Under The Radar Prospects: Stanislaus County

&nbsp; <strong>SS/OLB [player_tooltip player_id="25420" first="Jaelen" last="Nichols"], Central Catholic-Modesto HS</strong> <em>Nichols is a very under-recruited athlete that has ideal size and closing speed for the outside linebacker/strong safety position in college. He is very comfortable in space and moves well laterally while having a nice trigger and open field tackling abilities especially when getting into the backfield. He can shock bigger blockers and wins with pad level and pure strength at the POA. With the ball in his hands, he offers some return abilities and open field speed with the ability to take it the distance. </em> &nbsp; <strong>DB [player_tooltip player_id="273623" first="Brooklyn" last="Cheek"], Central Catholic-Modesto HS</strong> <em>Cheek is one of the top young defensive backs across the state but has nice length and natural ball skills in the back end especially when high pointing in traffic. In his pedal, he is smooth and has fluid hips in transition while long enough to offer recovery ability if beat and is not afraid to come up and take on bigger backs in the box. Cheek is a no brainer FBS talent and should collect his first power five offer sooner rather than later as he is one of the top safeties in all of Norcal. </em> &nbsp; <strong>RB J.T Foreman, Turlock HS</strong> <em>Foreman has put together a very nice off-season and is an angry downhill runner with great physicality and vision in traffic while he goes through the first level. He has a natural lean in traffic and is always falling forward while gaining the tough yards through out the entire game. Out of the backfield, he is a natural pass catcher with strong hands in traffic and can make tough catches from various body angles while on the run. Holding an offer from Buffalo, he should see more western region interest come his way in the coming months. </em> &nbsp; <strong>QB Cole Gilbert, Turlock HS</strong> <em>Gilbert is a very under-rated athletic passer who seems comfortable moving around in the pocket and delivering the ball downfield on the run. He can fit the ball into tight windows and throws his receivers open while showing nice ball placement on intermediate and deep throws. He can run if needed and understands keeping his eyes downfield while working through his progressions but is not afraid to take off running if needed. Gilbert has put together a very nice second half of his high school career and should continue to be a top signal caller across the valley in 2022. </em> &nbsp; <strong>ILB Kai Brazil, Orestimba HS</strong> <em>Brazil is a throwback thumper that can no doubt play at some level in college and positively contribute. He reads plays quickly while shooting the gap well and shows good closing speed and open field tracking/tackling abilities. He plays with heavy hands and a low pad level at the shock and shows nice pursuit backside in the open field. While scraping over the top, he can sift through traffic and run through pullers while also showing some strong cover abilities against bigger receivers and backs. </em> &nbsp; <strong>RB/LB Lolo Mataele, Patterson HS</strong> <em>Mataele is a punishing runner that gets vertical quickly and runs through first and second level contact while never going down by the first defender. Although not overly fast in the open field, he is patient with the ball in his hands and fins the crease while also able to play linebacker as well. A two-way thumper who runs through everyone, he is the leader of a very talented and tough Patterson squad who should have a successful 2022 season. </em>