5 Huntsville Area Sleepers, Part II
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Alabama is home to several heavily populated areas with some underrated football talent. We have checked out a few areas around the state. Here, we continue our focus on the Huntsville area. Ramon White – 2024 – DB – Huntsville…
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Continue ReadingAlabama is home to several heavily populated areas with some underrated football talent. We have checked out a few areas around the state. Here, we continue our focus on the Huntsville area.
Ramon White – 2024 – DB – Huntsville
White is a sticky corner in coverage who can also impact the short game with his instincts and tackling ability. What you will notice most on film is his ability and technique in man coverage. He isn’t off the charts when it comes to measurable, but he does have the length at 5’11 to disrupt routes at the line of scrimmage and tie up receivers downfield. He shows fluidity in his hips with his ability to turn and run. He has the speed to stick with receivers stride for stride downfield. White does a good job of getting his head around to find the ball. When he is beat off the line and has to recover, he can get his hands up to disrupt the deep ball while his back is turned to the QB. He is a high-motor tackler who often chases down receivers from across the field. He does a good job of transitioning his momentum and coming downhill to strike. He strikes right in the midsection of the defender or upends them by aiming low. By not playing high, he allows himself to stay out of harm’s way against bigger receivers and make tackles at a higher percentage. White’s motor and coverage skills on the outside make him an intriguing target to watch.
Tyric Hinton – 2024 – DT – Huntsville
Hinton is a powerful IDL prospect with projectable measurements. He certainly passes the eye test at 6’3 250 and still has room to grow in his lower body. The first thing I notice about Hinton is his spatial awareness. He has enough agility and pursuit skills to flag down ball carriers, often running sideline to sideline to make a play. However, his ability to quickly close the gap between himself and RBs around the line of scrimmage is his most projectable skillset. Hinton is raw in his technique, but he can shed off blockers with his sheer presence and strength alone. He flashes heavy, powerful hands which can jar blockers backward when he strikes them in the chest. At times, he does use his length to create enough separation to slip off the blocker. Hinton still needs some refinement in his technique, but once he can develop a little more twitchiness and play with a lower center of gravity, he should start to come around as a DL prospect. Fortunately, he has no unfixable traits. Thanks to his measurements and ability to play in space, I would imagine Hinton gets a shot at the next level.
Skylar Townsend Skylar Townsend 6'2" | 160 lbs | WR Tanner | 2024 State AL – 2024 – WR – Tanner
Townsend is a multi-sport athlete that brings athleticism, agility, and measurements from the basketball court over to the gridiron. Townsend is raw as a football prospect, but he portrays the size and speed combination that coaches are hunting for on the trail. As a 6’3 fluid mover with good long speed, Townsend has the ability to take the top off the defense. He isn’t a twitchy route runner and doesn’t possess great short-area explosiveness, but he can make one or two quick adjustments while running downfield to create some separation. You can thank his fluidity as an athlete and his long strides for this. He isn’t super physical in jump ball scenarios, but he does keep his feet moving and can fight with his hands to free himself up. Also, he is a willing blocker and is not afraid to lower his shoulder after the catch. If he sticks to football, he will likely project best as someone that can attack the seams way downfield. There is still a lot of development ahead of him, but his ceiling is higher than most WRs that are currently at his level of recruitment.,
Brandon White – 2024 – EDGE – Bob Jones
White is an impressive speed presence off the edge for Bob Jones. At 6’4 230, he has rare speed and athleticism coming off the exterior for his height and weight group. White seems to be most dangerous standing up off the edge, where he gives himself a runway to the QB. Most of the time, his speed allows him to blast right past blockers and begin his pursuit. However, he does flash the ability to stack moves against blockers to create separation when needed. He has the bend to dip his shoulder and can swoop his arm over the blocker to displace their hands. If any separation is created, his burst and explosiveness off the edge is hard to recover against. He can translate his speed to power against RBs, but might not be able to physically overwhelm blockers once they anchor down, at least at his current stage of development. Against the run, he shows run-and-chase ability from the backside and can set the edge by using his length and speed to maintain outside leverage. In my opinion, White is exceptionally underrated. He holds his weight well, has excellent burst off the edge, can play in space, and can stack moves. White is a bonafide D1 player that could develop into a productive defender at the FBS level.
Marc Woods Marc Woods 6'4" | 190 lbs | DB James Clemens | 2024 State AL Jr – 2024 – S – James Clemens
Woods is an incredibly intriguing S prospect that is in a class of his own when it comes to measurables. By the looks of it, he is an exceptionally long prospect at 6’4 180 with an extremely wide tackling radius. Woods can hold his own in coverage and cover a lot of ground, but I am more intrigued with what he can do against the run and the first two levels. He plays with a downhill brand and relies on his instincts and awareness to take good angles to the football. He can accelerate at a high level to close a lot of space, which we can accredit to his long strides. For a taller receiver, he doesn’t play high and shows good tackling mechanics, With his reach, you could imagine that escaping from his grasp is incredibly difficult. Woods looks like a tweener between the S and LB positions. After my evaluation, I believe it’s best for him to settle into a specific role that allows him to play in space and chase after the football. Whoever lands Woods is likely getting a body type that they don’t have, which instantly improves the floor and ceiling of an entire position group at the next level.