Al Pops’ Class of 2027 Prospect Evaluations – 11/15

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are somehow at the midway point November and middle school football seasons are reaching the later stages, or in some states, has already wrapped up. The prospect landscape is starting to become clearer and below is a look at some class of 2027 prospects (athletes in their eighth-grade school year) that have come across my desk. As football recruiting and evaluating continues to change, the eighth-grade season is becoming a pivotal time for young athletes to garner early attention from Universities. Here's a look at some prospects that are on the trajectory to be playing a high level of football for years to come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["513380"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"When evaluating Offensive and Defensive Linemen on the pre-high school level, it's often the most difficult position of any on the field. Size goes a long way in football, and it's proven to be u003cemu003etheu003c/emu003e most non-negotiable factor for looking at the big guys up front. That said, size is not something 6-foot-4 and 225-pound [player_tooltip player_id='513380' first='Will' last='Clausen'] should ever have to worry about. The Benton Community Middle School eighth-grader is one to get very excited about in the state of Iowa. His father (Jeff Clausen) stands 6-foot-7 and was a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers teams of the mid-late 90's that won a pair of National Championships and his mother (Erin Clausen) also appears to be near that 6-foot height. Unlike most big linemen at this stage, Clausen isn't just a big body that gets in the wayu002du002dhe's a significant athlete that also wrestles, plays baseball and basketball, and throws the shot put and discuss in track and field. Once Clausen starts to add significant weight to his frame, he looks to be a surefire Power 5 prospect.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["485603"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Ellis is a 6-foot, 160-pound Athlete that has some of the best body control in an eighth-grade prospect that I've seen in this 2027 class. Whether he's sitting and reading as a Defensive Back getting ready to go snatch an errant pass out of the air or if he's line up as a Wide Receiver going one-on-one in the corner of the end zone, Ellis can twist and turn his body to get in the right position. On top of the body control he's blessed with hands that don't drop footballs very often. He makes even the most difficult catches look easy, which isn't something that can be said for many athletes out there. A third aspect of his game I like after watching his film, he plays like every snap is an opportunity to scored a touchdown. He's a very fast and agile kid so after he secures the catch, he's immediately darting down field and looking to turn it into six. He's part of a very special group headed to Crowley High School, where by my count right now, they'll have at least four other athletes who end up making the 2027 National Watch List.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["513986"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"The longer I evaluate middle school prospects, the more geographic trends I see. For example, a lot of pre-high school athletes in the state of Louisiana, who stand out on the football field, also shine on the baseball diamond as well. That's the exact situation with Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='513986' first='Lane' last='Billings'] out of the Live Oak Junior High School in Denham Springs. At 6-foot-1 and 170-pounds, Billings is simply an all-around athletic looking good that needs to be accounted for. On the football field he plays Linebacker and Tight End, excelling on both sides of the ball. After watching some clips of him play, albeit only a few, I love the closing speed he plays the Linebacker position with. He gets from point A to point B with very few wasted steps, and really brings a thud when he arrives. Plays the position with such quickness and awareness, it's like having another Defensive Back on the field. Very exciting to watch. All that said, even a non-baseball guy like myself can tell that baseball is his number one sport right now. He's a Catcher/Pitcher that travels the country playing and is widely considered one of the top prospects in the country. Per PerfectGame, as of September he was ranked as the No.1 Catcher in Louisiana and the No.4 overall prospect. Exciting future here.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["514044"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"In a state and region where private schools rule the roost, Fort Hills High School, a public high school in Maryland, currently sits 11-1 and ranked No.15 in the state (4th if you remove private schools) as they head into the playoffs. Looking ahead to next year, the Sentinels will likely get the services of current eighth-grader Caron Bend, who has recently wrapped up a tremendous youth football career. The 5-foot-10, 155-pound Bend was recently named MVP of the Cumberland Area Youth Football League for the second season in a row. In evaluating his film it's easy to see why he earned those honors as he ran through, over and around opposing teams all year long as Running Back and was handing out snot bubble-causing hits like they were Halloween candy as a Linebacker. Living two hours west of Baltimore and less than 15 minutes to the Pennsylvania border, the competition he played against was far from the most competitive, when looking comparatively around the country. That said, Bend did exactly what he should have done, and was untouchable on the field. His older brother Lance Bender is a 2023 prospect currently getting looks from a few lower level college programs.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["514144"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"It doesn't matter what sport an athlete is playing, nor does it matter what classification or what state state, if he or she is an eighth-grader playing on the varsity level, it's something to take note of. That's the case with 6-foot-2, 270-pound 2027 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='514144' first='Mason' last='Thomas'] out of Jacksonville, Florida who spent this season playing for the North Florida Educational Institute Fighting Eagles. Thomas is a two-way lineman that played Guard along the offensive front and Defensive Tackle on defense. His play on the defensive side of the ball, has me very excited. He's an active Defensive Lineman who lines up in a menacing four-point stance and is very quick off the snap. Thomas does a nice job of shooting his hands and getting his paws on the Offensive Lineman, dictating his post-snap movement before the would-be blocker can start to execute his block. Watching his film you can see that while he physically reacts quickly, he's also reacting mentally and does a good job of feeling blocks coming and positioning himself to defeat them. For more of an interior player, he does a nice job of getting pressure up the gut on the Quarterback but is also in control enough to find the ball on running plays. There is big time potential for big [player_tooltip player_id='514144' first='Mason' last='Thomas'].","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["483197"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"I love an athletic family where the good genes are shared. A month or so ago we wrote about 2027 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='466870' first='Dallas' last='Moody'] out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and his do-it-all ability on the football field. When going through some film, I just happened to come across (who I later found to be) his cousin, [player_tooltip player_id='483197' first='Lundon' last='Hampton'] who is also a 2027 prospect from Michigan that recruiting fans should know early. At 6-foot-1 and 170-pounds, the future Lumen Christi Catholic star was clearly the alpha male on his eighth-grade team this past season. Primarily playing Running Back and Linebacker, it wasn't a difficult task to figure out who was getting the ball on offense and who to run away from, on defense. It doesn't take a football genius to watch a kid like Hampton and know he has the potential to be special. His long legs allowed him to routinely outrun everybody on the field, his full body strength and twitch allowed for him to move and react quicker and his dominating ability made others gravitate towards him. Football isn't the only activity he's elite at. On the basketball court, he's already dunking with ease and even dropped 27 points along with 15 boards at the CP3 Top 40 game. Did I mention this renaissance kid also loves photography? Hampton is a great all-around student-athlete who should have a lot of opportunities and open doors in his future.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["514252"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"I've never met Doyle in person and don't know much about him other than what I see on tape, but what I see is some guy I'd want walking with me down a dark alley. At 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds he is a super athletic-looking Offensive Guard that plays this game with an attitude. Part of a massive Oxford Middle School Offensive Line in Mississippi, Doyle appeared to be the unquestioned leader up front and had no problem letting people know about it. The big man lined up primarily at Left Guard and was asked to pull and lead, kick out and trap defenders very frequently. It's one thing to be able to pull or down block on some bigger, slower interior Defensive Tackles; However Doyle was pulling and getting up to the next level, forcing the significantly smaller Defensive Backs and Linebackers to make a business decision when they saw #60 coming their way. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a big fan of the attitude he plays the game with. He plays to-and-through the whistle, while finishing his blocks. Simply put, he has the mean streak all Offensive Linemen need to be great.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":7,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","anchor":"acf-block-65c55668292e6"} /-->