2023 St. Charles County Players to Watch: Linebackers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into the middle of June, the 2023 high school football season is quickly approaching. With that in mind, it is time to start previewing what lies ahead in the upcoming season. While there is a lot of talent spread throughout the state of Missouri, an area that I believe gets overlooked at times from a football standpoint is St. Charles County. This area isn't in the headlines as much as schools in cities like St. Louis or Kansas City but there is still a ton of talent to be seen. With that being said, I have started a “St. Charles County Players to Watch” series. After covering the offensive side of the ball, I have now turned my attention to the defensive side of the ball. With the defensive line out of the way, I will now focus on some intriguing linebackers from St. Charles county to keep an eye on this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["699164"],"_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":"[player_tooltip player_id='699164' first='Morgan' last='Regot'] is an incoming senior linebacker that caught my attention this past season. He is coming off an impressive junior year in which he finished with 138 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Morgan lines up at inside linebacker and does a great job of reading his keys and coming downhill in a hurry to fill his gap. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Morgan explodes through contact and finishes his tackles with a ton of physicality. He plays with a very high motor, showing the ability to run all over the field to make tackles. Regot also has shown some reliability in pass coverage, finishing this past season with two interceptions. Morgan recently picked up his first offer from Valparaiso and I expect more to come his way as he is a Division I caliber linebacker prospect.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Jamar Cross Jr.","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Lutheran-St. Charles","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Another inside linebacker that is coming off a strong junior year is Jamar Cross Jr. from Lutheran-St. Charles. Cross finished this past season with 99 tackles and two sacks. He does a great job of reading his keys against the run and shooting his gap with a sense of urgency. Once he gets to the ball carrier, Cross finishes his tackles with a ton of physicality. When the play is away from him, Cross has shown the ability to get to the ball quickly and fight though blocks on his way to the ball carrier. Jamar has also shown some ability in pass coverage, coming away with an interception last season. Cross doesn't currently hold any offers but deserves some attention from college coaches as he has the talent to play somewhere at the next level.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Josh Atherton","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Fort Zumwalt South","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Josh Atherton is another incoming senior linebacker that has caught my attention. He had a strong junior season, finishing with 99 tackles. Atherton has shown the versatility to play both inside the box and on the outside off the edge. He does a great job of reading his keys and coming downhill quickly to defend the run. On his way to the ball carrier, he has shown the ability to stack and shed blocks quickly. Once he gets to the ball, Atherton is a very reliable tackler in the open field. He is also reliable in pass coverage, coming away with one interception this past season. Atherton doesn't currently hold any offers but he should be a player to keep an eye on who has the talent to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["771015"],"_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":"Dominic Jackson is an incoming senior linebacker that has recently jumped onto my radar. He is coming off a solid junior year in which he finished with 64 tackles and three sacks. Jackson lines up at middle linebacker and is very impressive when being asked to blitz. He times the snap count perfectly and is able to use his speed to burst into the backfield before the opposing offensive line can react. Jackson does a great job of running his feet through contact once he gets to the ball to secure the tackle. He also does a great job of running sideline to sideline when the play is away from him to make tackles in the open field. Dominic recently picked up his first offer from Millikin Univerity and I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to play somewhere at the next level.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["314832"],"_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":"Another incoming senior linebacker that has caught my attention recently is [player_tooltip player_id='314832' first='Shane' last='Pruitt'] from Fort Zumwalt North. Pruitt is coming off a strong junior year in which he finished with 103 tackles and 12 sacks. Shane lines up at outside linebacker and is very dangerous as a pass rusher. He has shown the ability to use his speed to blow by opposing offensive tackles off the edge and shoot the inside gap on stunts. Once he gets to the quarterback, he does a great job of running his feet through contact to secure the sack. He is also reliable against the run, showing the ability to read the play and get to the ball in a hurry to make tackles in the open field. Pruitt doesn't currently hold any offers but definitely has the talent to play somewhere at the next level.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"Jayden Weinhardt","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Timberland","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"To wrap up this list, I have incoming junior Jayden Weinhardt from Timberland. Weinhardt had an impressive sophomore year, finishing with 102 tackles and and three sacks. Jayden mainly plays inside linebacker where he is very impressive against the run. He does a great job of reading his keys and shooting his gap quickly. Once he gets to the ball carrier, he does a great job of exploding through contact to secure the tackle. He has also shown the ability to come off the edge as a pass rusher, using his strength and bend to fight through blocks on his way to the quarterback and finishing the sack once he gets there. Weinhardt doesn't currently hold any offers but he is definitely a player to keep an eye on over the next two seasons.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6487963c7075b"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->