Colorado's Recruiting Blind Spots Part 2

Matthews is the leading tackler in Colorado and with good reason. The 6'2 210-pound LB had 157 total tackles (55 solo, 102 assisted), 14 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 INT (1 returned for a TD), 3 FR (1 returned for a TD). Matthews has very good athletic ability due to elite acceleration, very good speed, lateral quickness, balance, and jumping. Matthews has very good read and reaction speed, consistently putting himself in positions to make plays. He has very good strength and very good tackling. When he's lined up as a blitzer, uses his very good take off speed paired with very good get off and block shedding skills to beat the OL. Patient on RPOs, read options, and swing passes. Matthews is a hard-hitting backer, laying the boom. Very good ball tracking and catching. Plucks the ball out of the air and uses his athletic ability to gain yards. Very good range. He has relentless pursuit and will run across the field to make the tackle. Colleges are doing themselves a disservice by not recruiting Tate. Matthews is a P4 linebacker.     Womack had a phenomenal season. The 6'1 205-pound RB/LB had 211 carries for 2157 yards with 33 touchdowns, 5 receptions for 154 yards with 1 touchdown, 40 total tackles (8 solo, 32 assisted), 12 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 FR, and a blocked punt. Womack has very good athletic ability due to elite balance, very good acceleration, speed, change of direction, and balance. He's an elusive bruiser. Very good vision. Very good inside running. Picks, slides, and pivots into the open gap. Very good outside running. He turns the perimeter and hits the gas pedal. Womack consistently gets yards after contact. He bounces off the defenders, trucks through them, or will use a juke move to gain more yards. He consistently produces with the ball in his hands, averaging 10.2 yards per carry. The definition of a workhorse back to elevate any team.     Lee measures in at 6'6 210-pounds, playing edge for Mountain Vista. This past season he had 35 total tackles (21 solo, 14 assisted), 11 TFL, 9 sacks, and 12 QB pressures. Lee has very good athletic ability due to very good acceleration, speed, lateral quickness, good change of direction, and balance. Lee has very good initial quickness out his stance. Uses his very good hand speed to engage with tackle first. Very good strength, hand strength, and hand placement. Lee has a quick twitch ability on the edge. Very good bend. Very good get off and block shedding skills. Lee has a fluid swim move and a powerful bull rush. Very good tackling. He's a great pass rusher who caught the eye of Derek Wolfe at a previous Six Zero Academy camp.     Herrera measures in at 6'3 185-pounds, playing QB and DB for Pueblo South. He went 164/247 for 2879 yards, 66.4% completion rate, 32 TDs, 9 INT, 87 carries for 392 yards with 4 touchdowns, 41 total tackles (29 solo, 12 assisted), 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 FF, and 1 PD. Caeden has very good athletic ability due to very good acceleration, speed, jumping, good change of direction, and balance. He has very good throw power with a very quick release. He's able to fit the ball downfield effortlessly. Very good pocket presence. Herrera stays poised under pressure, and has good pocket mobility. Uses his good progression speed, and if no one's open; he'll use his very good scramble ability to get the first down. Very good ball placement skills. He throws it in stride with his receiver, or above them if they need to make a play. Herrera brings that same energy to the defensive side with his good read and reaction speed and tackling. I can see him impacting a D2 team.     Smith exploded onto the scene this year. The 6'3 172-pound wide receiver had 69 catches for 1264 yards with 16 touchdowns. He was 3rd overall in receiving yards in the state. Smith has good athletic ability due to very good jumping, change of direction, good acceleration, and speed. Smith is more of a possession receiver that consistently catches everything in his way. Very good release against both off coverage and press jam. He has very good separation quickness due to his play strength and mental processing. He'll make himself open during the QB scramble drill. Smith has good ball tracking and very good catching. He uses his lengthy arms to pluck the ball out of the air with his strong suction hands. Smith will gain yards after contact due to bouncing off defenders, a powerful stiff arm, or a nasty juke move. I can see him contributing from the D2 to FCS level.