Scout’s Notebook – Wide Receivers from PRZ Next’s New Jersey Camp

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last weekend I was able to link up with my old colleague and friend, the one-man industry himself&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootball">Al Pops</a>. Being what I consider at least, the nation's savant of identifying middle school football talent, Pops did not disappoint. As the event went on I got a pretty good look at all position groups. Here are a few notes I took from what I saw out of the day's wide receiver group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wide Receiver Notes</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first wide receiver up stood out to me because of his size. At 6'3" 200lbs, [player_tooltip player_id='991975' first='Tahj' last='Gray'] is a huge 8th grader. Should he continue to grow, tight end might be in his future. Skill-wise, Gray kept driving and delivering his hands to the ball through any contact his big body absorbed. That said, the amount of plays I watched him make convinced me that he would be a target I would trust on key downs...... If you were looking for an acrobat in the air, you should key in on [player_tooltip player_id='690101' first='Nosym' last='Brown']. Brown was able to contort his body in mid-air and adjust to both the ball's trajectory and also a poorly thrown balls with ease. Speed is a part of Brown's game, as he gains ground on every stride he takes. Lastly, some of the routes that Brown ran created huge bits of space for him to get open...... [player_tooltip player_id='432231' first='Logan' last='Dairsow'] may have been one of the quicker receiver in today's bunch. Dairsow appeared to be very quick in tight spaces, particularly when changing directions. Dairsow ran an Welker-esque whip route that left his matchup having to stop their momentum from going the wrong way by planting their hand in the ground. Coming all the way up from our nation's capital was [player_tooltip player_id='1117689' first='Steven' last='Lane']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1087168' first='Aiden' last='Myers'] was another target that stood out. Myers has an uncanny ability to get free from defenders the longer he is running. Speaking of Running, Myers does a great job of that as well, running with ease and creating separation on deeper routes...... Coming up from Maryland was [player_tooltip player_id='1175410' first='Jaiden' last='Wooden']. Wooden, already at 6'0" and nearly 170lbs, is another target who shimmy and shakes his way to getting open and creating space on wannabe defenders...... Massachusetts' own Myles Figueroa was perhaps the most skilled receiver in terms of getting open immediately off the line and varying his release. Furthermore, Figueroa translated these varied releases to his route running. On an out route Figueroa hit a very pretty arm-over to shield the defender's path to the ball with his body leverage, secure the catch, and turn up field for additional yardage. Figueroa also had the uncanny ability to turn a post flatter into a skinny post when he had separation to create a big play into a huge play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->