Under-appreciated Prospects Who Should Be Strong College Recruits
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To be a defensive standout means more than to just make highlight hits, intercept passes, and force fumbles. Defensive standouts must be sound on a down-to-down basis and have mastered the fundamentals of their position. This next batch of prospects…
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Continue ReadingTo be a defensive standout means more than to just make highlight hits, intercept passes, and force fumbles. Defensive standouts must be sound on a down-to-down basis and have mastered the fundamentals of their position. This next batch of prospects features three LBs and one DB who are strong performers for their respective teams. We also included a dual-threat QB in there too, for those readers who tend to favor the offense. One thing all these athletes have in common? They all hail from the Big Central Conference’s United Silver Division.
Tyrece Parrott Tyrece Parrott 5'11" | 175 lbs | ATH Carteret | 2024 NJ
Tyrece Parrott Tyrece Parrott 5'11" | 175 lbs | ATH Carteret | 2024 NJ
The Carteret Rambler’s offense rambles as their QB Tyrece Parrott Tyrece Parrott 5’11” | 175 lbs | ATH Carteret | 2024 NJ does. The dual-threat QB is listed at 160lbs and was credited statistically with 1501 passing yards, 18 TDs, 9 Ints while completing 93 of 146 passes. He slashed 75/433/4 rushing, made 9 tackles on defense, and converted two, two-point conversions. In a pinch he has also played safety and plays hoops for Carteret too.
As a QB what I like about Parrott the most is that he actually reads the defense and understands his offense’s schematic attack. This is evidenced when he takes advantage of defenses by playing a simple pitch-and-catch with wide open receivers, because they do not communicate route concepts that put one of their defenders in a bind. An underrated element to a dual-threat QB’s arsenal is the ability to throw across their body. Parrott has made a number of big plays moving to his left and hitting receivers in stride for big gainers. The threat of him keeping the ball aids him. As he moves around in the pocket he does himself a favor by opening up throwing lanes to complete easy passes. Parrott leverages the pump fake well and is a determined runner. He acts as if he is a RB, not a QB, when running the ball. Parrott likes to air it out, and deservedly so, as he constantly hits receivers with the deep ball in stride. What will make Parrott even more devastating is a slightly quicker throwing motion. If he starts throwing sudden bullets through tight windows, well then, as we say in Jersey – fuhgeddaboudit.
Aided by his athleticism there are so many things that Parrott does so well. However, make no mistake about it: he is a QB who is athletic, not just an athletic QB.
Nfii Bannavti
Nfii Bannavti
The North Plainfield Canucks season did not go as planned, but one defense standout gave new meaning to “‘nuck if you buck.” That contributor was the 6 foot, 200lb linebacker and basketball star Nfii Bannavti. For the season he was credited with 39 tackles, 15 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 FR, and 1 blocked punt in six games worth of stats. Mostly lining up at LB, Bannavti also took snaps at DT.
One thing Bannavti has done really well, which can cause a lot of frustration for opposing offenses, is how he plays the read-option. He delays his pursuit, which causes the QB to hesitate and be indecisive for just a moment, without giving up Bannavti’s leverage to play either the give or the keep. When playing the run, Bannavti does a great job of engaging, pressing blockers off of him, and shedding blocks to make plays either at the point of attack or scraping down the LOS from the backside. He also seems to have a good vertical leap, as evidenced when he blocked a punt and deflects passes. Bannavti needs to trust his eyes by keying in on what he sees in front of him. I would also like to have seen more clips of him in pass coverage.
The road the 2023 Canucks are about to embark on, the road to redemption, is not an easy one to travel. However, with Bannavti spearheading their defense it just got that much easier.
Adam Bowles
Adam Bowles
With more than a few defensive standouts (AJ Perales and Patrick Smith Patrick Smith 5’9″ | 150 lbs | RB South Plainfield | 2024 NJ ) lining up for the South Plainfield Tigers, the defender that is most likely to pounce on you is probably LB Adam Bowles. A wrestler, this 6 foot 180lb mike backer made 147 tackles (7.5 TFL), 1 sack, 5 hurries, 3 Ints, and 5 FF. He also rushed 4 times for 27 yards.
Bowles is a fundamentally sound LB who has coaches reminder, “read your keys,” engraved in his conscious. He is a bit of a throwback LB too, where he consistently hits and wraps, drives and lifts, then dumps ball carriers on their back. For whatever reason, Bowels has a knack for knocking the ball loose – whether it be with a limb, crown of his helmet, or through the inertia of contact – the ball finds its way on the ground. He reacts to tipped balls in the air very well and if there was a real-life tiger on the field, he would probably try to chase it down for a tackle too. Right now he seems to react more instinctively to pin-and-pull/gap scheme teams rather than zone scheme teams; however, versus zone plays, he does react quickly to the cutback and is fast in pursuit to the ball.
With a trifecta of returning, impact players at all three levels of the defense, South Plainfield looks to improve upon their 8-1 campaign with a deep state playoff run this coming fall.
Antwaun Jackson
Antwaun Jackson
Size and speed is a recipie to become a game breaker. That is exactly how you would describe this next athlete and, to no coincidence, that is exactly what he does to the game. Coming in at 6’3″ and 190lbs is Carteret’s stud LB Antwaun Jackson. Although he “just” made 75 tackles for the season, 19 of those tackles were for a loss. He registered 10 sacks, 8 QB hurries, 17 QB hits, 1 FR, 2 FF, 1 safety, and scored 1 defensive TD. Yes, I would say that stat line qualifies anyone as a game breaker.
Blessed with speed, this what Jackson relies on to beat OT’s around the corner for all his sacks, hurries, and QB hits. Many times, slow prodding tackles do not even get hands on him. Also blessed with size, Jackson absolutely merks much smaller RBs left to pick him up in pass protection. At a coaches clinic a few years ago a coach said that “a sack alone is a selfish act.” Not sure if Jackson or his coaches were there that day, but Jackson must have gotten the message. When he closes in on the QB or ball carrier, he is looking to make a play on the ball, dislodging it from its carrier. Whether it is front size, back side, or chasing down, his long wingspan allows him to always be in position to try to strip the ball. When playing the run he is quick to the point that he beats defenders into the gap and knifes through to either make a play or pursue it. In line with this, when taking on pullers he plays with the correct leverage and keeps his inside arm free to make a tackle. Jackson will expound upon his current numbers should he work his hands in all phases of defense. Should he, no defenders will be able to block him. Seeing how good he is as a pass rusher and run stopper, I imagine Carteret schemes him this way; however if he wants to continue to play LB in college (because he is undoubtedly going to play in college if he chooses to), we want to see clips of him in pass coverage.
Jackson is truly a diamond-in-the-rough type of prospect. His combination of size, speed, savvy, and production will make him a quick riser and a prospect to key our eyes glued to in 2023.
Lamar Stevenson Lamar Stevenson 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 NJ
Lamar Stevenson Lamar Stevenson 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 NJ
JP Stevens has struggled on the gridiron in recent years; however, one player from the class of 2024 is doing his best to turn around the Hawks fortunes. Flying downhill from his safety position is the 6 foot, 160 pounder Lamar Stevenson Lamar Stevenson 6’0″ | 170 lbs | DB St. Thomas Aquinas | 2024 NJ . Stevenson was only credited with 2 carries for 40 yards, 4 catches for 115 yards with 1 TD, and no defensive stats in 2022. After watching his film, his reported stats are severely under reported, for quickly I noted 1 blocked kick and 1 FF.
As a WR Stevenson has the speed to get behind defenders playing off in coverage. Similarly he beats receivers in press coverage too, on his way to making acrobatic catches on deep balls. One thing that makes Stevenson dynamic as an offensive threat is that seems faster when the ball is in his hands. Additionally, he seems to have a second speed when bursting through the hole. Out of a cover 2 set, Stevenson will cover the number 2 receiver when twins are to his side. He is a physical tackler who takes strong angles of pursuit to tackle the ball carrier. When he rallies to the pile, he comes in full force cleaning it up and pushing in back. Stevenson’s game will jump to another level if he can open up his hip flexors a bit more, making for more fluid movements. His film will benefit from more clips of him in coverage.
Stevenson’s play is definitely part of the answer at JP Stevens. I hope that his intangibles serve as an agent of change to the culture and direction of the Hawks.