CFI Winter Showcase – Top Linebackers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Charlotte Football Insiders (CFI) Winter Showcase featured over 250 players competing for offers from over 30 colleges in attendance and recruiting exposure. Several running linebackers stood out with their performance and were named top performers in the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='429230' first='Jay' last='Jackson'] - North Stanly - MVP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jay is a Class of 2024 prospect that quite frankly should be getting some Division 1 recruiting attention - at least from a PWO (Preferred Walk-On) opportunity in my opinion. At 6'2 and 225 pounds, Jay was equally impressive as a linebacker and running back throughout this showcase. He has excellent athleticism at his size, which allows him to play multiple positions at a high level. I think his place is on defense on the next level though, just because of the size/speed versatility that he can bring to that side of the ball. After the showcase, he picked up offers from Mars Hill and Barton. Excellent player. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='759842' first='Jamari' last='Farmer'] - Mooresville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jamari in most cases would have flat out won the MVP award if it wasn't for [player_tooltip player_id='429230' first='Jay' last='Jackson'] in attendance. The 6'1 215 pound prospect is in the Class of 2025, and his speed and athleticism are off the charts. He was named his conference's defensive player of the year and rightfully so. He had a total of 130 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks as a middle linebacker. Sometimes, schools know when a player is truly special, and after the showcase, Jamari picked up an offer from Cincinnati, his first Division 1 offer and first offer overall. There will be some schools that will wait to offer him during the camp season, but Jamari looks like a classic case of a junior-year player who will suddenly have a ton of offers, and you don't know where they came from. Get in on him now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158273' first='Myles' last='Hudson'] - Hickory Ridge</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Standing at 6'0 and 205 pounds, Myles did a great job throughout all of the drills - showing nice athleticism, explosion, and change of direction. But Myles especially stood out in the passing game 1 on 1's portion versus running backs, coming up with an interception and forcing numerous incomplete passes showing good coverage skills. Looking at Myles on film, he does a good job in closing open windows in the inside run game and making strong, secure tackles. He flashes some sideline-to-sideline ability in chasing down plays as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>William Massey - Northwestern (SC)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>William Massey did a great job showing excellent speed and burst consistently throughout the showcase at the linebacker position. At 6'0 and 185 pounds, William can be one of those outside linebacker/rover types of players on the next level possibly. He was also named All-Region for the upstate part of South Carolina. When you take a look at his film, William plays both some middle linebacker and outside linebacker. He excels at reading blocking schemes, shutting open windows, and making impressive, strong solo tackles in the run game. A textbook player from that perspective. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1720252' first='Xavier' last='Johnson'] - North Forsyth</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xavier is a Class of 2025 prospect who stands at 5'10 and 190 pounds. I was impressed with the excellent change of direction skills during the linebacker individuals portion of the showcase in particular. He showed some short burst quick speed as well during this part of the showcase. When you take a look at the film, Xavier excels at blitzing from depth at the middle linebacker position, as well as showing great effort and hustle all over the field in multiple phases. I'm excited to see him after another offseason of adding some weight to take on that middle linebacker spot week in and week out. He is on track to being a prospect colleges will like to see during the spring/summer camp season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->