Breaking Down Sack Leaders: What Juniors Stood Out
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While offenses thrive with a strong offensive line, it’s just as important for defenses to win the battle at the line of scrimmage. As we dive into the film from the Iowa sack leaders, we need to find the players…
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Continue ReadingWhile offenses thrive with a strong offensive line, it’s just as important for defenses to win the battle at the line of scrimmage. As we dive into the film from the Iowa sack leaders, we need to find the players who have the strength, athleticism, and explosiveness to pair with their pass rush moves.
After checking out several player’s film who were inside the Iowa sack leaders conversation, five of them stood out with phenomenal traits and potential. Let’s learn more about what makes these players special.
The first thing that shows up in VanWetzinga’s film is his physicality and versatility. He plays many positions on the defensive line, even on offensive, and plays every down with tremendous physicality and aggression. VanWetzinga’s main goal is to take you out of the play and drive you to the ground. The aggressive mentality is on full display, whether taking on a blocker or destroying ball carriers. As an interior defender, VanWetzinga takes on double teams with great technique, making himself skinny and tough to block while filling running lanes and blowing up plays in the backfield. As an edge rusher, he uses his power to bullrush tackles, pushing them into the quarterback’s lap or forcing outside running plays back inside.
Cooper Buffington
Cooper Buffington
Buffington plays with great instincts and strength and has the size to be a prototypical edge rusher. He does a tremendous job of using his power to shed blocks, keeping his eyes in the backfield to read the play and fill the open running lanes. Buffington plays with phenomenal balance and leverage, always keeping himself under control and in the best position to beat offensive linemen. His explosive first step allows him to put tackles in recovery, enabling him to seal the edge on outside running plays or put his best pass-rush move on them. Buffington has great hand technique to defeat blockers around the edge and can use his power to blow past them. He totaled 44 total tackles last season, with four sacks and 18.5 tackles for a loss, and he certainly will build on those numbers next year.
Axel Ramazani
Axel Ramazani
Ramazani had a phenomenal junior season, totaling 57 tackles with eight sacks and 21 tackles for a loss, which tied for 7th in the state for his class. He has a lot of length to his frame and combined with his overall athleticism, he can beat blockers immediately, which starts with a quick initial burst. Ramazani uses a polished hand technique to quickly get off blocks with a wide range of pass-rush moves. He has a great club/swim with a flash of quick hands that allows him to quickly get around tackles and into the backfield to blow plays up. Ramazani’s red-hot motor is shown throughout his film, constantly chasing down plays and finishing them until the whistle.
Jack Krull
Jack Krull
Krull posted great numbers last year, totaling 54.5 total tackles and ranking 4th in the state for juniors in sacks with 11 and 16 tackles for a loss. He has a variety of pass rush moves, from a bull rush to a straight arm; he wins with strength and instincts. Krull does a great job keeping his eyes in the backfield, sealing the edge, and flying through the line with great hand technique and leverage. He keeps his pad level low and drives with his legs. After a tremendous junior season, Krull is poised for a big senior season and will have several eyes on him all year.
Zach Teague
Zach Teague
Teague totaled 51.5 total tackles with 3.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for a loss during his junior year. He showed versatility, rushing from a three-point stance as a 5-tech and from a two-point stance from the 7-tech. He’s proven to defeat double teams with his vision and strength, taking on both blockers and waiting for the running back to make his decision before shedding the blocks and firing downhill. Teague is a smart pass rusher and run defender, keeping his eyes in the backfield and planning his rush based on what he sees. He understands when to seal the edge and when to beeline to the backfield. Teague will be a player to keep an eye on to see how he develops for his senior year because he has the potential to have a massive senior season.