Immediate Reaction: Jersey Juice Underclassman Showcase

<p>With two-of-three weekends of back-to-back-to-back travel on the road nearly complete, the second leg of event season is now complete. On Saturday, May 4th I returned to South Jersey, Mount Laurel to be exact, to watch some of the talent Coach T. Pajic brought out for <a href="https://twitter.com/JerseyGridScout">Jersey Gridiron Scout</a>'s Jersey Juice Underclassman College Showcase. This was my second year scouting the event and I was just as impressed by it as the first. Here are some of my immediate thoughts and reflections that I wanted to share with you all.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Showcasing It All</h2>   <p>Done the right way by a seasoned college coach himself, Coach Pajic leads a very organized, structured, and oiled machine. The day started with a dynamic warmup before the nearly 200 competitors participated in the combine. The hand-timed measures tested athletes' speed and agility in the 40-yard dash, L-drill, and Pro Agility. Once testing was complete, the different positions broke out for indy. Each position group featured at least two coaches. After time elapsed, group sessions proceeded (i/e: routes on air) for the skills, and the big boys participated in 1-on-1s. As the morning advanced skill prospects then came together to compete in 1-on-1 like their linemen brethren did earlier in the day. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Jersey Lovefest</h2>   <p>The coaching roster featured a "who's who" lineup of South Jersey high school head football coaches. Yes, there were a handful of assistants there; however, Jersey Juice appears to have the buy-in and investment of those in the local community. With the presence of coaches and an private entity operating the event, high school coaches get an opportunity to work hands-on with their athletes. This is mind, there is peace of mind that a coach's athlete will not get poached, is getting good instruction that is trustworthy, and there is no "deprograming" of techniques installed at other programs. </p>   <p>A final, subtle aspect I think cannot go unmentioned is that with so many local coaches involved, athletes were often addressed by clinician coaches by their first name. Too often do I attend events where #62 white is referred to as exactly that, rather than by his given name, [player_tooltip player_id='787197' first='Myquan' last='Rush'].</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Plenty of Spins and Extra Rotations</h2>   <p>With the event featuring roughly 200 prospects, I would say that roughly a combined 60 were offensive and defensive linemen where the rest were skills. With each skill group having two coaches and the line having roughly four, the feedback look was constant and continual. When the event broke into 1-on-1 periods, one prospect was able to receive the thoughts on how to improve their next rep, while another coach was available to keep the drill going. This created an opportunity for no lost time and maximized exposure in front of the onlooking coaches representing their various colleges. </p>   <p>However, what was probably my favorite aspect of the day was the indy period. Aside from stealing drills I can add to my toolbox, each indy was split into two units with one coach. The split each coach's load in half. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, the two-unit indy period rotated midway through that designated period. Each prospect had the opportunity to hear a new voice, from a new coach, and work a new, distinctly different set of position-specific drills. This, undoubtedly, was refreshing for both coaches and prospects.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Strong College Presence</h2>   <p>Large-scale events like this, with such a strong historical reputation, make it worth the while for not only scouts like myself to attend, but also college coaches. It is my estimation that in the ballpark of 25 different universities were in attendance to scope out their next potential recruit. Of those estimated 25 different universities, there were probably closer to 55 different individual college coaches witnessing the action. Events like Jersey Juice not only garner up large numbers, but offer vetted talent that we must know about.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Talent</h2>   <p>Of corse it goes without saying that the reason both college coaches and myself were in attendance was to watch some of the live talent perform. When I received a roster, selfishly, I was jubilated to find an entire crop of new prospects I was unfamiliar with from the 2023 edition of the same event. I was similarly as delighted to see the names of prospects I have only written about and watched film on - [player_tooltip player_id='1228164' first='Malik' last='Redd'], [player_tooltip player_id='354979' first='Evan' last='Bryfogle'], [player_tooltip player_id='827679' first='Reilly' last='Hoffacker'], [player_tooltip player_id='801498' first='Colin' last='Obser'], and [player_tooltip player_id='595191' first='Dante' last='Campagna'] - as I now had the opportunity to see them live; while also getting the change to see prospects in person like [player_tooltip player_id='1264494' first='Camaj' last='Matthews'], [player_tooltip player_id='819156' first='George' last='Branin'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1262457' first='Sam' last='Cicchino'], and [player_tooltip player_id='819153' first='John' last='Prokapus III'], once more to either validate or change my outlook on them.</p>

With two-of-three weekends of back-to-back-to-back travel on the road nearly complete, the second leg of event season is now complete. On Saturday, May 4th I returned to South Jersey, Mount Laurel to be exact, to watch some of the talent Coach T. Pajic brought out for Jersey Gridiron Scout's Jersey Juice Underclassman College Showcase. This was my second year scouting the event and I was just as impressed by it as the first. Here are some of my immediate thoughts and reflections that I wanted to share with you all.