Week 1 Film Room: X Submissions, Part III

Here is the last look at X submissions from week 1 of the GAHSFB season.    Brandan Ridley has been a focal point of the McIntosh offense for a few years now, and his senior year should be no different. He rushed for 122 yards and a TD to start the year while adding another 2 TDs as a receiver. He also flipped around and played some safety. Ridley carries 6'1 200 on a lanky frame. He has room to play even bigger than he is now. He is a one-cut style runner who is a master at taking the yards available. He has some impressive vertical drive as a runner, which is on display when he hits a hole or when he is playing receiver. Might not be considered a burner, but his build-up to his top speed is very impressive. His production as a receiver and blocker raises his floor. He is a D1 RB prospect.     Calvin Reece looks the part of a stout C-gap to C-gap thumper. He holds his 6'0 215 measurables on a stout, filled-out frame. He has the power to catch, stall, and drive ball carriers backwards, especially when he strikes with good pad-level. He is patient as well and keeps his eyes on the ball. His play strength allows him to pinball off blocks instead of being washed. Reece will do most of his damage between the tackles, but he is a willing pursuer sideline to sideline. I would say there are some in-state small schools that would be intrigued with his play strength in the middle of their defense.     It was an active opening night for Aaron McDaniels. He is listed as an OLB, but at his size, he projects long-term as a DB. He played a nickel-LB hybrid spot in week 1, hovering close to the box and acting as a run-and-chase defender. He closed space to the football in a hurry and did a fantastic job of beating blockers to a spot and knifing past them. The next step in his development is to continue adding play strength to more easily get ball carriers to the turf. McDaniels looks active and should soak in a lot of tackles this fall at the position he's playing.     Jayden Williams is a generally low-key senior with some impressive flashes on tape. He contributes as a receiver, DB, and a returner. His combination of top-end speed and sudden explosiveness helps him instantly knife past traffic and get tacklers reeling in a hurry. He threatens DBs vertically, which sets up some opportunities underneath. In week 1, he also flashed his body control and willingness to strike. He clocked a PR of 11.00 in the 100M (MileSplit) and has D1 speed. He holds several small school offers and has the tools to be a premier playmaker at that level of ball.     Aiden Louis kicked off his senior season with over 200 total yards of offense, including 191 of those yards on the ground. He also punched it in twice. He comes in at a stout 5'8 185 with a low center of gravity. He is a cloud of dust runner with good awareness, vision, and instincts. He stays squared while searching for running lanes and has good enough footwork to exploit those lanes. He is tough to tackle due to his low center of gravity, and he fights to fall forward at the end of his runs. He broke off some explosives, but the basis of intrigue around him is his ability to nickel and dime his way around defenders and confidently take the yards available.     Ayden Young is a long, lanky DB prospect who finished with 11 total tackles to kick off the season. There is certainly some developmental upside here. Young is long and lean with room to pack on more mass. He also competes as a hurdler in track. I thought he pursued the football with patience and used his length to tie up ball carriers. The next step is just continuing to get stronger to better get ball carriers to the turf.     [player_tooltip player_id='283800' first='Brycen' last='Morris'] is an intriguing RB prospect with an impressive blend of size and speed. He is built into his 5'9 195 frame nicely and uses his low center of gravity to fall forward at contact. He stays squared to the running lanes and uses violent cuts to create yards. He PR'd at 11.30 in the 100M, shedding more light on his speed. Morris can take the yards available, but has the juice to break off explosive plays, too. Morris is a well-rounded back who should generate small school recruiting attention, although some of his traits you typically see in D1 guys.     [player_tooltip player_id='1643432' first='Tripp' last='Kelly'] was on my radar coming into this year, so he was someone I was already familiar with. He offers plenty of developmental upside as a TE. I think he projects more as the blocking archetype, with most of his damage coming that way. He is willing, fires his feet to displace defenders, and has room to add a lot of weight. Added play strength will improve his balance and coordination at the point of attack. Give him some seasoning in a college weight room and he will have a chance to harness his rare physical gifts.

Here is the last look at X submissions from week 1 of the GAHSFB season.