Notes From the Trail: Scouting Notes From Gainesville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gainesville, as usual, is one of the more loaded squads in the state. Here are some notes from my stop at the powerhouse. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'26 DE Marshall Leonard instantly caught my eye. With all of the talent on the Gainesville roster, I was shocked to learn that Leonard was among the more underrated guys with little recruiting attention. Leonard is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for his junior season, the main reason for how under the radar he has fallen. Regardless, with the number of coaches rolling through this spring, someone is sure to be intrigued by him. He is listed at 6'2 210. He is well-defined and has impressive twitch. Play strength is coming along, but he fires his feet and scraps at the point of attack. He looked just as good, if not better at times, than some of the other prospects with offers attached to their name, and that's more of a compliment to Leonard than a knock on anyone else. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'26 EDGE [player_tooltip player_id='401527' first='Kadin' last='Fossung'] instantly caught my eye. Fossung has always been long-limbed and a bit raw. From the looks of it, he has taken a massive step forward this offseason physically and is starting to realize his full potential. Fossung can win with speed and play in space, and now his strength is starting to come along. Fossung emerged early for Gainesville, got caught a little by the field, and is now separating himself again. He holds over a dozen FBS/P4 offers. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>It's a broken record at this point, but '27 QB [player_tooltip player_id='885409' first='Kharim' last='Hughley'] impresses me every time I see him. This was my first time seeing him this up close since he was in middle school. In my opinion, he is the most polished QB in the state from a mechanics standpoint. His feet are clean, his hips are snappy, and he gets the ball out of his hand in a hurry. What I was most impressed with was the arm strength. I knew he had a good arm, but he made tightrope throw after tightrope throw into small windows at practice. He continues to grow with each in-person exposure. He is compensating for not checking the typical P4 QB boxes. Half a dozen P4 coaches were watching him throw. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'27 OL [player_tooltip player_id='1214574' first='Tyler' last='Ford'] is loaded with P4 offers and will have coaches checking in all spring. He comes in at 6'6 335 and is a giant. He is a pretty simple eval: He is impossible to move and creates effortless push. He isn't a shabby athlete, but he is still developing his balance, as is typical with young guys at that size. Ford will walk into any P4 OL room in the country and instantly be one of the strongest guys in the group. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'27 OL [player_tooltip player_id='1214567' first='Carter' last='Mathis'] is in the same boat. Has P4 offers under his belt and will continue to have coaches checking in. Mathis is the prototype. Listed at 6'7 300. Carries his weight well and bounces out of his stance. He is well-equipped with play strength, brings his feet at contact, and is hard to run around. There's plenty of gas in the tank here. He can work up and down the line as well. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'27 DB [player_tooltip player_id='734231' first='Jeremiah' last='Proctor'] is a long-limbed, lanky prospect who looks bigger every time I see him. He is listed at 6'3 190, but looks even bigger than that. He towers over every DB on the squad and has packed on some weight. Proctor is considered a S, where his length will be a cloud on the backend. In my head, I started to think about the idea of him growing into an LB. He has the look and is building the mass, with even more room to grow. Holds FBS and P4 offers. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>'26 DL [player_tooltip player_id='908933' first='Ayden' last='Cain'] and '27 OL [player_tooltip player_id='1648878' first='Bryson' last='Hurt'] are two new guys on the line of scrimmage to watch out for. Cain, committed to Duke, is a scrappy IDL prospect who can win in several ways. Hurt has some mass and is someone I am still learning about. The Gainesville offensive and defensive front will send around half a dozen guys to the college ranks when all is said and done. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->