Scout’s Notebook: Defensive Back-7 from PRZNJ’s Stock Up Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our event coverage of Prep Redzone New Jersey's Stock Up Showcase continues. We have already covered the offensive and defensive MVPs. Additional coverage will disclose individual notes taken while on-site. These breakdowns are only from my subjective on-site observations. They do not take into consideration film, highlights, or anything else.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Incase you missed any event coverage, here are the articles currently published related to the Prep Redzone New Jersey's Stock Up Showcase.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/offensive-mvps-from-the-prep-redzone-nj-stock-up-showcase/">Offensive MVPs from the Prep Redzone NJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/defensive-mvps-from-the-prep-redzone-nj-stock-up-showcase/">Defensive MVPs from the Prep Redzone NJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/prospects-i-am-excited-to-see-at-the-prznj-stock-up-showcase/">Prospects I am Excited to see at the PRZNJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/more-prospects-i-am-excited-to-see-at-the-prznj-stock-up-showcase-2/">More Prospects I am Excited to see at the PRZNJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/more-prospects-i-am-excited-to-see-at-the-prznj-stock-up-showcase-3/">More Prospects I am Excited to see at the PRZNJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/more-prospects-i-am-excited-to-see-at-the-prznj-stock-up-showcase/">More Prospects I am Excited to see at the PRZNJ Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/scouts-notebook-the-eye-test-defense/">Scout's Notebook: The Eye Test – Defense</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/scouts-notebook-the-eye-test-offense/">Scout's Notebook: The Eye Test – Offense</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/scouts-notebook-quarterbacks-from-prznjs-stock-up-showcase/">Scout's Notebook: Quarterbacks from PRZNJ's Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/scouts-notebook-offensive-skills-from-prznjs-stock-up-showcase/">Scout's Notebook: Offensive Skills from PRZNJ's Stock Up Showcase</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Linebackers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first linebacker bib I wrote down was #19, which belong to [player_tooltip player_id='1104769' first='Alexander' last='Pena'] of St. Joseph's Regional in Montvale. The current junior was extremely quick and efficient to get to his pass set drops. Once Pena got to his landmark, he was able to strafe and move side to side effectively between - demonstrating the ability to pass off crossers from zone to zone...... Coming out of Kellenberg, NY [player_tooltip player_id='735860' first='Nicholas' last='Kramer'] - likely no relation to Cosmo Kramer - took home MVP honors for the linebacker group. What made Kramer shine was how fluid his hips were. He was able to turn and flip his hips quickly, effortlessly, and smoothly. This allowed him to open up and play leverage to either side. Kramer was also one of the fastest linebackers of the group, exploding down hill at full-speed and with full-force...... Freshman from The Hun School [player_tooltip player_id='1061127' first='William' last='Hayes'] was a younger prospect that caught my attention. Hayes was an athlete who got to the spot quickly and broke down nicely to make the tackle. Albeit a non-contact event, Hayes showed that few backs project to escape his clutches when he closes in on them...... [player_tooltip player_id='1105247' first='Chris' last='Thomison'] traveled more than 2 hours on a one-way trip to Hillsborough and he did not disappoint. Thomison, too, appears to be tough on the run and a quick reactor to the runner as he closes space in a hurry. He knows to target the near-side hip to maintain leverage for a cutback and also make a solid shoulder tackle...... Cedar Crest High School's Landyn Kline was a sophomore who looked solid. The way Kline zeroed in on the ball carrier during rabbit drills was quick, explosive, and suffocating. Expect him to be tough on the run for years to come</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Defensive Backs</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of two Elizabeth Minutemen from their defensive backfield who stood out was defensive back MVP [player_tooltip player_id='1101636' first='Nireese' last='McDougald']. McDougald's hips were simply automatic. He was able to rotate them effortlessly to either side of his body and get to his drop very quickly. The only thing he might have done more quickly was explode down hill in run support. During the competition portion of the event, McDougald played mostly at safety depth. In doing so, he was able to stick with any receiver who tried a deep double move. Further, he was able to lay hands on the defender without drawing, what I would call, a penalty. Lastly McDougald had an innate sense of when to undercut a throw to play the pass versus when to play overtop - a key attribute if you want to play safety...... [player_tooltip player_id='1101252' first='Isaiah' last='De Rosa'] was the other defensive back from Elizabeth who excelled. De Rosa plays with good pad level as he buzzes around the field. Exceptional at playing downhill, De Rosa's matches that skillset with how he breaks and drives on the ball when it is in the air and his receiver breaks off the stem of his route. De Rosa also has soft hands, catching everything he got clean hands on. One thing that I noticed about De Rosa is that in an often self-serving event, De Rosa showed leadership. I watched him serve as a scout player for a much younger, smaller defensive back. De Rosa could have lit him up but rather elected to take it easy on his matchup, affording the youngster a learning opportunity. De Rosa seemingly took that player under his wing as I later noticed him encouraging that player and talking to him in between reps...... Iona Prep's [player_tooltip player_id='243060' first='Geoffrey' last='Galloway'] was an athlete who showcased his speed. Galloway demonstrated good snap of his hip. As a result, he was never out of position when he had run and cover deep passes...... [player_tooltip player_id='1105216' first='Jacob' last='Pappas'] from St. Joe's Metuchen was a bit more of a blazer. What caught my attention about Pappas was his ability to open up and run. Matched up against varying receivers of size, stature, and speed, the junior competed and stayed stride-for-stride with each of them...... [player_tooltip player_id='771964' first='Navir' last='Gandy'] of Wall played like a wall in the secondary. Gandy had an interesting ability to sort of lull his matchup to sleep; however, he exploded and execrated rapidly when breaking on the ball. He was one of the more handys d-backs in attendance, trying to disrupt timing and making his matchup upcomfortable. Lastly, Gandy could run with anyone...... [player_tooltip player_id='1105251' first='Dylan' last='Freeman'] from New York's Archbishop Stepinac stuck to intended targets like glue. Giving up very little space to haul in the ball for a reception, Freeman was one of the most aggressive defensive backs as he consistently played to break up the pass by harassing receivers' hands and insisting on his right to the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->