PRZ NJ Combine: Standout Defensive Line Notes, Volume I

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Sunday, May 4 Prep Redzone New Jersey hosted our annual high school combine. This event featured combine testing, football skills/drills, and had roughly a combined 25 colleges either request scores or attend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are notes that I recorded while I was in attendance for the position group mentioned in the subject line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ"><strong>Twitter</strong></a>&nbsp;for the latest updates in New Jersey high school football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kicking off today's coverage are two former teammates from Colonia... Choosing to stay with his hometown team, [player_tooltip player_id='1663300' first='Evan' last='Graciani'] is an intriguing prospect for college coaches to consider. At 6'3" 230lbs, he has enough size to develop as a 'tweener edge/interior lineman, depending on which way he wants to go. I thought that Graciani has a very good, loaded forward stance. Both his position coaches and I noticed that he was not on his finger tips in his stance - which they addressed and, to his credit, Graciani corrected. Graciani was able to execute a good long arm when rushing the passer, but I do wish to see him stack moves, particularly the snatch to swim/arm-over in those situations... A familiar face to Graciani was that of [player_tooltip player_id='1571994' first='Anthony' last='Gerald']. How an attendee of St. Joseph's Regional, Gerald threw an absolutely violent rip - a rip that I actually underscored and capped with an exclamation point in my notebook.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out of New York, 6'2" 250lb [player_tooltip player_id='1624497' first='Jamal' last='Joda'] showcased a strong performance to go along with his 4.62 shuttle time. Joda truly works his hips very well when working to get around his matchup. Another thing I noticed him do well was execute a good stab to the chest plate of his matchup, creating backwards momentum and a two-way go for himself. Later on, Joda sold a speed rush, only to get home on a low, two-handed swipe of his matchup's hands, finishing with his hips through. I though that Joda was at his best when he was physical and had room to further develop his technique... A shorter-but-younger prospect in attendance was current freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1655334' first='Zaire' last='Williams']. Williams demonstrated that he knows how to effectively use his hands in a multiplicity of ways. First, I noticed him go to the rip move - something linemen of shorter stature prefer to the swim. Later on, being the benefactor of inherently being lower, Williams featured a swipe-to-rip combo for an easy win of that rep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prep Redzone New Jersey Combine Event Coverage</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-offensive-eye-test-prospects-ready-for-college">Offensive Eye Test</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-defensive-eye-test-prospects-ready-for-college">Defensive Eye Test</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-combine-performances-defense">Top Combine Performers, Defense</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-combine-performances-offense">Top Combine Performers, Offense</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-defensive-back-notes-volume-i">Defensive Back Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/06/prz-nj-combine-standout-defensive-line-notes-volume-i">Defensive Line Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-linebacker-notes-volume-i">Linebacker Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-offensive-lineman-notes-volume-i">Offensive Line Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-quarterback-notes-volume-i">Quarterback Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-receiver-notes-volume-i">Receiver Notes, Volume 1</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/prz-nj-combine-standout-running-back-notes-volume-i">Running Back Notes, Volume 1</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->