Uncovered Gems: KLAA East Offense #4

A few college prospects in this edition of Uncovered Gems! The KLAA continues to be better than I had envisioned. Several playoff teams, several great college-ready players. This article includes prospects from Fordson, Belleville, Livonia Churchill, Stevenson, and Glenn.    I very recently saw Mohamed at Legacy RISE, and I was pretty impressed. Now, I'll be evaluating his 2024 highlight tape!   To my surprise, the entire first half of Mohamed's tape is from the interior offensive line. Generally, he plays with the same effort and physicality that I saw during the Legacy showcase. I don't love his balance- Mohamed has a tendency to lunge into his blocks. His footwork needs some work when run blocking.   Defensively, Mohamed as a few solid highlights. 1:15 is a decent example of his active hands. Then, at 1:24, Mohamed does a solid job at setting the edge and making the tackle on an outside run.   I still firmly believe that Mohamed has higher upside as a defensive tackle than an offensive guard. His performance at Legacy was great, and I hope he's able to parlay that into an excellent offseason.      I couldn't imagine going to Algebra 2 at 8AM just to get rocked by Charlie off a pull later in the day.   Jokes aside, Charlie has several very good highlights, especially when he's pulling. 0:13 shows an incredible block on the linebacker, totally removing him from the play. 0:19- the same exact thing. A few other highlights show similarly good run blocking. Charlie is always very physical, has a good first step, and has a high pancake rate. The two things that will likely hold Charlie back when being recruited are height and pass blocking.      It's difficult enough to earn playing time for Belleville, and it's even more difficult to have standout highlights!   These JV highlights make me confident that David can perform well at the Varsity level next season. His first highlight is a pick-6 that he accomplished by simply playing with confidence. David recognizes the scrambling QB and the receiver going to the flat, he starts to rush the QB, the QB makes an ill-advised throw, and David is off to the races. Next is a good receiving highlight. Out of the slot, David runs a good corner route and climbs the ladder to come down with the catch. Plus, he has a decent block at 2:00.   Next season, I'd love to see David play with even more confidence. Specifically, David needs to be an aggressive and confident run-stopper in order to succeed at the Varsity level.      A handful of solid highlights from KeShean Rowls. Assuming the listed height is correct, he's a very short running back. This means that he's easily tackled but also slips through small windows much easier. The bulk of the highlight tape shows KeSean putting his head down and running through small gaps through the interior. As I eluded to, KeSean doesn't have very good contact balance, but he doesn't need to. With better speed and confidence, he could be a great Varsity running back. Excited to see what KeSean is able to accomplish next season!      Peyton has solid tape and has a high likelihood of becoming a college prospect this Spring. In short, it looks like he has the mentality and size needed to succeed at the next level. Plays like 1:16 show this mentality. Peyton blocks his initial man and doesn't technically need to do anything else during the play. Instead of stopping, Peyton goes and blocks a linebacker into the turf. 1:36 and 1:43 show Peyton's abilities as a pass blocker. His footwork and balance definitely need work- not the most fluid pass set I've seen. Still, a good job kickstepping and keeping his man in front of him.   Work on pass-blocking plus agility, and Peyton could very well be a highly sought after prospect this Spring!

A few college prospects in this edition of Uncovered Gems! The KLAA continues to be better than I had envisioned. Several playoff teams, several great college-ready players. This article includes prospects from Fordson, Belleville, Livonia Churchill, Stevenson, and Glenn.