Unbelievably Underrated: Part 1

Sometimes I have to shake my head. There are so many talented players in this state that aren’t being recognized for their efforts and potential that it makes me question my sanity. “What am I not getting?” I ask myself. I’ve seen players with stars next to their names that aren’t as good as the players in this article. I stand by that. I hope this starts them to getting the recognition they deserve. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="146658" first="Michael" last="Miller"], Jr., QB, Sommerville HS, NJ</strong></span> At 6’3, 190 pounds Michael is a model for the modern College quarterback. He throws a great deep ball with nice touch over the middle and leads his receivers for yards after the catch. He shows a quick release and the velocity to lead slant and seam routes and isn’t afraid to put a pass on the money in traffic. And Mike can run. Not just mobile quarterback, I mean threat to take it to the house! That makes him even more dangerous in the scramble as he keeps his eyes downfield and is surprisingly accurate on the run. Michael accounted for 16 touchdowns and three more on the ground while leading his team to an overall 9-3 record, including a win vs. Rahway in the Group 3 quarterfinals last season. [embed]https://twitter.com/VilleFootball/status/1339005819120201732[/embed] <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/6160144/Michael-Miller/about">https://www.hudl.com/profile/6160144/Michael-Miller/about</a> &nbsp; <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="270989" first="Joey" last="Lis"], Jr., DB, Ramsey HS, NJ<img class="size-medium wp-image-269872 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/01/4-Joey-Lis-e1657193561430-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></span></strong> It’s time to put some respect on Joey’s name. Joey’s film within the first 5 plays exhibits elite agility, recovery and ball skills. He has fantastic timing, maintaining his leverage and then, while the ball is in the air making a play on the pass. Most DB film shows interceptions on underthrown or overthrown passes. Joey’s interceptions and knockdowns are against well thrown passes and well positioned receivers. He’s just that much better than they are. On offense he lines up at RB, catching passes out of the backfield and breaking ankles on the outside toss and he’s a great weapon in the return game as well. You heard it her first. When the 2022 football season is over, [player_tooltip player_id="270989" first="Joey" last="Lis"] WILL be one of the top ranked DBs in the state! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13052211/Joey-Lis/highlights">https://www.hudl.com/profile/13052211/Joey-Lis/highlights</a> &nbsp; <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="183632" first="JoJo" last="Bivins"], Jr., RB, Barnegate HS, NJ</span></strong> Yes, he had 1356 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns last season, but it’s the way he got the yards that makes Jojo a problem. Jojo is not just quick. Jojo could run through a car wash and not get wet. He’s fast enough to beat you to the edge, but he’s also quick enough to cut back multiple times in a run and get into the open field. He breaks pursuit angles and accelerates through tiny holes in the defense. Several times I had to run back the film to figure how he didn’t get tackled. Whatever college gets him will get an immediate impact player in the return game and a running back that will give defensive coordinators fits. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14338660/Joseph-Bivins/about">https://www.hudl.com/profile/14338660/Joseph-Bivins/about</a> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="183661" first="Ihsim" last="Smith-Marsette"], Jr., WR, RB, P, DB, QB, Weequahic HS, NJ</strong></span> What you see above isn’t not a typo. He really does all of those things. Yes, really well… Yes, I am serious. I had to watch his film several times just to make sure I was seeing this right. He has fantastic speed in the open field, running several kickoffs back for touchdowns and since he’s also the punter he ran 2 fake punts back for touchdowns as well. At WR, he is a homerun threat at any time to take short hitches and out routes for long gains using just insane acceleration and agility. He lines up as a wildcat QB as an added threat out of the backfield and he is a big hitter from the safety position as well causing multiple fumbles. I was especially impressed by how many solo, touchdown saving tackles he made in the open field. Ihsim is probably somewhere learning yet another position or maybe he’ll just coach the team next year too. His film is truly special. &nbsp; <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13434009/Ihsim-SmithMarsette/about">https://www.hudl.com/profile/13434009/Ihsim-SmithMarsette/about</a> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;