Hudl Discoveries #33: OK-Red Pt.1

Welcome to Hudl Discoveries #33! Today and for the next 7 days, we'll be evaluating 46 players from this massive league. To kick things off, here's one high-upside player from seven teams!   '25 TE | [player_tooltip player_id='1290918' first='Blake' last='Linsley'] | Rockford | <a href="https://twitter.com/Blinsley12">@Blinsley12</a>   I've seen Blake around at a few events, and I know he just received offers from Hope and Davenport. Moving forward, he should receive several other GLIAC offers. Starting off, Blake has ideal size for a tight end. He's around 6'5" 225. In addition, he's utilized extremely well at Rockford. He gets his reps blocking, chipping, running short routes, and deep routes. In terms of blocking, he does his job and has a few highlights where he latches on and drives a defender back. In general, I think he has a lot of room to grow with his blocking. Specifically, I think he could get better leverage while hitting harder. He sometimes slows down as he engages with second-level blocks, and any skilled linebacker would be able to shed that. Black also gets driven backward in some instances.   In terms of the pass game, Blake runs better routes than 95% of tight ends I've seen. In fact, I think he's a better pass catcher than some B1G 10 committed tight ends. Even while catching in traffic, Blake works hard to run upfield to gain several yards after catch. The two main areas where I think Blake could prove himself more are contested catching and blocking. It's very rare that I say this, but I believe that Blake is a Power 4 prospect and he's being severely underrated.    '25 DL | [player_tooltip player_id='899595' first='Dylan' last='Gage'] | Jenison | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13421756/Dylan-Gage">@DylanMGag</a><a href="https://twitter.com/DylanMGage">e</a>   Last season, Dylan served as a solid defensive lineman. His speed off the ball and effort against inside runs were good. When he goes unblocked, he's able to jump on a gang tackle and plug up his gap. Still, he's a bit undersized and needs to work on his physicality. I also know that he had a season-ending acl/mcl tear that required surgery. I know personally that surgery is not an easy thing to bounce-back from. Let's see how his offseason development helps him next season. I am optimistic about his development, as he has a video on Twitter benching 225x14.    '25 DE | [player_tooltip player_id='1290925' first='Isaac' last='VanderVeen'] | Hudsonville | <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaac_VV59">@Isaac_VV59</a>   I like Isaac's stuff as a 5-tech. He plays fast, is physical, and has a wide tackle radius. Sometimes, he is barely touched, or the opposing lineman whiffs on him. In those cases, Isaac keeps his eyes in the backfield and does his best to make a tackle. He's also great at keeping his eyes in the backfield as the play is still developing, and Isaac is able to sidestep and get into the backfield against lesser linemen easily. In order to reach a new level, Isaac needs to get stronger alongside the development of better block-shedding moves.    '26 LB | [player_tooltip player_id='1251326' first='Elijah' last='Reynolds'] | West Ottawa | <a href="https://twitter.com/Elijah_rey6">@Elijah_rey6</a>   Elijah is a tall linebacker with great potential. As an off-ball mike linebacker, his main objective 90% of his snaps will be to stop the run, especially runs between the tackles. In that aspect, he showed some good stuff. Although I think his reaction time could be improved, when he did diagnose the play, Elijah was able to shed blocks and make solid tackles without allowing the RB to gain many extra yards. The highlight at 3:00 shows Elijah working through traffic with a good pursuit angle, resulting in a tackle. In addition, the highlight at 0:33 shows a nice sidestep of the O-Lineman as he works around the block to the ballcarrier. Elijah knows what he's doing out there; he just needs to be a bit more mentally sharp.    '25 KR/DB | [player_tooltip player_id='1290927' first='Miguel' last='Rojas'] | Grandville | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16491312/Miguel-Rojas">Hudl</a>   Although the tape is short, Miguel had some great moments last season. The game of his life came against Caledonia, where he successfully returned two kicks for touchdowns. There, he was decisive, followed his blocks, and had the speed to easily take it to the house. Miguel also has a few DB highlights where he shows good ball skills. There isn't much outside of that, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Miguel can do as a Senior this fall.    '26 QB | [player_tooltip player_id='402065' first='Trey' last='Vanderwal'] | Grand Haven | <a href="https://twitter.com/trey_vanderwal">@trey_vanderwal</a>   With a bit more work, Trey could be a great Varsity QB in this extremely difficult league. I like his JV tape. His arm strength and overall accuracy are too inconsistent for Varsity, but I like how Trey makes a read, sometimes gets to his 2nd read, and rarely hesitates throwing to an open receiver. He also shows dual-threat abilities with a few explosive plays running the read option. There's a good bit for Trey to continue working on, but I really like the foundation.    '26 RB | [player_tooltip player_id='1290929' first='Nasir' last='Williams'] | East Kentwood | <a href="https://twitter.com/Nasw_3">@Nasw_3</a>   Nasir is a raw prospect who still has quite a bit of time to develop with the new coaching staff. The first play on his highlight tape shows brilliant upside. He had beautiful vision and just enough speed to take it to the house off the counter. The play at 1:33 shows similar vision and downhill speed. Several other plays showcase a good open-field juke that he can continue to build off of. The most important aspect of his development right now is going to be consistent weight training. I believe in the strength program at EK, and as long as Nasir shows up and puts in the work, he'll develop into a great player.

Welcome to Hudl Discoveries #33! Today and for the next 7 days, we'll be evaluating 46 players from this massive league. To kick things off, here's one high-upside player from seven teams!