PRZ IL Prospect Tour: Session 1 OL/DL Preview

With our PRZ IL Prospect Tour coming up on Saturday, May 7th we’re diving into positional previews to provide further exposure to the young student athletes coming out to the showcase. With that being said, we’re kicking this off with a quick preview of some of the OL/DL that are going to be in attendance. Keep in mind that this is a preview article and a more in-depth article series will come after the showcase is held diving into how the young men performed at the showcase in testing as well as in positional drills and during 1 on 1’s.

Jack Anderson Jack Anderson 6'3" | 260 lbs | DL Glenbard South | 2024 State IL 2024 Glenbard West Twitter

Mr. Anderson can take snaps on both sides of the ball working on the OL/DL where he took his sophomore snaps on Varsity working both ways. Regardless of which side he decides to take his snaps at the showcase, he has this aggressive/attacking nature about him that you just love to see out of lineman – on both sides of the ball. What I will say is this, as an offensive lineman this young man can dominate at the point of attack in the run game and as a defensive lineman he uses his active hands to get into the backfield generating pressure on the quarterback. This is another young man that has a high upside heading into the showcase – on both sides of the ball – that could very well see his recruiting stock pick up after he gets the pads back on for his Junior Season Campaign.

Jack Donovan Jack Donovan 6'1" | 260 lbs | OL St. Francis | 2024 IL 2024 St. Francis Twitter

Mr. Donovan is one that’s been on my radar for some time now as I’ve gotten a chance to scout him twice over his high school career, once his freshman year and once during his sophomore year in person. What I’ll say about this young man is that he has continued to hone his craft and improve upon not only his footwork but also getting inside hand placement quickly after getting out of his stance. Last time I saw him in person he did get a tad but choppy at times during his pass protection getting beat to the turn point while at other times he would get out of his stance quickly and set to block to tie up the rushing defender coming off the edge. I’m very interested to see how this young man performs as he’s just scratching the surface with the type of player that he can turn into. With gaining experience on Varsity as a Sophomore, look for him to continue to build upon last season’s performance heading into this showcase.

Chris Ellen Chris Ellen 6'0" | 225 lbs | DL Bolingbrook | 2024 IL 2024  Bolingbrook Twitter

Mr. Ellen possesses the ability of having active hands at the point of attack which he uses to get through the line of scrimmage into the backfield to disrupt the play both in run support and in his pass rush. In his pass rush, this young man does provide glimpses of being quick off the ball using a mix between a swim move and bull rush to generate pressure on the quarterback. Now, what I’m interested to see out of this young man is how he’s going to fair going up against the taller offensive lineman that we have in this showcase. Currently, Mr. Ellen is standing at 6’0 225 and will be going up against offensive linemen ranging from 6’2 up to 6’6 during 1 on 1 drills. With that being said, don’t let his size fool you. This young man does possess power to his punch and has the ability to drive back those taller offensive linemen.

Edward Kentra Edward Kentra 6'2" | 225 lbs | DL Hinsdale Central | 2024 IL 2024 Hinsdale Central Twitter

Mr. Kentra is a young man that I’ve been keeping an eye on over the course of his high school career so far and have seen his skill set develop as well. Each year he continues to hone his craft and most recently has been hitting the field getting reps with FIST Football. Currently, this young man is more of a speed rusher in my eyes at the moment where he has the ability at times to get to the turn point before the offensive tackle is set to block. What I’m interested to see out of this young man at the showcase is how consistent he can be at not only getting to the turn point but also if he’s able to mix in any counters and/or bull rush as well during 1 on 1’s.

Jackson Nekolny Jackson Nekolny 6'2" | 255 lbs | OL Batavia | 2024 IL 2024 Batavia Twitter

Mr. Nekolny is a young up and coming offensive lineman that I believe has a ton of upside left in his tank. In my eyes, he not only has room to bring more of that untapped potential to light but also really mold himself into a balanced offensive lineman. Currently, he can latch on quickly to the defender in both pass protection and run blocking – both of which he provides glimpses into his aggressiveness. What I’m most interested to see out of this young man is how his footwork has progressed since last time I had a chance to scout him, specifically how quick he can get out of his stance and set to block in pass protection.

Nathen Omolo Nathen Omolo 6'3" | 260 lbs | OL IC Catholic Prep | 2024 IL 2024 IC Catholic Prep Twitter

Mr. Omolo is a name that I’ve been a fan of since he entered the high school ranks. His aggressiveness and attacking playstyle are impressive to say the least. The last time I had a chance to scout him in person during the last fall season, I had him being more of a run blocking offensive tackle as opposed to a pass protection one. His ability to fire off the ball and latch on quickly is going to come in handy during 1 on 1 drills in this showcase. I’m interested to see how his pass protection skill set has evolved during this offseason as well. Previously, he was able to get to the turn point before the defensive end at times to tie up the rushing defender while at others he’d get beaten off the edge as he wasn’t quick enough out of his stance to get set to block. Keep an eye in this area as if he’s able to have a strong showing here he could very well see eyes kept on Mr. Omolo.

Tim Savchuk Tim Savchuk 6'4" | 270 lbs | OL Oswego East | 2024 State IL 2024 Oswego East Twitter

Mr. Savchuk is a newer name on my radar that I currently have not had a chance to scout as of yet – he is on my list to scout here over the next few months. With that being said I’m very excited to get an early look in person and compare how he performs to how his film unfolds. I’ve heard good things down the grapevine about this young man – standing at 6’4 274 I’m looking forward to the show that he puts on. What I can tell you is that he’s been a weight room warrior these last few months and adding weight to his frame – I’m interested to see how his off season work is going to transition to the showcase here on Saturday with position specific drills and during 1 on 1’s.

Darion Williams Darion Williams 6'3" | 230 lbs | DL Mount Carmel | 2024 IL 2024 Homewood-Flossmoor Twitter

Mr. Williams is a young man that I’ve heard nothing but good things about with his skill set in both stopping the run and generating pressure on the quarterback. My man Darnell Clay said it best when he wrote a piece about this young man earlier in the year “Williams can definitely emerge as one of the top defensive prospects in Illinois’ C/O 2024”. If you turn on Mr. William’s tape you’ll see exactly what my guy Darnell Clay is talking. The insight this young man provides with stopping the run and getting to the quarterback at the JV level only skims the surface of the potential that he has. I’m very much looking forward to watching this young man compete and being able to see how his skillset is going to fair going up against the competition in the showcase.

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