Under the radar seniors

One of my goals as a writer for prepredzone.com is to highlight as many athletes as possible. With my spring showcase coverage wrapped up, my focus for the next few weeks is to highlight players who don't get the coverage they deserve. Covering the top ten or twenty prospects in the state is done by multiple publications. I will admit I do it too. So, here is the first of a series of stories covering athletes that we have not put the spotlight on up to this point.    Oland is the definition of a downhill inside linebacker. He is tough to defend when he reads the play and attacks the hole. The junior Otters' athlete is physical at the point of attack – both when making a tackle and when he is engaged with a blocker. He moves between the tackles laterally but is at his best when – to use an offensive analogy – he can be a one-cut-and-go player. Oland is quick to the ball but is rarely reckless. He uses great footwork to adjust when the back bounces runs to the outside. His ability to quickly read between the tackles runs makes his attacking style all the more effective.     Reuvers is another attacking inside linebacker. When he makes his read, he is in the hole in the blink of an eye. He uses his quickness and basic slickness to work around blockers to get into the backfield. His quickness and agility allow him to work his way from sideline to sideline, pursuing the ball. He is lined up inside for most of his highlights, but moves to the outside sometimes, which takes advantage of his athletic ability. That athletic ability also allows him to become a factor in coverage. He has the change of direction ability to be effective – especially in zone coverage.     I mean this as a positive. Watching Himmelwright play linebacker is like watching the Tasmanian Devil in the old Looney Tunes cartoons. He plays at a frantic pace and looks like he is totally out of control, but somehow, he ends up around the football. He is quick to the hole and moves as well laterally as he does coming forward attacking ball carriers. The Eagles' athlete keeps his hips low at all times. This allows him to handle cutbacks by running back and take on bigger blockers at the point of attack. He appears to play all the linebacker positions in the Eagles' defense.     Bentz comes out of his backpedal quickly. He can cover a lot of ground when breaking on routes and attacking the run. His tackling is a strength of his game. Bentz has the speed to play sideline to sideline and the willingness to make an open-field tackle. The Huskies' defensive back can play outside corner and the deep safety. He is not just a good tackler. Bentz has the speed and ball skills to stay with receivers on deep routes and make plays on the ball.     Kalipe breaks well on the ball, playing the wide corner. He reacts quickly and drives hard off his back foot to get out of his backpedal. Kalipe flips his hips well when transitioning from that backpedal into a sprint or trail technique. The Lakers' defensive back is solid against the run. He supports the run well as a tackler and can get off blocks by wide receivers on the outside.

One of my goals as a writer for prepredzone.com is to highlight as many athletes as possible. With my spring showcase coverage wrapped up, my focus for the next few weeks is to highlight players who don't get the coverage they deserve. Covering the top ten or twenty prospects in the state is done by multiple publications. I will admit I do it too. So, here is the first of a series of stories covering athletes that we have not put the spotlight on up to this point.