Uncovered Gems #11 - OK Red Defense #2

The OK Red never fails to impress. This league is SO deep with talent. This is my second article covering the defensive side of the ball, and we still have two more to go.   In this iteration, we have players from Hudsonville, Rockford, Grand Haven, and Grandville.    Already a key player in Hudsonville's state championship run as a Junior, Ryan should take another massive step forward next season.   Ryan is best described as an on-ball OLB or an EDGE rusher. His tape kicks off with a physical block shed on the RB and an excellent TFL. That play in particular showcases good speed and again, physicality- two things you NEED in order to play EDGE. Other plays like 1:34 further showcase his good speed, long arms, and general willingness to be physical.   Ryan is a solid all-around EDGE / LB, but he could really take off next season. Film study and motor are two effort-based things that could take his game to the next level.   Quick note- Ryan should be highlighting himself every play. He doesn't highlight himself on tape, and it's sometimes not clear who I should be looking at.      A super solid highlight tape from Sawyer, and I expect him to have a huge Junior season.   Sawyer's first highlight shows off a phenomenal interception, defending a simple hitch route. It looked like Sawyer knew what was coming, he jumped the route and came down with the pick. His second highlight is just as impressive. Man-to-man on a simple 5-yard out, Sawyer again jumps the route and picks off the slowly-thrown pass. Third, he makes a near-perfect tackle on the outside toss.   Plays like 1:26 show offensive highlights- Sawyer looks like a solid route-runner, and he looks great after the catch. I could 100% see Sawyer being a great two-way Varsity player next season!      Jonah is already ranked, but I thought this would be a good time to give his Junior season tape a watch.   This year, he further displayed great physicality and effort as an off-ball linebacker. A ton of good tackles and hard hits in the first minute. Then, at 1:15, Jonah lines up at DB and still makes a good tackle, plays decent coverage for a moment, then tackles the receiver running the quick out route. Other plays like 1:40 show decent IQ and motor.   It's obvious that Jonah is a great linebacker. Excellent hit power, good effort, and can line up just about anywhere. The one thing he needs to improve upon is his athleticism. If he was faster and had a great motor, he'd be a future GLIAC star.      Chase should be a college prospect this Spring. His highlights are quite good, and quite varied.   He has highlights at DB, safety, and a few on the line of scrimmage closer to the ball. His tape starts off with a big-time PBU in the redzone. From the reaction of his team, that seemed like a huge play against an excellent team. Third play, he's lining up on-ball against Grandville, a Power-T team. Chase fires off the ball quickly, avoids the lead blocker, and makes a great solo tackle. At 0:46, he has another good man-to-man rep with a good PBU.   Chase looks athletic, has a great motor, is physical, etc. I feel that he'll definitely be a D3 prospect at the absolute least this Spring.      Shocking: ANOTHER super high-effort player in the OK Red.   Keegan has solid highlights. At 0:31, he makes a great open-field tackle on a receiver. Great reaction time- react a moment sooner and the opponent would have picked up the first down. At 0:42, Keegan has a great man coverage rep and PBU.   The rest of his tape shows several good run stops. So many DBs are timid when it comes to run support, and Keegan is not. I will say, he dives for a lot of tackles. He seems good at latching on and making arm tackles, but I would also like to see better form tackles in the future.   I think that Keegan has an excellent chance of earning D3 offers this spring.

The OK Red never fails to impress. This league is SO deep with talent. This is my second article covering the defensive side of the ball, and we still have two more to go.