Event Recap: Iron Peak Combine Series, Skills Part II

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday, April 13 Iron Peak hosted their first annual Combine Series. Organized, ran, and masterminded by one of scholastic football industry's best,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/garrettshea1">Garrett Shea</a>, the first-year event went off without a hitch. Moreover, the event was flush with talent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are a few quick-hitters on the event's top prospects that stood out amongst the rest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quarterbacks</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hailing from the Hub City is [player_tooltip player_id='1260346' first='Jayden' last='Buggs']. Buggs looked like a promising prospect in terms of how he commanded his receivers and communicated what he wanted on any given spin. He did a good job getting the ball out early when receivers ran out routes, leading to many uncontested completions. Buggs was able to deliver the ball consistently in the same place on verts to either side of the field as well. I want to see Buggs' clean up his lower-half mechanics some before the season starts..... North Hunterdon's [player_tooltip player_id='1260351' first='Nicholas' last='Ramaci'] was the other quarterback that caught my eye. Ramaci looked at his best when he was either scrambling and moving around or passes toward what would have been the equivalent to the middle of the field. He moved really well, which leads me to believe Ramaci is likely a dual-threat when he has the ball in his hands. Ramaci appeared decisive in his throws, getting the ball out early. Like Buggs, Ramaci can stand to improve his lower-half mechanics and footwork too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Running Backs</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A back that many could not stop talking about, <em>especially </em>after coaches and staff found out it was only his first camp, [player_tooltip player_id='1260352' first='Tommy' last='Surtz'] impressed with his camp circuit debut. Surtz can move, and move fast, while also running with a slight forward lean. This combination made it look as if he was going to stumble over his own body, but Surtz has way. more balance as a rusher than that. He does have some wiggle, doing better evading tacklers in a down-hill/open-field situation than on his routes. The natural athlete that Surtz is translated into soft hands when targeted. I would like to see him put the ball away a bit more when in his possession..... [player_tooltip player_id='1040415' first='James' last='Bodley'] from Piscataway left an impression on me as well. Bodley ran with a consistent speed throughout the entire day. To my surprise, he showed more moves than I previously noted on film, specifically the stiff arm to create space and separation. There were instances were Bodley hit the Texas route and turned up field in a hurry for a big gain..... Hailing from West Morris Central was [player_tooltip player_id='1260347' first='Jaxon' last='Corkery']. Corkery demonstrated the balance to stay upright even through the toughest of incidental collisions. With things full-board ahead, we see Corkery break down and make a man miss in open space. Attacking the ball with his hands as a receiver, Corkery seemed to be at his fastest when running go routes. Corkery demonstrated that he securely pins the ball to his torso with five points of pressure, only to protect it with two hands when defenders drew near..... A local prospect in Montgomery's [player_tooltip player_id='1260353' first='Fabregas' last='Gesira'] looked real good in some of his first work of the offseason. Athletically ready to compete, Gesira profiles as the best-athlete-on-his-team type of player. He moves very well and his hips might have been the loosest of any of the backs. In space he juked and cut-up defenders with regularity. His hands appeared to be soft and he was able to make sudden breaks when running routes..... From a local prospect to an in-town prospect, Hillsborough's [player_tooltip player_id='1260354' first='Andrew' last='Schwarz'] exemplified the type of hard-nosed, solid football players the Raiders are known to produce. Schwarz had this knack to run laterally, losing depth, only to gain a better angle on his opponent to gain extra yardage. Schwarz also distinctly picked his feet up when running. This, to me, translates to him not being taken down by ankle tackles when on the field. When changing directions I felt Schwarz slowed down, but was able to turn back on and achieve full speed in a few steps. He secured the ball nicely and did not juggle the ball to my recollection..... </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Out-of-State Talent</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two backs who made appearances in Hillsborough were Harold Marshall from Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and [player_tooltip player_id='425629' first='Xavier' last='Bala'] from St. Anthony's in Melville...... Bala is blessed with tremendous size for a rising freshman. Just shy of 6'0" and 200lbs, Bala has the athleticism that matches that size to probably play just about anywhere on the field. His raw strength allowed him to explode when route running and create separation because of it. Bala showed flashes of loose hips at times, which I would encourage him to focus on to continue his trend of being a dynamic threat. He also seemed very sure handed..... For as big as Bala is, Harold Marshall III might have had an inch and a pound on him. The Brooklyn product was equally as strong and explosive. Marshall showed strong hands, as one instance I saw a defensive back play his hands and rake down on them hard, only for Marshall to absorb the contact and keep churning upfield with the broken tackle. A competitor, Marshall also won the overwhelming majority of the 5050 balls thrown his way. In terms of route running Marshall broke off the stem of his route sharp and suddenly. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->