Standouts from the San Clemente NCAA Showcase

San Clemente High held its 9th annual NCAA Showcase Wednesday to give its players a chance to practice in front of college scouts and media. Recruiters from Cornell, Idaho, Stanford, Montana, Arizona State, Nevada and Black Hills State among others were in attendance. I was able to watch a good portion of the lineman 1on1 drills and the team scrimmage. Here are some players who stood out to me: <strong>Connor Bachhuber, DE/OL/LS, 2024</strong> Bachhuber is every bit of 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. When you watch the San Clemente linemen take the field, he is the guy that jumps out at you. I liked him better as a defensive lineman than a tackle. He gets off the ball quickly, uses his hands well and attacks the outside shoulder when edge rushing. He has offers from San Jose State, Arizona State and Colorado State offered him shortly before the event. https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1527113255897796608?s=20&amp;t=rKD8sdJJdjntehj1_jTH0g <strong>Thomas Hartanov, RB/LB, 2023</strong> Hartanov is a rugby guy who got some playing time at running back last season but I hadn’t seen him play defense until Wednesday. He is a hair under 6 feet but looks like he packed on significant muscle this offseason. Defensively he was flying to the flat in pass coverage and was physical within the rules. He is a really solid athlete and coach Jaime Ortiz was complimentary of him after the practice. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="273584" first="Dylan" last="Mills"], QB, 2024</strong> Mills transferred to San Clemente from JSerra and looked good during 7on7 and the team period. He makes good off-platform throws and completed the best deep ball of the day. He isn’t a dual threat guy but he is athletic enough to extend plays with his legs. San Clemente had two other competent quarterbacks competing with him including a very tall freshman, so it will be good for Mills to be pushed this offseason. He is going from a program that has had a lot of turnover in its coaching staff to one of the most consistent and steady programs in Southern California. https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1527104957446402048?s=20&amp;t=rKD8sdJJdjntehj1_jTH0g <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="196026" first="Reid" last="Kotiranta"], WR, 2023</strong> San Clemente has some lengthy and quality receivers this season but Kotiranta stood out. He added muscle since I saw him in January at the Prep Redzone Stock Up Showcase. He was the only receiver I saw Tuesday that was consistently open on deep balls and he has smooth hands. He drew attention from one of the scouts during the practice and his younger brother [player_tooltip player_id="270882" first="Max" last="Kotiranta"] had a big interception in the endzone during 7on7. <strong>Ben Baker, OL, 2024</strong> Baker did the best of all the offensive linemen during the 1on1 pass protection period. He is an interior offensive lineman who isn’t tall but has some thickness and strong legs. He did a great job with his initial punch, keeping his hips square and had fast feet. I liked how he always had his back flat and was never leaning on the defender to avoid giving up ground. He will get a lot more playing time this season as a junior and may draw some attention from scouts. https://twitter.com/BENBAKER5656/status/1509352726853046274?s=20&amp;t=rKD8sdJJdjntehj1_jTH0g <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270893" first="Colin" last="Brophy"], OL, 2023</strong> The only reps I saw Brophy lose during 1on1 pass protection were against Bachhuber. He has a really good first step as a tackle uses his weight as leverage well. Another rugby guy who looks a little bigger than last season but still needs to add some size. He is a good high school football player who could be a sleeper who gets some late offers. <em><strong>Other good performers:</strong></em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="168733" first="Brad" last="Gerken"]</strong> <strong>Blake Allen</strong> <strong>Brock Della Vedova</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="224199" first="Jake" last="Poole"]</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270910" first="Kyle" last="Yamano"]</strong> <strong>Nolan Reid</strong>