How did Top-Ranked Prospects Perform? Post-York Rose Bowl, Part 1

<p class="text-gray-700">The first career start for a sophomore taking the reigns of a 5A Pennsylvania State Title-winning program. Hardly an unknown, yet the weight on McLeish's shoulders would be enough to have any, or most, underclassmen's knees buckling. A Week 0 opener, Panther teammates on both sides of the ball who are accustomed to dominating, taking on a Canadian program chockful of un-scouted talent. If there were a game for McLeish to falter on, I'd argue it would be this one. McLeish was met with immediate adversity, an interception on his first drive, Clarkson North taking an early lead. Many unaware of McLeish's nature and composure began to roll their eyes on the sideline, thinking the early blunders were a sign of more to come. </p>   <p>Quite the opposite. McLeish proceeded to lead the Panther offense to 26 unanswered points, doing so in a myriad of ways. The sophomore quarterback can firmly be called a dual-threat prospect moving forward. McLeish flashed his zone-read capabilities as a freshman, now proving as a sophomore that he can damage a defense with his legs as much as his arm. McLeish would hit outs and screens on time, would tuck and run when called upon to do so, McLeish would deliver dimes on corner and nine routes downfield as well. A complete performance that will likely set the tone of the early season moving forward. An unbreakable demeanor, the Imhotep coaching staff didn't shy away from McLeish when Clarkson North began to close the gap. McLeish is the front-runner to land as the top passer in his class, so long as he continues to carve up defenses like he did this past Friday. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827109907134607686 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827129008091173031 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Hardly any DB in the northeast could step in and fill Kenny Woseley's cleats. Imhotep deployed a damn good one in [player_tooltip player_id='646691' first='Dylan' last='Abram'], however, to do just that. [player_tooltip player_id='386313' first='Saimire' last='Locks'] is still locking down one side of the field, with the former Bonner & Prendie Friar manning the other. A quiet day out of a corner is a good one, yet Clarkson North was forced to pick their poison, often choosing to throw Abram's way. Abram proves he can play ball hawk from outside corner or the slot. Abram played the flat with his eyes to the QB before breaking inside for an interception of a slant. Advanced level of play here. Fantastic breaks to the football, disciplined, wasn't too excited to sink his hips and potentially over-commit to throws his way. Easily could have come away with three-four interceptions in this one. Good luck testing Abram or Locks this season. His top-five ranking is justified.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827318783502901488 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Penn State commit [player_tooltip player_id='143199' first='Jabree' last='Coleman'] was a bit bottled up early on in this one. Credit to Clarkson North for pushing back the Panther OL time and time again, the slow start hardly Coleman's doing. Eventually, Coleman would spring loose some big runs, some production coming through the screen game as well. Coleman would score the first and last touchdowns put forth by the Panthers in this one. A tone settor and a finisher. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827100178832114145 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Loved what I saw out of CFN's [player_tooltip player_id='852996' first='Lucas' last='Shannon']. I wanted to go into this game without doing much digging on the Canadian-born prospects. This, so I could watch gameplay unfold without much bias. After watching Shannon play against a vaunted Imhotep defense, I can see why Caleb Holfoth ranked Shannon a top-ten back in his class. Nothing is given, all is earned when lining up against [player_tooltip player_id='142896' first='Zahir' last='Mathis'] and company, Shannon was able to find lanes even so. Credit to CFN's front too, holes were created for Shannon to exploit, he did just that. I came away pleased with his overall performance. You can check out one of his touchdowns below, this opened up scoring in the game. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827093523201458523 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">An absolute shame that I cannot find tape on Hudl, or a Twitter attached to Clarkson North's David Nwodo. I won't pretend to know much about the young man out of Burlington, Ontario. I can speak on how incredible he was in the bout against Imhotep. 6'5, carried 255-pounds well. An incredible edge-setter, throttling an incredible back like [player_tooltip player_id='143199' first='Jabree' last='Coleman'] is going to take a village, that it did, yet I could make the case that Nwodo shedding his block after the snap led to many runs being bounced outside that shouldn't. An incredible disruptor who lived in the Imhotep backfield, especially in the first half. Nwodo would come out of the locker room a bit hobbled, which might explain why Imhotep could run the ball a bit easier as the game progressed. Surrounding media all agreed, Nwodo was a standout performer in what would be a Week 0 loss. I'll keep an eye out for his name moving forward. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">I can make the case for [player_tooltip player_id='399270' first='David' last='Davis'] being named MVP of the entire weekend. An animal, Davis brought a different tone out on the field, doing so with his play more than anything else. We often see big names, highly-sought after prospects take plays off. Sometimes I come across prospects with substantial hype surrounding their names, just to witness a flat performance. Back-to-back years now, [player_tooltip player_id='399270' first='David' last='Davis'] has done the exact opposite. Davis would show off his capabilities when given the rock, taking a shallow punt 90+ yards to the house to open up scoring. Flat out burners attached to Davis' back, this rep was him letting West Catholic know he's arguably the best prospect on the field. His interception down the sideline was equally impressive. Tack on two scores on the ground. No prospect left a better impression, Davis took over this football game, dominating at all three phases of the game. MVP of the weekend. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Always a pleasure seeing Penn State commit [player_tooltip player_id='386032' first='Dayshaun' last='Burnett'] in person. He's quite the sight, speaking in terms of build. Your eyes can't but help be drawn to his physique on the field, a towering yet lean prospect who is as physically gifted as they come. Everything stated so far is nothing new, no inside scoop here. Was nice to witness Burnett in space a bit more than I expected going in. I witnessed Burnett come down with a few tough grabs through traffic, saw Burnett stretch the field and score from a ways out, this all on top of his defensive reps. Burnett's game-breaking ability wasn't needed in this one, this was Davis' moment in the spotlight. Burnett will get his though. See a pair of catches below. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PRZPAvic/status/1827357019554107432 </div></figure>