young man get some fullback reps too to establish another asset to his game in the Bulldogs backfield. [player_tooltip player_id="316807" first="Shammai" last="Gates"] | WR | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/15144367/61afe0a40dc0890718acc016">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/TheShammaiGates">Twitter</a> Holy heck, the athleticism from Shammai from the start of his route is just fantastic. If you are looking for a WR prospect that has elite hands and will use all that vertical and mentioned athleticism on high-traffic catches I have a great one for you college coaches out of Louisville Male by the name of [player_tooltip player_id="316807" first="Shammai" last="Gates"]. Shammai shows off a great reach and adjustment for ball that are just off line too. I am just baffled by how easy this kid makes it look on intermediate routes on balls that do not have a high catch rate for most wide outs, but for sure not for Shammai. I certainly believe this kid has scholarship-level football in his future and I would be willing to bet Shammai is going to show some Kentucky schools all about him this summer at prospect camps. Division I potential, yet no offers yet. Catch this young man on our 2024 rankings for sure this summer. [player_tooltip player_id="195405" first="Chris" last="Graham"] | SB/RB/ATH | | Rock Creek (IN) | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/15003664/616efbd15ef62805a8b608a5">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/CGraham812">Twitter</a> The Indiana Hoosiers certainly signed a great upcoming 2023 prospect in Rock Creek’s [player_tooltip player_id="195405" first="Chris" last="Graham"]. Wherever you line this kid up on the field, he’s going to have a lot of success as the definition of a Swiss Army Knife. Chris has excellent agility and can become a darn liability for the linebackers on back to the secondary when he gets that footwork churning on shorter routes. This kid is fearless and is a RB that on tape turned so many plays on the outside edge of the field from nothing into something very quickly. It is hard to grade where I see Chris in an Indiana uniform as far as position, goes but they got to get him started at kickoff return with his great speed and super efficient footwork. I could also see him as a significant first and second down tailback. [player_tooltip player_id="316809" first="Jackson" last="Hepner"] | QB | Louisville Trinity | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fzyxk">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/JacksonHepner">Twitter</a> Jackson has excellent composure inside the pocket which are one of a few skillsets I love about his tape. He also shows off great mechanics and shows an excellent touch on the football, especially on his deep route throws. Jackson shows his best work on his second-read, as he does not oversell his reads at all. He does well with his ball placement dropping it right into the wheelhouse of his wide outs. I have a solid gut feeling this kid will be playing on Saturdays in the near future, as his skillsets are just very sound. Would love to see what he can do throwing the ball from outside the pocket, just to grab another skillset for his future tape. High GPA kid as well with a 3.9 GPA. [player_tooltip player_id="244413" first="Langdon" last="Holbrook"] | ATH | Scottsburg (IN) | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GHCh8">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/LangdonHolbrook">Twitter</a> I am a big fan of just how durable this young man is between the tackles, as he certainly is a bull thru traffic in the inside rushing lanes. You will want to make sure you do not let this young man hurt you outside on screen plays, as he shows excellent footwork to keep shifting his feet to get freedom in the open field. I would say Langdon’s biggest development, is with his route-running as he does have very efficient speed, but I would love to see more flash in his footwork when on the outskirts of the wide receiving core. Similar to [player_tooltip player_id="195405" first="Chris" last="Graham"] above, Langdon is another Indiana swiss-army knife for Scottsburg, as this young man lines up just about anywhere on offense and has excellent stamina with his speed he has. Speaking of that speed, I genuinely think Langdon has more speed in his arsenal than what you see on tape, which is a great sign as we are looking ahead to the 2022 season for this young man. Recently saw a body transformation of Langdon, and am really impressed with his strides he’s made in the weight room. Not the biggest kid out there, but will for sure be playing on Saturdays in my eyes. Recently posted one of the top 40s amongst DBs at the Bluegrass Showcase this last weekend. Mykel Malone | RB | | Louisville Fern Creek | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GVahr">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/almightykels_">Twitter</a> Talk about a pain to tackle inside, Mykel is a workhorse with his lower body that just keeps working. Once this kid hits the second level of the field, that is when you start to see the speed he really has as he’s a grinder for yards. Based on what my eyes can see, Mykel does have some good footwork that is tough to see, but it is certainly there between the tackles. I believe this kid is just scratching the surface potential wise on tape, and if he could get some bigger development from his offensive line in 2022, he could break out that speed more beyond the first level. [player_tooltip player_id="287565" first="Korrey" last="Mattingly II"] | DB | | Louisville Male | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GZvD7">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/K_Mattingly2">Twitter</a> A couple of our guys at Prep Redzone (including myself) are already big fans of this kid based on the tape we have already watched. Korrey shows a high significance of range on his tape and a hard-hitter that fears no one bigger than he is. This young man is a go-getter for the ball and makes terrific turns and angles to get a clear look to the football. Korrey is a smash-mouth competitor that once he gets some momentum, he maintains a physical knock on the ball carrier. Korrey has great discipline sealing the middle of the field and owning it to the core. Korrey is yet another DB prospect on this 502 7v7 that has what it takes to play football on Saturdays with his excellent determination. Jaque Parker | WR | Louisville Male | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GBh7a">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/JaqueParker">Twitter</a> Calling Jaque a straight lined speed demon is putting his tape simply, as his speed on streak deep routes is like a Camaro with it’s pedal to the floor. Jaque also has a great catch radius for his size as well. I like Jaque’s balance in his footwork in the return game as he shows sound footwork around the sidelines en-route to the end zone. From the first minute or so of his tape, you almost feel bad for the cornerback that has to defend this young man, as they better be on their heels to make way in the secondary. I also really like this kids hands as well. [player_tooltip player_id="316808" first="Davon" last="Rudolph"] | Louisville Ballard | 2024 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GUBsK">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/TOP_SMOKE55">Twitter</a> If you like smash mouth linebackers in the Class of 2024 that I really like, look no further than [player_tooltip player_id="316808" first="Davon" last="Rudolph"] of Louisville Ballard. This kid has one of the biggest motors I have seen on tape in the Midwest from the linebacker position recently. To add to his game, Davon has extremely elusive hands that gets off shed blocks extremely quickly. Davon’s residence is in Ballard opponent’s backfields to say the least as over and over he ends up beyond the first level play after play. I also really like Davon’s physicality as a tackler, as I don’t use the term "smash mouth" very often when describing linebackers. I can see why "Smoke" is his nickname 100%. With more time in the weight room getting even stronger, I cannot wait to see how much more this kid can grow on the field over the next two seasons as he certainly passed the eye test to play on Saturdays for me as just as sophomore. You will see this young man on our upcoming 2024 rankings for sure. [player_tooltip player_id="148268" first="Kolter" last="Smith"] | QB | Louisville Male | 2024 |<a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GMKhD"> Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/KolterSmithKY">Twitter</a> Geeze, this QB crew from 502 7v7 18U, really is stacked with Trinity’s [player_tooltip player_id="316809" first="Jackson" last="Hepner"] and Male’s [player_tooltip player_id="148268" first="Kolter" last="Smith"] at the helm. Kolter has great elusiveness on the run and always makes the smart football play with his feet around the sidelines. He shows great proficiency on deep routes, and I think has some growing development with taking some air off some of his deeper throws with a few years left with the Bulldogs. I really like Kolter’s composure when he leaves the pocket, as he settles for the best throw available with his great QB instincts he brings. Kolter can get out of a high-stress area, and turn the corner with his legs to get solid yards even under some duress. I have evaluated Kolter before and will continue to say, I love this young man’s leadership qualities and team-first mindset as the future QB1 for the Louisville Male Bulldogs. Antjuan Weathers Jr. | Louisville Male | 2023 | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GesxC">Tape</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Tjuany2">Twitter</a> Antjuan is a RB prospect I really like his awareness in his rushing attack. When the gaps start to close, I like his readiness to identify the closing space, and then can open up a new lane with his agility in his feet to continue to keep his speed on point. He also does a great job with his accelerator and maintain that same speed thru contact or not which shows excellent stamina. He shows a lot of bounce in his footwork and can make defenders miss with how much shake he can strut in his feet. Antjuan holds one D2 offer thus far, and I am sure will see his recruiting pickup even bigger during prospect camps this summer as there is a lot to like about this kid playing on Saturdays. More 502 7v7 Prospects to Watch this Summer: Robert Wickliffe | Louisville Ballard | 2022 | Twitter & <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FTp5m">Tape</a> Committed to the University of Charleston. Damien "DJ" Dawson | Louisville Male | 2024 | <a href="https://twitter.com/Damien_Dawson2">Twitter</a>   Grayson Dryden | Louisville Atherton | 2023 | <a href="https://twitter.com/GraysonDryden">Twitter</a>