Belleville Scouting Report (vs. Clarkston)

Belleville fell yesterday to an extremely polished Clarkston squad. It was a bit of a slap in the face, but pretty much everyone I've talked to agrees that Belleville will greatly improve as the season goes on.   For the first time in a while, Belleville has some holes to patch up. A very low number of seniors, making for a young team that should improve throughout this season and a team that will almost certainly be better next season. Here are six evaluations for Belleville prospects that I kept a close eye on.    It was a frustrating day for Kendall. Of course, he's filling some major shoes, which come with large and in some cases unfair expectations.   For most of the first half, Kendall looked uncomfortable. Constantly pressured, became jittery in the pocket, and all-around a tad off-schedule. The whole team was off-schedule.   Starting with the final drive of the first half, Kendall seemed to settle down and began playing better. A great throw to end the half, and a handful of on-schedule and accurate passes in the second half, including a beautiful deep ball where his WR slowed down. The talent is clear. The entire team, including Kendall, have things to clean up. Kendall is built for this, and I trust that he'll continue to improve throughout the season.     Tre proved that he's Belleville's best offensive player. Tre was an outlier. To start, Tre flashed his RAC ability. Clarkston did a great job tackling all game, but Tre was still able to slide through tackles and earn some yards after contact.   Tre's hands also showed up. That play at the end of the first half was a catch, without a doubt. He also had a great snag on what I think was a slant thrown a tad high. Tre is a hands catcher and is proven to be able to snag high-velocity balls on short routes. Hands are reliable, though he sometimes double clutches while trying to bring it into his body.   Lastly, Tre is a competitor. I witnessed some emotion from him. He wants to win, and doesn't like to lose. The emotion wasn't good nor bad- just wanted to compete and win. Much rather have that than someone who looks like he doesn't care. Overall, my optinion of Tre has not changed. Still #2 ranked in the Class of 2027.     Geonte had a big day. The best performance I saw out of any Belleville player.   He was a workhorse on defense. Several tackles, some solo in the open field. In addition, Geonte had a couple big hits, and was willing to go sideline-to-sideline or chase down a runner to ensure a stop. Plus, a couple instances where I saw Clarkston's receivers try to block Geonte. In one instance, the Clarkston WR did a decent job blocking, but Geonte stayed square, and saw the ballcarrier try and run outside. Once the ballcarrier made the cut, Geonte disengaged and made a good tackle. Finally, Geonte made a couple plays on offense. Keep this up, and Geonte will earn offers. If not D1, he'll absolutely be a GLIAC prospect. I could see Geonte being a guy I pound the table for next Spring.     First off, it's extremely impressive to be starting at Belleville as a freshman. Super high praise becuase of that.   In the middle of the offseason, I watched Ruff perform well at the Wayne State Mega Camp. High upside as a pass rusher. Knows what he's doing.   Yesterday, Ruff struggled a bit, which is expected given he's a freshman facing an outstanding OAA Red offensive line. On a few occasions, Ruff was able to shed his block and stop an inside run headed into an adjacent gap. On a few other occasions, Ruff earned his way into a backfield because of a good stunt.   He's got the frame, and I saw him flash that pass rush during the offseason. Love his potential. Upgrade that explosiveness and continue the in-season conditioning, and he'll be a major piece of the Belleville D throughout the season.       One of Belleville's starting tackles, Rokko did a solid job protecting his quarterback. All-around, he was solid. In pass pro, I wasn't in love with his feet, but generally kept his man in front of him and showed impressive recovery. I thought Rokko did a much better job in the run game- I witnessed a couple of great reach blocks. On a day when the Belleville O-Line struggled, Rokko was a good bright spot.     Foley started at LB, but I was primarily trying to evaluate him as a running back. Throughout the first half, Foley earned a few touches, but Belleville didn't run it much, and when they did, there were a handful of players getting touches at RB.   I still like Foley's upside at RB way more than anyone else earning touches at the position. It was tough sledding for Foley because of Clarkston's constant pressure, but he flashed a few instances of good power and contact balance. He wasn't able to break away or do really anything in the open field, which was a bit of a bummer- but not entirely his fault. That said, I do really like what I saw from Tenton when he was in at RB. Just wasn't a game where he had a huge oppurtunity to shine.

Belleville fell yesterday to an extremely polished Clarkston squad. It was a bit of a slap in the face, but pretty much everyone I've talked to agrees that Belleville will greatly improve as the season goes on.