Kyle’s Hot Takes – 2022 Season
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Damarius Russell POS ATH CLASS 2025 Damarius Russell School: Waseca Damarius is high on my hot takes as this young athlete shows immense potential to be something special over the remainder of his high school career and beyond. This young…
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Continue ReadingDamarius Russell
Damarius Russell
Damarius is high on my hot takes as this young athlete shows immense potential to be something special over the remainder of his high school career and beyond. This young man was a freshman starter for Waseca at the cornerback position but played all over the field wherever he was needed, further exemplifying his hunger to play and assist his team wherever possible. Damarius shows extraordinary speed and an enormous amount of quickness out of the break as he sticks to the offensive players’ hips. An imperative quality to being a successful cornerback is someone who shows good hands, and this is something that Damarius clearly shows he withholds from anyone who watches him. Upon speaking with one of Damarius’ coaches, I was able to find out that Damarius is a player who epitomizes the willingness to be coached, a trait that truly is music to many coaches’ ears. This young man is bound to make a plethora of plays for Waseca in the coming years and is high on my list of athletes. I am excited to see him grow. Look for this young man to be high on many coaches’ radars as his career progresses.
Opposing teams have their hands full trying to block Bobby over the next two years as this young man is an all-around great defensive lineman with time to continue to grow. Bobby shows excellent speed off the defensive line with tremendous explosiveness out of his stance. This young man gives offensive lineman fits with his ability to extend his arms and get separation between himself and opposing lineman, where he then shows great football smarts to sit low in his hips and read plays to react. Bobby shows quick hip movement where he can respond to offensive ball handlers’ movements on a dime and stop the plays. This young man sheds offensive blocks like a cold in the springtime and gets after the offense’s plays so fast it’s astonishing. When Bobby gets into the backfield, he has the smarts to get low and read the plays, where he then is great at pursuing the ball flat down the line. This defensive lineman, who is aggressive enough to strike fear in most offensive linemen, has a plethora of excellent skills that will see him playing far into the future. Look for Bobby to be wreaking havoc for the Governors over the next two seasons.
Trent is an offensive lineman who withholds the quickness to be a pulling player from his center position, something that is somewhat of an anomaly at the prep level. This young athlete is a center who explodes off the ball and keeps his shoulder pad level really low, which aids him in getting underneath the defensive lineman’s pads, where he then shows the ability to lift them off of their feet. Trent is a highly aggressive player on the field and looks to finish every block he engages in. Trent has the great gift of being able to get into the defensive lineman’s chest and turn them away from the offensive play’s direction, effectively controlling most defensive lineman he engages with. The one thing I look for Trent to work on developing in his senior year is his pass block and continuing to pound his feet through his blocks. Overall, this young man is the anchor for the Albany offensive line, and he is a great one who will no doubt be making some great blocks this year.
Highlights
Kale Mensink
Kale Mensink
Kale is a monster at the DB position in the way that he demonstrates the competence to take advantage of his quarterback knowledge that he withholds to break down offensive plays and react. This young man knows what the opposing offenses are doing, and he takes advantage of that by going for interceptions left and right. Alongside his awareness of what the offenses are doing in front of him, Kale’s intercepting capabilities are further enhanced by the speed that he retains to track down the ball when it is in the air. Simply put, Kale is fast enough to close on the ball from any point on the field. Even though this young man plays quarterback for the offense and defensive back on the other side of the ball, this young man is not afraid to come downhill and lay a big hit. Kale shows great hips while playing defensive back and is able to shift on a dime to stay in the offensive players’ space. Kingsland has a great ball player on their hands who will certainly be making a lot of plays for them this upcoming season.
Old school, neck roll wearing, seek and destroy kind of player who lives up to the legacy that is the neck roll; Dylan is a player who makes his presence known in the middle of the field. The Warriors have a middle linebacker in Dylan, who plays the game with an immensely high level of football IQ and is fully capable of dropping back to disrupt passing plays. However, Dylans appears to be the kind of player who is critically feared in the middle of the field when he is coming downhill towards the offense line. Dylan’s outstanding vision, along with his high football IQ, causes him to be seen in the mix of most plays and frequently hit-sticking the ball carrier into the turf. Dylan exemplifies the kind of controlled aggressiveness most coaches hope to see in their linebackers. Dylan’s control sees him breaking down plays tremendously well and breaking on the ball to make the defensive play. This rising junior has a wonderful base of skills that I expect to grow into something special as he progresses on to play at the next level. Brainerd is in good hands over the next two years with Dylan anchoring the defense.