Quick Hits: River Rouge vs. Riverview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>River Rogue vs. Riverview was my #2 game behind the game I initially went to- Groves vs. Seaholm. That game was lopsided heading into halftime, so I decided to run down to Riverview to catch the end of what was an extremely exciting game. Through the quarter and a half that I watched, I came away with a few impressions from prospects on both teams. Here are those evaluations! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["899603"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1553398,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-672ee342bd5ed"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='899603' first='Nathan' last='Pinkava'] was definitely someone I was sleeping on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am extraordinarily glad I decided at the last minute to catch the end of this game. Late in the 3rd and throughout the 4th quarter, Nathan was the engine that kept the Riverview offense going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Being tasked with a lot of power / other inside runs, Nathan consistently ran through tackles. Plus, quite frankly, Nathan ran through people who were bigger in size than he was. That's where Nathan's obvious hard work comes in. Although he's 5'9" going up against 6' - 6'3" guys, Nathan is a muscular 200 pounds and acted as a bowling ball as long as he was running north-south. That said, Nathan earned a few outside carries, and his vision sometimes faltered. Still, he looked pretty dang athletic, and could be a great speed-in-space player with the reps needed to develop better decisiveness/vision.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm shocked to see zero offers on Nathan's Twitter. I would recommend him to any NAIA or D3 program in a heartbeat. Heck, depending on testing numbers, I wouldn't count him out in the GLIAC. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1553400,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1613568' first='Jakoby' last='Cross']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"River Rouge","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-672f338fc371f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">This will be a very short eval. Jakoby had a handful of late-game carries, and he did alright. Nothing blew me away- he served as a solid "elusive" type RB who struggled to earn explosive plays against a great tackling defense. Jakoby had his fair share of runs where he hit the correct hole, ran through an arm tackle, and gained a fair bit of yards. Currently, he lacks the size and experience to be a game-changing RB. That could all change in a single offseason, and I hope to see Jakoby put his head down and work hard to have a breakout 2025 season! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["899483"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1553398,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-672f338fc376f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I found myself watching a lot of Lucas when he was on defense. Simply, from the safety position, Lucas was a heat-seeking missile. River Rogue had a difficult time running the ball with any sort of consistency, and that's because a lot of players, but especially Lucas, did an excellent job of pursuit and tackling. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A shorter eval- but Lucas was just a rock-solid run stopper. Good reaction, great pursuit, and unrelenting effort. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["437957"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1553401,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-672f338fc37b5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It's always fun to see [player_tooltip player_id='437957' first='Jaylen' last='Pitts'] play football. He was his typical self yesterday. As long as he got hands on a defender, that defender wasn't going anywhere. For his size, he's always moved surprisingly well, and he's got the tenacity + power to be a dominant college lineman. I'm not too sure why his recruitment has dried up, but I hold strong in saying he's a Division 1 talent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I hope Jaylen can get himself on a great D2 or D1 roster and develop. Seriously, the sky is the limit for Jaylen, and it always has been! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["563421"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":1553398,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-672f338fc37f6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Without a roster or much time on the clock, I had to focus my scouting on the first Riverview defender that caught my eye. That happened to be Braedyn. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First off, Braedyn is, as advertised, around 6'2" 220. He's big, strong, and definitely passes the eye test. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for skill, Braedyn is a bit raw but far from having poor fundamentals. Against the inside run, there were times when Braedyn got knocked off-balance, but he was always able to recover quickly and usually got in on a gang tackle. When he wasn't playside, Braedyn flashed a few power moves to get the opposing lineman off him before making a pursuit for the football. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'd like to see Braedyn focus on his getoff (first step, initial contact, etc) alongside developing a small arsenal of block-shedding moves. He's a powerful guy, so being able to anchor down to stop the run and developing something like a push-pull move would benefit him greatly. I'm excited to see what Braedyn will accomplish during his senior season! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->