Tic for Tat: 25’s on the Rise Pt. 3
We’re back 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…
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Continue ReadingWe’re back 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. 3. Enjoy!
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Tony Chahino / Geneva / 6’1 180 QB / Twitter
Mr. Chahino took his snaps on JV this last fall season as a quarterback that provides insight into his ability to throw on the move with his upper/lower body working in unison. This young man has a plus arm strength and has the ability to make level three throws with ease both when on the move and in platform. He does tend to get out of the pocket quickly upon securing the snap as opposed to staying in and using slide steps to navigate the pocket. With that being said, when he does work on the move he’s a threat with the ball in his hands. Here, he can threaten the edge pulling underneath defenders down to bite on him scrambling to find his man downfield in the soft spot or if the defender doesn’t bite down he can pull the ball down to scramble putting his foot quicks on display. What I’m interested in is his ability to buy second chances develops over the years as he can currently make something out of nothing. He does so by evading the rushing defenders showcasing his elusiveness before getting the ball off under pressure on the move and off platform to keep the chains moving. One area of improvement for Mr. Chahino is at times he tends to loft the ball on deep shots downfield. This was seen a few times when he would force the ball downfield to get the ball off under pressure and at times doing it as a cross-body throw. With that being said, even though he’ll loft the ball at times he’s still able to use his arm strength to give his receiver a chance of securing the 50/50 ball. His ability to get the ball off under pressure with a defender in his face is one to keep an eye on, if he’s able to improve his accuracy and add more control to his arm strength it will only improve his game.
Harley Rizzs Harley Rizzs 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB St. Laurence | 2025 IL / St. Laurence / 5’10 165 RB / Twitter
Mr. Rizzs took his snaps on JV as a halfback this last fall season and recently qualified for F/S Nationals in track for the 60m dash. This young man has the foot quicks to get through the line of scrimmage and once he does he has the ability to not only gain a step on the second-level defenders but also outrun the pursuit angles breaking a long run in the process. He does have some elusiveness to him as he showcases the ability to make the first defender miss in open space as well as being able to weave in/out of defenders. This young man is also utilized in the return game where once he finds the alley and hits it he’s off to the races using his foot quicks to return it for six. Throughout his film, Mr. Rizzs does provide glimpses of having the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackles where once he breaks free there’s no catching him as he bolts into the endzone. Moral of the story, this young man has impressive foot quicks that has the ability to break long runs and gash the defense if you aren’t able to bring him down before he gets into open space. With that being said, if you decide to clog the front side running lane he can plant his foot to hit the cutback lane gaining positive yards on the play and keeping the chains moving. All in all, his ability to change gears quickly hitting top speed with his foot quicks are impressive as he’s more of an N/S runner and speed back style runner. At times he can break weak grab tackles but not on a consistent basis, if he’s able to improve in this area of his game he’s only going to add to the threat he poses.
Jack Ferguson Jack Ferguson 5'9" | 145 lbs | QB Yorkville | 2025 IL / Yorkville / 5’6 130 DB / Twitter
Mr. Ferguson plays safety and took his snaps on JV this last fall season. When this young man is a single high safety in zone coverage, he provides insight into his ability to read the quarterback’s eyes which helps put him in a position to make a play on the ball coming away with either interceptions or pass breakups. With that being said, he does have the ability to undercut the route across the middle of the field coming from the single high look coming away with the interception. He can also dive to secure the interception as well on an overthrown ball from the opposing quarterback providing glimpses into his ability to track the ball. At times, once he secures the interception he does tend to dance as opposed to getting vertical to gain extra yards on the play while at others he’ll do the complete opposite getting vertical using his foot quicks to his advantage. On the JV level, Mr. Ferguson does a good job of playing the ball over the man which allows him to come away with big plays for his defense. This young man’s ability to cover sideline to sideline is one to keep an eye on as he currently possesses plus skillset in this area as an incoming sophomore – depending on how he continues to develop he could very well turn into a top ball-hawking safety when his high school career is all said and done. In terms of run support, Mr. Ferguson provides glimpses of triggering downhill to play the alley securing the open field tackle. I’m interested to see more in this area of his game with how consistent he can be coming down in run support to secure the tackle on the perimeter and in open space.
Myles Mitchell Myles Mitchell 5'10" | 195 lbs | RB Richards | 2025 State IL / Richards / 5’11 175 RB / Twitter
Mr. Mitchell took his snaps on JV this last fall season as a halfback that provides glimpses of his foot quicks through the hole and his ability to get towards the sideline to break a long run. Once he gets into open space, it’s hard to catch him to bring him down at this level as he outruns the pursuit angles. If the front side running lane is clogged he showcases the ability to hit the cutback lane and at times can break a long run when doing so. On outside the tackle runs, this young man does have the lateral quickness to turn the corner before getting vertical where he can either gain the step on the second-level defenders to break a long run or will gain enough yards to keep the chains moving/staying ahead of the sticks. Mr. Mitchell’s jump cuts are deadly as he can turn a play where he’s met in the backfield for a touchdown after making three defenders miss and getting vertical quickly upon doing so – an impressive clip to say the least. At times, he can also line up as a wildcat quarterback where he can either run the option as well as student body as a different way to put the ball into his playmaking hands. Now, I do have to mention that he does also provide glimpses of fighting for extra yards by keeping his feet driving upon receiving contact from the defender. I’m interested to see how this skill set develops and if he molds into more of a speed back or power back – or maybe even a balance of both.
Danny Heidkamp Danny Heidkamp 5'11" | 185 lbs | RB St. Ignatius | 2025 IL / St. Ignatius / 5’10 180 RB / Twitter
Mr. Heidkamp is a fullback that took his snaps on JV this last fall season and he doesn’t have a big pool of film to shift through. In his one game highlight tape, he does provide insight into his foot quicks which he uses to get through the line of scrimmage quickly once he secures the handoff and at times he can break a long run when he stays N/S. If you think you’re going to bring him down upon first contact consistently you have another thing coming as Mr. Heidkamp keeps his feet driving as he doesn’t go down easily by fighting for extra yards. This young man is a hard downhill style runner that has the ability to run through defenders as well. As I said, he only has a one-game highlight tape so the pool of film is limited. With that being said, in the one game highlight tape you do get a sense of the downhill runner that this young man is and the potential that he has heading into his Sophomore Season Campaign. I’m interested to see how he fairs as a lead blocker in the run game as well as how he’s utilized in the air attack (pass protection or is he going to be utilized going out on routes).
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