Returning Contributors: St. Joseph (Metuchen) Falcons’ Skills

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When he was hired just two seasons ago, Bill Tracy brought a great deal of buzz to the St. Joe's program - and rightfully so - as Tracy brought with him two sectional championships at two different schools prior to his signing. Now, in just his second season in charge, Tracy took a 3-6 team that he inherited to a 7-3 record that hosted a home playoff game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a slow 1-2 start, the Tracy's Falcons rattled off six straight wins cementing themselves as one of the Big Central Conference's hottest teams. How will they be able to build upon last year's break through season? They will look to these prospects below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1105216"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='1105216' first='Jacob' last='Pappas'] is a prospect that we have gotten to see a handful of times already, both in-person and on film. The 2025 graduate had a solid season as he finished with 15 tackles - 12 of which were solos. His film, however, indicates to me that he is much more active than his stats suggest and might be a Swiss Army Knife of sorts. Starting on defense, Pappas effectively diagnoses the quick game to come up and make stops near the line of scrimmage. Relatedly, he has a propensity to hold up those targets, allowing the calvary to come and try to force the ball out. He also possesses the requisite agility to stay on the hip of receivers who are running which routes. Pappas is also capable of lowering the boom on ball carriers in the open field when he has a sure angle. On special teams he appears to match the speed of gunners nicely and does a great job being physical with them, sealing them off and away from the returner. On offense Pappas appeared as a wing back and as the offset back in the Wing-T. As a target, he is faster with the ball in his hands and is unafraid to go up and absolutely fight for possession of the ball; as a lead blocker he is physical with defenders who play too high. An area I encourage Pappas to continue working on his his tackling. He has shown the capability to track the hip of the ball carrier, but must be faithful in this approach to tackling.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cfcb5"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17668244/65552dfb5b3caa0270efc468' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e ","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cfdb6"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1182020"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"I wish I had followed St. Joe's season a little more closely to better understand the story of how [player_tooltip player_id='1182020' first='Logan' last='Graham']'s season unfolded. I say this because his film consists of highlights from only four opponents - opponents who the Falcons' faced at different junctures in the season - and his highlights show much promise from Graham's performance as a sophomore. A great deal of trust is endowed to Graham has he is locked up on a solo assignment in 3 x 1 receiver sets and it is clear to see why. Graham does a great job timing his jump to break up the fade and allows very little room on short routes in front of him. Graham is a competitor who fights to get hands on any ball thrown his way. One area I would hope Graham improves on his his run fit leverage as a boundary corner. As a force player he, under no circumstances, can allow the ball carrier to get outside of him. Graham finished the season with 18 tackles (16 solo) and 1 tackle for loss.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cfe46"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18094421/65674fdb5cb38204b0751762' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cfe74"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1182019"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Joining Graham in the Falcons' secondary is fellow 2026 graduate [player_tooltip player_id='1182019' first='J.' last='Griffin Kaye']. Kaye is a flexible safety who has been shown to play at the line of scrimmage, in a cover 2 shell, or as the single-high safety. His versatility rendered 19.5 tackles - 13 of which were solos - and 1 tackle for loss. Kaye profiles as one of St. Joe's more athletic players in the secondary. Versatility aside, he is asked to run with motion across the field and has a fluid backpedal when taking his drop. From a single high set, he breaks on the ball nicely and is willing to lay his body into bigger tight ends/h-backs to break up the pass attempt. Similarly, this ability to break on the ball consistently puts Kaye in position to undercut pass attempts from a trail technique. Kaye's film will be a bit more college-ready if he highlighted instances of him being tested on the deep ball.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cfef6"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18128189/65538bf5f31c620a083282f0' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cff23"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1041985"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"I was familiar with [player_tooltip player_id='1041985' first='Javon' last='Hudson'] coming into this piece, as Hudson had the game-of-a-lifetime, single handedly defeating Watchung Hills with his two pick-sixes. However, in a broader stroke Hudson had a solid year with 43 tackles (32 solos), 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries along with those two defensive scores. Finally having the opportunity to watch his film, I think Hudson might be one of the most highly underrated defenders in the Big Central Conference. What the film showed me is a highly instinctual player who understands his assignment and how it fits into his team's schematics. He reacts to pass patterns in front of him quickly and looks comfortable moving in space. At the line of scrimmage he does not have a go-to block shedding move, but he does find a way to wiggle and knife through to avoid contact. Hudson is about as sure of a tackler as they come. Moreover, he appears to consistently make solid tackles while maintaining his proper leverage. It would go a long way if Hudson's film showed instances of him in man coverage or him carrying and passing receivers from zone-to-zone.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cffa7"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17668236/654c2cda8cd47704386359ff' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ccd0c9cffd1"} /-->