East Lansing @ Portage Central: Key Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the season quickly approaching I wanted to preview key players to watch for in the week one matchup between <strong>East Lansing </strong>and <strong>Portage Central</strong>. This game will take place Thursday, August 24th @ 7pm at Portage West Middle School.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Payton Porter- QB- Portage Central- <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JfY4G">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Porter looks very comfortable throwing off a play action fake. Porter has a strong arm and not only can throw accurately down field but also throw with touch. Porter trusts his arm and is not afraid to throw into tight windows. Porter shows the ability to throw accurately on the run and looks especially confident rolling to his right. Porter enters only his junior year in 2023 and should be play a key part in the success of the offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tomas Layne- RB- Portage Central- <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14754377/63432e70bd6b0e04844c99c8">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Layne shows has good acceleration and can pick up yards quickly. Layne can change direction well and does a good job of finishing runs at the goal line for touchdowns. I like that he does not hesitate to burst through an opening. He really trusts his instincts and vision. He has very good top end speed and shows the ability to break long touchdown runs. <strong>Portage Central </strong>likes to run many toss plays to Layne to take advantage of his ability to accelerate in the open field. Layne is an overall very talented player who will definitely make an impact in this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jake Longman- OL/DL- Portage Central- <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2KDg5e">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Longman gets off the ball with urgency and shows no hesitation when is comes to hitting someone. His is a very good run blocker who does a great job of using his size, strength and athleticism maintain blocks. There are many plays <strong>Portage Central</strong> runs the ball to his side and he has his man completely sealed off. Longman has very good size for the offensive tackle position at 6-6, 290 lbs. Longman has good quickness and burst and has the ability to get to the 2nd level and block linebackers in the open field. Longman is a really good football player and will be a key part to <strong>Portage Central</strong> being an effective offense in 2023. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='249742' first='Donovan' last='Patterson']- DB/ATH- East Lansing- <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jr9cv">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Patterson does a great job of reading the quarterback in zone coverage. He has good hands and can break on the ball and come down with interceptions. Patterson is very agile and has no problem opening his hips and turning and running. strong safety is where he plays primarily and that is a perfect position for him I believe. This allows him the versatility to cover in the slot if needed and it keeps him close to the line of scrimmage where he can quickly read run plays and make tackles. I expect Patterson to be around the ball making plays against <strong>Portage Central</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='587870' first='Jace' last='Clarizio']- RB- East Lansing- <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16810455/6372fb7890ef4e0ae85c36dc">Hudl</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clarizio is explosive and can really accelerate in the open field. Clarizio runs with a purpose, meaning he wants to get the ball and immediately get it in the end zone as quickly as possible. He has very good ability to make people miss. He shows good change of direction and has an effective spin move. He a power element to his game as well and has no problem breaking tackles. Clarizio is a really good running back who <strong>East Lansing</strong> certainly will want to get the ball to early and often in this football game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->