2027s On The Rise

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past week my fellow writer Alex put out a bird call for film of the class of 2027 athletes in the state. I found myself intrenched in this thread and wound up being fairly impressed with a few of the players. With 2027 rankings incoming, this will be a quick hitter with a few prospects I am watching closely over the coming years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leland Korona, </strong><em>DL/OL, Gaylord</em>- Leland has been on my radar for awhile, and his film has started reflecting the potential I thought he had. I really prefer him on the defensive side of the ball as he is well disciplined, fires off quickly and has long arms to keep blockers out of his chest. He fires out of his stance quickly and has nice chase down speed. As he continues to build in the weight room, this could be a prospect that folks need to keep an eye on going forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1113056' first='Samson' last='Smeenge'], </strong><em>QB, East Kentwood</em>- Samson broke onto my radar this winter at the Stock Up Showcase back in early December. He looked like he was right on par with a few of the older guys at the camp. He has a nice release and is pretty darn athletic as he tested well in agility drills. With the level of coaching at East Kentwood coming in, I fully expect Samson to start to really evolve into a solid QB prospect. He is one of the kids I am super pumped about getting out to watch again to see how he is progressing under the great leadership he'll have access to. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Drew Gross,</strong> <em>RB/LB, Beal City</em>- For a small town like Beal City, they sure seem to churn out some great athletes, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Drew looks like he may have next for the Aggies. Defensively he is an aggressive downhill linebacker who has good size already and solid lateral speed. Offensively he can run the ball outside or in between the tackles, and can also take on the fullback role and lead block and plow a path. Beal City isn't far from me and you know I will definitely be checking him out soon! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1157440' first='Elijah' last='Warren'],</strong> <em>WR/DB, Macomb Dakota</em>- I really love what this dude can do in the secondary. He can be a solid lockdown cover corner, or roam as a safety and read the QB to make plays. He displays nice hands and great ability to jump routes for interceptions. It appears his trajectory is as high as about anyone in this class, and I am super excited to see what he can do in a tough conference as a young underclassman. If he can hang with the guys on their schedule, the sky is the limit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->