Marquette vs Hazelwood West: Top prospects & Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was on the sideline for the meeting of the Marquette Mustangs as they traveled to Hazelwood West as they battled each other on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs feature a couple of D1 prospects and the Wildcats were young and undermanned but have some youngsters with potential. Here are my thoughts on the top prospects and performers I witnessed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MARQUETTE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='37700' first='Alex' last='Bray'] | 2023 | 6'4" 252 | DE |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":492971,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Marquette-vs-Hazelwood-West-152.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-492971" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The talented D1 prospect lived up to his statue as one of the top defensive line prospects in the state of Missouri in his senior class. He was too much for the Wildcats left tackle to handle and was a disruptive force for the entire half the he played in the blowout. Bray used his speed and strength to make plays in the backfield, including a nice strip sack that led to a Marquette score. He's one of the top athlete's among the DLs in the 2023 Missouri class and Illinois recognized his talents with a recent offer, which he accepted and committed to this week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='300258' first='Gavin' last='Marsh'] | WR | 5'11" 170 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":493006,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Boom-Media-Day-050.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493006" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top WR talents in the state of Missouri had three catches, of which two went for touchdowns, for 56 yards in a half of play as the game got out of hand early. Marsh has all the skills you look for in a receiver with his hands, speed, quickness and overall football knowledge of how to play the position and game. I can count with one finger the number of times I have seen Marsh not catch a ball that was in his vicinity. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='207474' first='Jack' last='Ahlbrand'] | 2023 | 6'2" 200 | QB |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":493118,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Boom-Media-Day-054.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493118" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The heady QB had a short workday but made the most of it throwing for 3 touchdowns on 6 of 13 passing and 70 yards in only a half of football. Ahlbrand has a big arm and quick delivery which he used to hit his receivers with on a windy day. He's a big physical QB who can also run the ball well but it wasn't needed against the Wildcats. Jack does a nice job with his leadership and running the offense. He was a top QB with Boom 7v7 in the offseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='314814' first='Justin' last='Jackson'] | 2023 | 5'11" 190 | RB |</strong><br>The rock steady Jackson was too much for the Wildcats in the first half carrying the ball 10 times for 146 yards. Jackson is a nice combo of speed and power that was hard for the defense to bring down and needed multiple tacklers to stop him. Justin is primarily a North/South style runner but has good speed to be able to break one for long runs of take it to the house, </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HAZELWOOD WEST</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Amari Coleman | 2024 | 6'1" 175 | QB |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":493123,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Marquette-vs-Hazelwood-West-163.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493123" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coleman may have been the best overall athlete on the field at his quarterback and defensive back positions. It's a shame that he was injured and had to leave after the first half, but while Coleman was in there he displayed big time playmaking ability with his legs at QB and threw a nice ball in his limited passing attempts. He has really good speed and quickness with the ability to make people miss. On defense he contributed 4 tackles and covered a lot of round using the same athletic ability on that side of the ball. He projects to receiver or DB on the next level and is a player to watch over the next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Camran Boyd | 2025 | 5'11" 205 | RB/LB |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":493125,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Camran-Boyd.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493125" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore Boyd is another of West's top player and two-way standouts. He's a powerful runner between the tackles for the Wildcats who has a nice burst of speed and hits the hole quickly but also has the ability to make his own space with his strength and power as a runner. Camran was their leading tackler from his linebacker position with six and also contributed 25 yards rushing on 5 carries. He's a physical hitter who plugs the middle and can cover ground sideline to sideline.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1319003' first='Ahmir' last='Scott'] | 2025 | 6'3" 280 | DT | </strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":493124,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Marquette-vs-Hazelwood-West-154.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-493124" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scott played as a freshman at Cardinal Ritter last season at offensive line and is seeing a lot more action at NG/DT position at West. He's an athletic kid and with his size does a nice job requiring double teams and plugging the gap. I really liked him as an offensive lineman last year and we'll see if he moves to that side of the ball more, but he has the potential to be a player we hear more from along the defensive side of the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->