Players That Stood Out From Winter Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I enjoyed watching every player compete last Sunday at our showcase in Shelby Township. There were many good football players there who stood out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='533709' first='Kellen' last='Russell-Dixon'] | RB | Grand Rapids Catholic Central | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jy5pS">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Russell-Dixon ran a very good 40-time, clocking an impressive 4.57. I loved how Russell-Dixon was always at the front of the line ready to go for every drill. He did a great job in one-on-ones and won most of them. He has very good hands and did a good job of catching the ball and quickly tucking it securely. Russell-Dixon had a great year for <strong>Grand Rapids Catholic Central </strong>in 2022 and will look to have another stellar year in 2023. He is a true competitor who I would take on my football team any day of the week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Justin Giffin | DB | Utica | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14850323/6356aecd578e970b2cf231bd">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Giffin did a great job Sunday. He was very good in defensive back drills and showed a lot of ability. He has a fluid backpedal and did a good job of staying deeper than wide receivers in one-on-one drills. There were just a few defensive backs total so they were getting a lot of reps in drills. Giffin was giving full effort on every rep and showed good endurance. Giffin plays running back as well and had a great year in 2023. He has very good speed and has shown the ability to fly past defenders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='551278' first='Elijah' last='Jones'] | RB | East Kentwood | <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jtxqt">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones did a great job in drills. He is a good route runner who has good hands as well. Jones was good in one-on-ones and did a great job of competing all day. Jones made a lot of defenders miss in 2022 and will look to continue that great work in 2023. Jones enters only his junior year next season and I look forward to watching him play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Connor O'Rourke | WR | Mattawan | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15830888/6320bb9f2ab0d90ed4e89c3d">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>O'Rourke looked really good going through drills. Like Russell-Dixon, O'Rourke was always towards the front of the line ready to compete on every rep. He has very good hands and had very few drops on the day. He won most of the one-on-ones and showed how great of a route runner he is. O'Rourke is a great athlete who adjusts well to football. He enters his Junior year in 2023 and will look to improve his already impressive skill set. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='327835' first='Zak' last='Olejniczak'] | QB | Lapeer | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11896943/6361923d64decd03c026ef92">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olejniczak can really put some zip on the football. He has the very good arm strength and throws the ball very accurately. Olejniczak is a very good athlete who posted impressive testing numbers. Olejniczak ran a 4.50 40-yard dash. He was right on target with nearly every throw to the wide receivers. He showed a lot of competitiveness and was working to get as many reps as he could. Olejniczak was not only a standout of the quarterbacks he may have been the top performer overall Sunday. He had a really good year for Lapeer as a junior and will look to lead <strong>Lapeer</strong> to a state title in 2023. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->