Underclassmen to Offer Sooner Rather Than Later
In this article:
Every Class has those special prospects that we will eventually watch play on Saturday afternoons. We often see those recruits start to receive early interest and offers. Sometimes as early as freshman or sophomore year. Illinois is home to a…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingEvery Class has those special prospects that we will eventually watch play on Saturday afternoons. We often see those recruits start to receive early interest and offers. Sometimes as early as freshman or sophomore year. Illinois is home to a few of those type of athletes in the Classes of 2026 & 2027 that schools will want to get to know now because they are going to want to start building a relationship.
Carlos is one of the offensive linemen in IL that I believe is going to see the recruiting attention turn up early in his career. The big man is a dancing bear. He has the agile feet and balance to be able to get deep in pass protection, mirror pass rush counter moves, slide laterally while attacking in the run game, and is able to quick set and engage. Carlos also balances out the athletic lower body with heavy hands that are violent right from the initial punch. The power to control and manipulate DEs is well established and should only improve. Get Carlos on your radars early.
Highlights
An impressive DB/ATH coming through the Mt. Carmel program is Tavares Harrington Tavares Harrington 6’2″ | 180 lbs | DB Mt. Carmel | 2027 IL . The freshman already has an exceptional frame to continue to fill out, checking in at 6’2″ 180 lbs. It is fun watching him play because he is so much more advanced in his development than his peers of the same age. He stands out from the crowd and able to dominate with his pure athleticism. At safety he roams the entire field, closing quickly and making wrap up tackles. Tavares does a great job in zone coverage. He keeps the ball in front of him, and quickly closes to break up passes. It is clear that he is developing next level instincts that allow him to position himself in spots where he can quickly end plays. I predict that we see a big jump from Harrington this fall.
Highlights
A 6’5″ 190 lbs freshman QB is destined to garner recruiting attention early in their careers. Matthew warrants it because the big body is loaded up with talent as a passer. He has budding arm strength that not only allows him to attack all three levels from the pocket, in rhythm, but also while under pressure or when he doesn’t have time to get his feet set. The big man also brings a surprising level of speed once he breaks the pocket. Speed to break off game changing runs. The big framed freshman also plays LB on defense, and he doesn’t shy away from physicality there or when finishing his runs at QB.
Highlights
Casey is a physical tone setter in the trenches. He has a powerful punch to pancake defenders and he is very aggressive as a run blocker. We see a lot of Casey’s reps end with him finishing blocks to the ground, usually downfield. Casey brings solid athleticism to the field in his huge frame. He has shown he can pull or get up to the second level. We also see the ability to stay square on his man while engaged and driving them off the ball. The sophomore does a great job of using his hands while blocking. His superior size always gets him first contact which he uses to quickly gain control. Casey is a big, aggressive, rangy OT prospect that should start to see things pick up soon.
Highlights
Jonathan is an intriguing prospect who has tape showing him dominant the defensive trenches. The sophomore launches out of his stance to quickly shoot past the OL. Rulo’s upper body strength is far superior compared to his opponents. He has been able to easily shed OL to the side and then close quickly on the ball. Jonathan has the anchor strength to hold the line vs double teams and while he uses those strong hands to eventually split the OLs. The sophomore has an impressive combo of size, quickness, raw power, and hand use. He is sure to be in high demand going forward.