Tic for Tat: 25’s on the Rise Pt. 1
We’re kicking off a new series diving into the younger up and coming student athletes here in Illinois that currently possess the potential to possibly play at the next level (across all of the various levels). Time will tell how…
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Continue ReadingWe’re kicking off a new series diving into the younger up and coming student athletes here in Illinois that currently possess the potential to possibly play at the next level (across all of the various levels). Time will tell how these young men continue to hone their craft and how their high school career will shape out, with that being said let’s kick start Tic for Tat by diving into 25’s on the Rise Pt. 1. Enjoy!
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Talyn Taylor Talyn Taylor 6'0" | 165 lbs | WR Geneva | 2025 State IL / Geneva / 6’0 155 WR / Twitter
Mr. Taylor is a slot receiver that primarily played on JV this last fall season with some Varsity snaps mixed in his highlights. Once he secures the catch this young man does a good job of getting vertical quickly. If there’s a defender in his face right when he secures the catch this young man’s elusiveness comes to light where he can make the first defender miss in open space on a consistent basis. Once he does, he uses his foot quicks to break long runs for a big gain as well as getting into the endzone for six. At times, he can also line up as a Z receiver on the outside working 1 on 1. Here, he can close the cushion on the defender playing in off coverage giving him the step advantage to win over the top. In a few clips in his highlights, Mr. Taylor showcases his ability to secure the catch in double coverage as he tracks the ball well and attacks the ball at the highest point to secure the contested catch on the deep shot downfield. He does have slightly above average speed cut ability for how young of a player that he is, I’m interested to see how both his speed and hard cuts develop over the next few seasons. His father did play in the NFL and he has room to grow. With the extremely high ceiling that this young man has, he could potentially turn into one of the best football players to walk through Galena in a long time – yes, he has that much potential.
Brandon Parades Brandon Parades 6'1" | 170 lbs | QB Plainfield East | 2025 State IL / Plainfield East / 5’10 140 QB / Twitter
Mr. Parades is a QB that took his snaps on Varsity this last fall season, yes as a freshman he was the starting quarterback on Varsity. For how young of a player this young man is, his skill set is impressive to say the least. This young man provides insight into his ability to stand strong in the pocket to get the ball off right as a defender is going to deliver a hit on him showcasing his toughness and pocket navigation. He can also evade pressure by rolling out of the pocket and can then deliver off platform throws while on the move. Here, his upper/lower half work in unison as he’s able to flip his hips to deliver the ball into his receiver’s basket downfield to keep the chains moving. In one clip in his highlights, he does just that where he’s able to get off a level three throw as he’s falling down to the ground and while there’s a defender in his face as well. His pass goes straight into his receiver’s basket which the receiver secures for the touchdown – talk about an impressive throw. Mr. Parades provides insight into being able to add easy velocity across all level throws (level 1, level 2, & level 3) and is very good at working on the move out of platform – he does also possess the skill set to get set up quickly in the pocket to deliver darts downfield in the quick game. What’s impressive about this young man is how quick/compact his delivery and release are for how young of a player he is, you don’t see this too often. He uses this to his advantage throughout his highlights and it goes hand in hand with his ability to put the ball only where his receiver can go up to get it – providing insight into his accuracy. Speaking further on this, this young man has the ability to hit the soft spots in zone coverage along the sideline (between the corner underneath & safety over the top) and across the middle of the field (between the linebacker underneath & safety over the top) for the completion downfield which is seen throughout his highlights. That’s not all that Mr. Parades can do, if nothing is open downfield in the air attack he can pull the ball down to scramble to keep the chains moving with his foot quicks. He also does run the option further showcasing his mobility and providing glimpses of being able to gain the step advantage at times on the second level defenders to break a long run on the play. Time will tell how the rest of this young man’s high school football career is going to shape up, if he’s able to add to his frame and hone his craft further he could very well turn some heads here these next few seasons – high potential young man.
Jack Wanzung / St. Ignatius / 6’0 170 QB LB / Twitter
Mr. Wanzung took his snaps on JV this last fall season mainly as a quarterback mixing in some outside linebacker as well. In the first clip in his highlights, he runs the option where he can make the first defender miss before planting his foot to hit the cutback lane and uses his foot quicks to outrun the pursuit angles breaking a long run for six. His foot quicks are deadly as once he’s in open space and/or turns the corner he’s off to the races on the JV level gaining a step on the second level defenders – his highlights are full of him breaking long runs gashing the opposing defense. This young man is a slippery type of runner as he can get skinny and weave in/out of defenders making defenders miss their grab tackles. He also isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder when running either. Mr. Wanzung does provide glimpses of being able to stand strong in the pocket to get the ball off under pressure and provides glimpses of being able to make throws on the move out of platform as well. In one clip in his highlights, he’s working on the move and is able to put the ball right into his receiver’s hands along the sideline only where his receiver is able to secure the catch to keep the chains moving. I’m interested to see how this skill set grows over the next few years. On defense, he plays outside linebacker where he can diagnose screen plays quickly and is then able to blow up the play by delivering a heavy hit on the receiver forcing an incomplete pass on the play. When he’s in man coverage lined up against the slot receiver, he can stay in the receiver’s hip pocket staying step for step on deep shots downfield. In one clip in his highlights, the slot receiver runs a fade route leaning his release heavily along the sideline and this young man is able to stay step for step and is then able to go up for the 50/50 ball forcing the pass breakup. Once this young man is able to diagnose the run, he provides insight into being able to close quickly to secure the tackle either on the perimeter or in the box. Mr. Wanzung could potentially turn into a legit ATH over the course of his high school career, time will tell which position he molds himself into. With that being said, if he’s able to fine tune his delivery/release on the ball and his read step on defense I wouldn’t be surprised if this comes true.
Charlie Cruse Charlie Cruse 6'1" | 190 lbs | WR Downers Grove North | 2025 State IL / Downers Grove North / 6’0 175 WR DB / Twitter
Mr. Cruse works as an X receiver that took his snaps on Jv this last fall season. He provides insight into his ability to close the cushion on the defender playing in off coverage quickly which he then uses to gain the step advantage and win over the top. This young man also provides glimpses of working back towards the ball limiting the chance for the defender to undercut the route to make a play on the ball which is something you don’t see too much of at such a young age. If there’s a defender on his back, this young man provides glimpses of being able to secure the contested catch and he isn’t afraid to go up for 50/50 balls where he can attack the ball at the highest point to secure the contested catch (sometimes securing the catch for six). If you try to press this young man, he showcases his quick feet which he uses to gain outside/inside release (whichever release he chooses) before he stacks the defender and breaks the defender off at the top of the route creating enough separation on the play to haul in the deep shot downfield. At times, he was lined up as a halfback as well getting involved in the run game. Here, his foot quicks are further showcased on both inside and outside the tackle runs where he can get through the line of scrimmage and showcase his ability to gain a step on the second level defenders to keep the chains moving. One trait to keep an eye on out of this young man is his ability to adjust to throws quickly on deep shots downfield. Once he’s able to adjust, he can then secure the contested catch as he comes away with grabs in tight coverage. This goes hand in hand with his hand/eye coordination as he can track the ball well and look the ball in as he continuously hauls in grabs with the defender all over his back in his highlights. Mr. Cruse is set up to put on a show once he takes his first Varsity snaps. If he’s able to work on his route tree adding in a variety of routes he can run with crispt routes and breaks at the top of his routes, he’s going to turn heads these next few seasons. Mr. Cruse can already work back towards the ball and secure those tightly contested grabs, by expanding his route tree and ability to create separation on each route it’ll make him an even bigger weapon on offense than he currently already is.
Devin Habermehl Devin Habermehl 6'2" | 220 lbs | DL Collinsville | 2025 State IL / Collinsville / 6’0 200 DL / Twitter
Mr. Habermehl has a mix of highlights between JV and Varsity taking his snaps on the defensive line as a 7 tech this last fall season. This young man can close on the quarterback quickly once he turns the corner to come away with the sack. He’s able to do so with his speed and bull rush which he provides glimpses of throughout his highlights. Both of which, he can beat the offensive tackle either to the turn point or drive the offensive lineman back to collapse the pocket before disengaging the block to secure the sack. Mr. Habermehl also provides glimpses of his quick first step in run support as well. Here, he uses this to blow up the run play in the backfield to come away with TFLs. One area that I’m interested to see develop out of this young man is his ability to continue to fight through the whistle and not giving up on plays. In one clip in his highlights, he continues working through a down block in his pass rush. Here, he’s able to then get through and get his hand up as he closes on the quarterback pressuring the throw. Mr. Habermehl could have very well let himself get washed down on that play and allowed himself to not make an impact on the play whatsoever, but instead he continued to fight and fight. It’s this type of effort that I’m interested in seeing develop over the years as it could transition into him having a high motor and high stamina to stay in the game for a majority of defensive snaps.
Carson Boyd Carson Boyd 5'11" | 185 lbs | QB Cardinal Ritter | 2025 State MO / East St Louis / 5’11 160 QB / Twitter
Mr. Boyd took his snaps on JV this last fall season as a quarterback. This young man is mobile as he’s able to run the option and can pull the ball down to scramble if there’s nothing open downfield. When he does, he provides glimpses into his foot quicks which he can use to gain a step on the second level defenders to keep the chains moving and can break a long run in the process. If you try to pressure this young man, he provides insight into his ability to sense it. Here, he can either slide in the pocket to avoid the pressure and get the ball off or he can stand strong getting the ball off as the defender is right in his face. What I’m interested to see develop out of this young man is his arm accuracy. He currently is able to add a touch on the deep ball making level three throws putting the ball in a spot where his receiver can go up to get it. This young man also currently provides glimpses of his quick/compact release with his upper/lower body working in unison. If Mr. Boyd is able to continue to develop his arm accuracy and arm strength he could very well turn into a top quarterback in the state of IL when it’s all said and done.
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