PRZ Clayton Combine: Final Thoughts & My Guys

We've dropped over 15 pieces about our Prep Redzone North Carolina Combine on Sunday, featuring every player at least once, with the vast majority of participants getting multiple in-depth mentions throughout the week. The gameplan going in was for me to hit the offensive players and Joshua Graham to feature the defenders. For the most part, we've done that, but I would be remiss if I ignored the defensive side of the ball completely.   In watching 1-on-1s and individual drills, I picked up some notes on several of the defenders in attendance. Here, I'm featuring several players in a "my guys" format: players who stood out, even when I wasn't focused on them. Along with some final thoughts about the camp as a whole, here are "my guys" as we put a bow on a successful Prep Redzone Combine.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">"My Guys" From PRZ Clayton Combine</h2>   Spanning both offense and defense, here are a few guys I couldn't ignore even if I tried to focus elsewhere, with some thoughts about each. These are mostly guys I believe are underrecruited or underrated, with some thoughts about why I think they could rise.   Cleveland linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1600424' first='Jaylen' last='King'] is a physical monster who probably had the cleanest day of anyone in attendance. I never saw him lose a rep and he was a nightmare for the running backs, a group that I was thoroughly impressed with otherwise. He's a guy I think could ultimately end up as a late Power Four add and he just earned his first FBS offer on Tuesday from Army. He has the grades, leadership, film, and physical profile to be a fast-riser as a senior and will likely end up with his choice of FBS or Ivy League school.   I also left completely sold on Fuquay-Varina linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1129856' first='Jackson' last='Bordelon'] a guy who was a bit more athletic than I had initially anticipated. He weighed in nearly 10 pounds heavily than we had in our system and was flying in both testing and drills. He's not a freakish athlete, and on film he wins more with anticipation and sound technique, but when those guys show up and hit testing thresholds, it strengthens the belief that their game will translate to the next level.   Jordan-Matthews athlete [player_tooltip player_id='935584' first='Kenneth' last='Dula IV'] worked out as a defensive back, which is his future position, but he doesn't come off the field for his high school team, doing a bit of everything. He's working back from injury and this was his first competitive work in nearly six months. He's hit better testing numbers before, but the numbers he put up Sunday are nothing to scoff at and his quiet, workmanlike demeanor played itself out at defensive back, where he rarely gave up anything in 1-on-1s. He's never had the interception or tackle numbers as a corner because he's rarely targeted, so I'm interested to see what types of highlight-reel plays he can make after a change to safety in the fall.   I was also really impressed with Laney freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1665124' first='Holden' last='Baker'], a guy just recently on my radar and one who I think could rise to be an FBS recruit. He had the fastest 40 of the day, and looked excellent for his age. Similarly, I liked [player_tooltip player_id='887866' first='Domonic' last='Williams Jr'].'s demeanor and technique   On the defensive line, [player_tooltip player_id='1663952' first='Davis' last='Prichard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1666240' first='Jacob' last='Bowen'] are two guys I think could rise. Prichard is older, so he'll need a strong senior year to get , while I think Bowen is a future interior guy, if he can put on the weight to be effective against the run there.   At quarterback, I thought it was another strong performance from [player_tooltip player_id='870217' first='Tanner' last='Payne']. I actually told him afterwards that his primary focus should be a strong summer visit schedule, as I'm not sure there's much more he needs to prove at exposure camps. He's throwing for some FCS schools and once one offers, he should get several more opportunities.   On my board, [player_tooltip player_id='1654186' first='Brody' last='Hunt'] raised his stock the most. He came in as one of dozens of talented receivers and his highlight tape doesn't tell the whole story of his reliability. He's going to really impress a coaching staff with crisp route-running at camps this summer.   Offensively, I thought the best two players were Mount Airy RB [player_tooltip player_id='1531332' first='Taeshon' last='Martin'] and Clayton WR [player_tooltip player_id='714587' first='TJ' last='Campbell']. I have Group of Five grades on each, even though they don't have those offers. Martin is simply lacking in exposure as he plays in an underrecruited part of the state, while Campbell just hasn't had the numbers while in a run-heavy offense behind multiple talented older guys. Both, in my opinion, should see the offers come in soon enough.   If Campbell has a performance at a college prospect camp like he did Sunday, he'll get an offer on the spot, while Martin just needs to continue plugging away and showing that he's not just a product of a friendly offense.   Both guys, as well as several others in attendance, would benefit greatly from some 40-yard practice as their game-speed is faster than their camp times would suggest; that leads me to some final thoughts.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Final Prep Redzone Clayton Combine Thoughts</h3>   Players typically come to a camp like our PRZ Combine to raise their stock. But, the recruiting process isn't always black and white. Raising your ranking on Prep Redzone is awesome, but it won't automatically guarantee a scholarship offer. Here are a few takeaways that I had from Sunday that can help you in your recruitment, both for the players in attendance and others.   1) Combine-Specific Training   I cannot recommend this enough if you're planning on going to any sort of college or exposure camp. Several guys ran a tad slower than their true speed in the 40. Whether it's working on your start, technique, or finish, specific training for the 40-yard dash can take .1-.2 seconds off your time without you actually having to get faster.   Getting comfortable with the 40, shuttle, broad jump, vertical, and 3-cone can help improve your numbers without a change to your baseline athleticism.   2) Good Routes   I was thankful to both the quarterbacks and receivers on Sunday that--for the most part--players ran real routes in 1-on-1s. "Tik Tok" routes are becoming more prevalent and college coaches hate it. If a route has more than two cuts, it isn't a real route and wouldn't fly in a game-setting.   The same goes for routes that invite throws that would be batted down at the line in an 11-on-11 setting. Focus less on "winning" reps and more on showcasing precise route-running abilities.   I'd say the same for defensive linemen in 1-on-1s. Your pass rush should include a primary and either a secondary or counter move, not 12 moves that give you a "win" by hitting the back side of a dummy six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Moves are better than wins in camp settings.   3) More Work, Less Talk   This one is a personal belief of mine, though one that is shared by plenty of college coaches. I love energy and I'm cool with some minor trash talk, but I'd rather you maximize reps by aggressively trying to get more work than spending half of your time chirping with either the players at your position or the position you're facing.   Be vocal, but not obnoxious (Parents, that goes for you too). And also, watch how you celebrate. If you make a decent catch over a player six inches shorter than you and then go overboard with a celebration, I won't be impressed. But if you drop a guy in best-on-best, I'm okay with people recognizing it.   This isn't a "get off my lawn" post, just be mindful that you're being evaluated during every part of the day, not just after the snap.

We've dropped over 15 pieces about our Prep Redzone North Carolina Combine on Sunday, featuring every player at least once, with the vast majority of participants getting multiple in-depth mentions throughout the week. The gameplan going in was for me to hit the offensive players and Joshua Graham to feature the defenders. For the most part, we've done that, but I would be remiss if I ignored the defensive side of the ball completely.