Northern California Deep Dive: Breakout Candidates Part. I

Photo: Jacob Rothwell Hudl

Paul Gregorian April 5, 2022 @ 12:16 PM

Across the region there are plenty of players that had successful 2021 seasons and are poised for huge Fall seasons and will burst on the scene in the coming months. Below we will dive into some of the film of these top players that are flying a bit under the radar right now but that will make big impacts once again for their respective teams. <hr />   WR/TE Jacob Rothwell, Castro Valley HS Rothwell is a big bodied receiver that could find his home at tight end in the college ranks and is a very intriguing player due to his combination of size and speed. He can line up all over the field and has very under rated open field speed while also able to create separation downfield while showing a strong initial burst after the catch. He has an explosive first step off the ball and a huge catch radius while able to go up and get 50/50 balls in traffic and make contested catches from various angles. With the ball in his hands he is a strong runner that does not go down on first contact and has some good twitch for someone his size.   QB [player_tooltip player_id="261784" first="Nicky" last="Johnson"], Morro Bay HS Johnson is one of the top dual-threat signal callers across the Central Coast and is poised for another huge year for the Pirates. In the pocket, he can deliver the ball downfield accurately while working through his progressions and using his eyes to move defenders and delivers the ball with some good zip in the intermediate game. While a very productive runner, he can also throw across his body on the run and has a strong understanding of when to scramble and stay in the pocket. While taking off, he has good initial acceleration and open field speed while able to make the first tackler miss and runs tough for his size while able to fit the ball into tight windows.   DB Austin Adams, Rocklin HS Adams is a true ball hawking safety with tremendous natural instincts and a big time hitter when dropping in the box and offers nice return ability as well. Smooth in his pedal and transition, he breaks quickly to the ball and shows good high point ability and strong hands. He is rangy in the backend and can cover a ton of ground as he is a longer strider with a high football IQ and a quick trigger. When trailing, he does a nice job at using his length to break up passes and is a very sound tackler in the open field while taking good angles to ball carriers and showing strong COD abilities. Adams is hands down one of the top safeties Norcal has to offer.   DE/OLB Shamonte Brown, Inderkum HS Brown is a long and rangy edge defender that should find his home as a 3-4 outside linebacker in college and has the tools to stand up and rush the passer at a high level as he develops. On tape, he mostly has his hand in the dirt but is quick off the ball and is a natural bender off the edge that is still developing at the position and very raw. A long strider, he collapses the pocket quickly and shows good closing speed while also able to play the run with a good initial strike and is very tough kid inside. Still a developing prospect, his length and size make him very intriguing and a high upside kid in college once he finds his natural position and develops technically.