You Are Athlete Middle School Showcase: Defensive Standouts

With my final "You Are Athlete" camp article I want to give some recognition to probably the most impressive group of the day the Defensive players. When your young and watch football, you usually have dreams of scoring the winning touchdown and catching long passes. These special group of middle schoolers rather be on the defensive side of the ball and they take pride in stopping opposing offensive players.   I left Kansas City really impressed with the amount of talent that attended the camp, but these six players that were going to talk about in this article started to really separate from their peers.    Young [player_tooltip player_id='693908' first='Jayvyn' last='Wise'] was on fire in Kansas City.   Wise from start to finish came into " You Are Athlete" with something to prove. You can tell that Wise is truly dedicated in perfecting his craft and he did not disappoint at this camp. Listed on prep redzone as a LB I am fully convinced that he belongs in the secondary as a CB/S hybrid. Because of his ability to cover so much ground so quickly, Wise showcased sticky coverage all day long.   During the 1-on-1 segment of camp Wise played the best among defensive backs earning Defensive back MVP. He has the great ability to flip his hips turn, run and get the ball faster than the receiver. He's also a really aggressive defender; I was able to watch some film from this past football season and his ability to tackle out in space was remarkable.   Wise will definitely be playing somewhere on Saturdays it's just a question of where he will play on Saturdays.     Grant-Barnett is just a good kid on a mission.   I had the opportunity to just talk to Chance after the camp because you just want to get a feel of how he operates as a person off the field. Grant-Barnett is so nice and polite and props to his parents for raising such a great young man. But when he steps foot on the football field, he's able to flip a switch and he is an absolute problem on the defensive side of the ball.   He is a super aggressive linebacker but also has a really smooth ability to cover backs out of the backfield. At camp in the open field tackle challenge he did a really good job of getting to his spot breaking down and making the play on running backs.   Chance is going to be great in high school and beyond.     Johnson is just scratching the surface of his potential.   [player_tooltip player_id='1751565' first='Cameron' last='Johnson'] already standing at 5'10 200 pounds as an eighth grader moves probably the best out of any defensive lineman at the camp. He was so impressive watching him pop out of his stance, he plays with his head on fire with a motor that runs blazing hot all the time. Johnson also sports an already refined bag of pass rushing moves that is rare to see at such a young age. He was a problem for offensive lineman in the lineman challenge because of his ability to get on them so quickly.   Johnson really turned some heads out there amongst the scouting community and he should be proud of what he accomplished.     Scott won camp defensive lineman MVP for good reason.   Jarrell Scott was phenomenal at the "You Are Athlete" camp I honestly don't remember Scott losing a single rep in 1-on-1's he put on an absolute clinic at camp. Standing at 5'11 252 Jarrell Scott was a dominant force all day long he displays just raw power that someone his age doesn't usually possess.   He made easy work out of all the offensive lineman in attendance it was a sight to see. Scott is just as impressive when the pads come on, his 8th grade year he ran amuck and made it look just a little too easy. If he keeps this consistent production, he is going to light high school football on fire. College football scouts remember the name Jarrell Scott.     Cloughley has elite class athleticism   Derek Cloughley moves so well on the football field, he almost glides in covering pass coverage. Derek is a chess piece on defense every coach in the nation loves players that have the ability play multiple positions. Coaches are going to be enamored with Cloughley because he doesn't have a lot of flaws to his game.   At camp he was very impressive how he moved through every drill conducted; I had to put on the tape at home to watch what he did in pads and came away just as impressed. On top of moving well he can really lay the lumber at linebacker usually when he makes contact with the ball carrier that's where the play ends.   Keep an eye on Derek Cloughly Jr in 2025.     [player_tooltip player_id='1633313' first='Leo' last='Adams'] made a name for himself at the "You Are Athlete" camp   I know this is the third defensive lineman I've talked about in this article, but his group really impressed me in Kansas City and young [player_tooltip player_id='1633313' first='Leo' last='Adams'] was among the top of the group. Adams is an amazing athlete with a very high character he just wants to dig his cleats in the turf and get to work. He has a great initial "POP" when he makes contact with the blocker and "jolts" them back on their heels it almost surprises them how much strength he has. He has a very refined way of how he takes care of business out there he could probably play multiple positions along the defensive line because he just moves so well.   Adams is going to give you maximum effort every time he is on the football field which every coach falls in love with. I believe Adams is just getting better and is definitely D1 Football bound.

With my final "You Are Athlete" camp article I want to give some recognition to probably the most impressive group of the day the Defensive players. When your young and watch football, you usually have dreams of scoring the winning touchdown and catching long passes. These special group of middle schoolers rather be on the defensive side of the ball and they take pride in stopping opposing offensive players.