Familiar Faces Shine at Legacy

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yesterday, The Legacy Center kicked off Camp Season with the Midwest College Showcase. This event showcased athletes from all around Michigan, including a few players I'm very familiar with. This article will outline five familiar athletes who (expectedly) performed well! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LB | [player_tooltip player_id='652817' first='Gabe' last='Amid'] | 2024 | Zeeland East | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14840166/Gabriel-Amid/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every time I see Gabe in person, his stock rises. Every time he puts himself in front of college coaches, his stock rises. As an athlete, he's above average in most areas. I like his speed, lateral movement, and overall effort. In addition, he's a very reliable tackler and doesn't take too many risks on defense. In terms of skill, I'm confident he'll improve up to a Divison III level this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gabe's strengths transcend his athletic abilities, as his overall personality serves him incredibly well in his recruitment. During this event and our Prep Redzone Showcase, Gabe was extremely loose, talked to everyone, and joked around while still being locked in and focused. He also put himself at the front of the line during every drill. One Divison III coach told me he was incredibly impressed by Gabe's personality and considered him an amazing locker room guy and a culture fit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>WR | [player_tooltip player_id='610770' first='Jake' last='Vermaas'] | 2024 | South Christian (MVP) | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15040172/Jake-Vermaas/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was a lot of buzz around Jake from the moment he walked into the building. Nearly every college coach I talked to was very excited to see him perform, and it's apparent that more than a few programs have done their homework on Jake. Anyways, Jake was expectedly solid during this showcase. With the initial drills, I saw him volunteer to be at the front of the line every time and consistently looked very fast with few missteps. During the competition portion, he ran quite a bit of deep posts/corners/streaks etc, and was very trusted by his QBs. From the reps I saw, Jake consistently earned some separation and caught every semi-accurate ball thrown his way. He came away with yet the MVP, even though I think he had much higher highs during the last Legacy Showcase. With a great 2023 Fall Season, Jake is a Division 2 prospect! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>WR | [player_tooltip player_id='305339' first='Connor' last='ORourke'] | 2025 | Mattawan | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15830888/CONNOR-ORourke/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No surprises here, but Connor showcased his skills well. The majority of my viewing of Connor came in the first half of the showcase, and he was among the most athletic receivers there. I've always been impressed by Connor's commitment to improvement and to getting his name out there. He has really impressive change of direction, flashes of great hands, and an immense will to improve. Now that I think of it, I think Connor has great potential as a defensive back as well as receiver. I'm looking forward to seeing his testing results! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>DB | [player_tooltip player_id='200351' first='Emil' last='Burton'] | 2024 | Romulus (Runner-up) | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15074956/Emil-Burton/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emil has been a guy that's always been on my radar, but I hadn't ever looked extremely deep into him. So, needless to say it was a pleasant surprise to see him be recognized as DB Runner-Up. This exemplifies his overall ability in man coverage. I honestly didn't pay close attention to the DBs, but I am now very excited see his test results. It's also notable that according to his hudl, Emil is a 3-year Varsity starter (2-way), has a 3.5 GPA, and AP courses. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>OL | [player_tooltip player_id='437957' first='Jaylen' last='Pitts'] | 2025 | River Rouge (MVP) | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/15740895/Jaylen-Pitts/about">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jaylen was Jaylen yesterday. If you know him, then you know what that means. The giant from River Rouge was the same aggressive and talkative self that I've come to appreciate. His size and aggressiveness alone are enough to body most opposing defensive linemen, and he also has decent overall fundamentals with room to improve with athleticism. As it stands now, Jaylen is a division 1 prospect. I've seen him quite a bit this offseason, so I expect more offers to come his way as he keeps attending camps. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->