Week 9 Defensive Standouts
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D’Andre Kirkpatrick AL #35 DB #9 HEIGHT 5'11" WEIGHT 175 POS DB CLASS 2024 View Profile D’Andre Kirkpatrick Instagram Twitter State: Alabama School: Gadsden City Highlights Kirkpatrick island was a lonely place to be Friday night. With an interception and…
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Kirkpatrick island was a lonely place to be Friday night. With an interception and three deflections, he was the best corner we observed last week. Kirkpatrick showed excellent reaction time at the line of scrimmage, didn’t get beat on the release, and recovered when receivers broke off their routes. It’s clear he studies film and anticipates routes based on situations and formations at a high level. In phase, he’s excellent at closing the distance and squeezing receivers to the sideline. He also displayed Great ball skills and timing to make plays on the ball. With this dominant performance, it’s clear Kirkpatrick is one of the better man-to-man corners in the state and could be one of the best corners in the 2024 class.
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Woods was a force to be reckoned with a spectacular performance against Sparkman. His elite anticipation against the run led to him being a tackling machine and the heart of the defense. Wood did a tremendous job of limiting false steps and getting downhill with steam. With a strong frame he’s explosive on contact, and guys simply go down once he hits them. This in addition to him being fundamentally sound with wrapping up and maintaining his gap integrity, makes him a prototypical old-school linebacker with speed, tenacity, and instinct.
Highlights
Veasy seemed to be a man amongst boys in his game against Calera and was one of the best defensive linemen we observed last week. Veasy played with a high level of physicality and a bully mentality at the line of scrimmage. This mentality and his grown-man strength made him an anchor in the interior and a focal point of Gadsden City’s defense. Veasy consistently worked through blocks and moved guys where he wanted them to go, stood blockers up and clogged gaps and even won against double teams-which, which speaks to his motor and football character. In addition to his strength, Veasy showed a glimpse of quickness when jumping the gap and generating crucial QB pressure at the goal line.
Malik Brown
Malik Brown
Brown displayed his overall skill set in his match against Oxford. As a linebacker, he showed closing speed as a blitzer and a run-stopper on perimeter runs. However, his best skill was his ability to keep himself clean when offensive linemen advanced to the second level. Brown did a great job of staying alive and getting to the ball despite facing bigger blockers. Brown also lined up as a defensive end and showed exceptional get-off and hand movement at the line of scrimmage- making him a true two-level threat.
Jailyn Davis
Jailyn Davis
Despite being tested throughout the game against Prattville, Davis stepped up and proved he wasn’t the weak link of the defense. With tremendous tracking skills and area awareness, he Forced the opposing QB to make the perfect throw on most attempts aimed at him. Davis excelled at zone coverage, reading the QB to diagnose routes, and getting to the ball. Also, Davis has elite vertical explosion allows him to play bigger than his listed size- he does a great job of meeting receivers at the apex- making him an asset against 50/50 balls and goal line fades.