Hudl Discoveries #43: OAA Gold Pt.2

<p>Heading into the Summer, I'm doing my best to comb through the biggest leagues with the intention of finding diamonds in the rough. This article covers five more athletes from the OAA Gold League! </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 G/DT | [player_tooltip player_id='602100' first='Cameron' last='Washington'] | Avondale | (No Twitter)</h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='602100' first='Cameron' last='Washington'] is an absolute enforcer on both sides of the ball. I really like his defensive tape. Although he's a bigger player and struggles with overall speed and lateral quickness, Cameron knows how to use his power and hands to shed blocks. This makes him an amazing inside run-stuffer, and if I'm an offensive playcaller, I'd want to run away from [player_tooltip player_id='602100' first='Cameron' last='Washington']. On the offensive side of the ball, he has moments of huge hits and pancakes. Though, he's mostly stiff and slow like he sometimes shows on defense. If Cameron can get a little more fit and if he can keep up a high motor for four quarters, he could be a phenomenal college prospect. Even now, he may have enough to earn NAIA or D3 interest. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 DB | Ben Machiniak | Royal Oak | <a href="https://twitter.com/MachiniakBen">@MachiniakBen</a></h2>   <p>Last season, Ben showed some solid stuff for his junior campaign. The film sometimes leaves Ben out of the picture, but it looks like he has a few good coverage plays. His first highlight shows a great PBU as he breaks on the football. A few other plays show solid man coverage as the QB is forced to throw the other way. Several other plays show good tackling abilities and run-stopping. Ben isn't the biggest player on the field, but he plays with solid effort. I'm happy to see that he'll be making it to a few college camps this summer, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does there. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 LB | Payden Morrison | Royal Oak | <a href="https://twitter.com/MorrisonPayden">@MorrisonPayden</a></h2>   <p>Payden is an aggressive, reactive linebacker with real college upside. The first minute of his film shows off that great aggression and tackling ability. The highlight at 0:45 is a wonderful example of how to read a play, shoot the gap, and finish a tackle. Several other plays show this quick read-and-react ability (1:26, 2:15, etc.). Payden has some of the best defensive tape in all the OAA Gold, and I'd be very curious to see how he does at a college camp. I know he's a baseball player, but he could get recruited in football! </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'26 DE/G | Marquis McCray | Pontiac | <a href="https://twitter.com/Hoodie_marquis">@Hoodie_marquis</a></h2>   <p>Last season, Marquis served as a reliable two-way role player for Pontiac. Defensively, there are a few plays where he shows a good getoff and tackling ability. Most of his highlights are from his time on the O-Line, though. There, Marquis did a solid job of keeping his man in front of him. Moving forward, he really needs to work on his overall aggression and fundamentals on both sides of the ball. Still, Marquis had himself a solid 2023 season and there's potential for growth this fall. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 DB/WR | [player_tooltip player_id='1307218' first='Jaden' last='Mills'] | Ferndale | <a href="https://twitter.com/jadenmills5_">@jadenmills5_</a></h2>   <p>This month, Jaden has quickly emerged as a high-tier Division 2 prospect, and it's easy to see why once you turn on the tape. Jaden is an electric two-way player. Most of his tape is on offense, where he racked up 33 catches, 632 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Jaden explodes out of his stance and makes extremely quick cuts, helping him with route-running and RAC. Defensively, he has a few great highlights playing off-man. I'd imagine that his testing times are top-notch and that he's shown a lot of promise in press-man coverage since GV and Davenport have offered. Jaden will be included in the next rankings update, and I'm looking forward to seeing him take over the OAA Gold again next season. </p>

Heading into the Summer, I'm doing my best to comb through the biggest leagues with the intention of finding diamonds in the rough. This article covers five more athletes from the OAA Gold League!