WNY DB Clinic Eval Notes

Last Sunday, I spent some time in WNY. I was grateful to the guys in the Buffalo area who extended the invitation to the DB clinic to check out some prospects for whom I was very interested in getting live evaluations. Shout out to Coach McCann, Coach Brim, Coach Cook, and Coach Williams for putting on an excellent event with solid prospects of all ages emphasizing DB work.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Intro Notes</h2>   Some non-DB work I was impressed with included solid performances from [player_tooltip player_id='1213071' first='Bryce' last='Tubin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='505854' first='Dominic' last='Anzalone'], who look like the top two quarterbacks in WNY. Tubin, I had seen throw before, but I had seen Anzalone in person but not throw, and I was impressed with a couple of touch throws he made during 1v1s. Tubin is the clear top 2025 WNY quarterback, especially with the recent transfer of Sherrad Bernard III from Bennett to Ohio.   [player_tooltip player_id='648835' first='Gerald' last='McCloud Jr'] and [player_tooltip player_id='390762' first='Jahyden' last='Clark'] performed as expected as the top WRs at the event, which gave the DBs a lot of trouble in 1v1s. Unsurprisingly, both hold D1 offers and are two of WNY's top athletes in the 2025 class.   [player_tooltip player_id='1339504' first='Anthony' last='Adinolfe'] was an excellent route runner with solid hands in his 1v1 reps.   Two impressive young guys at WR are both future WRs at Canisius. 2027 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1339477' first='Jason' last='Love'] was twitchy and smooth out of his breaks. 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='1339473' first='Antonio' last='Olivero'] has a bright future; I'm not sure there will be a single freshman in New York this fall who has the detailed route running Olivero has. He has the tempo, burst, and twitch to create separation consistently. Overall, he was one of the more difficult WRs to cover in open space.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">DB Work</h2>    [player_tooltip player_id='806954' first='Kyler' last='Lee'] excelled in the portion of coverage which feature route concepts because is a natural safety prospect who is best in coverage when he can use his eyes, read the quarterback, and diagnose the routes in front of him.   Lee has a built lower body and is explosive in his movements. He showed flashes in man coverage at CB but his best position on tape and in camp was SAF.     Staples is quickly making a name for himself, so much so that before the event, he was a player I made it a priority to see. Staples was explosive and showed flashes of some awe-inspiring natural athleticism and feel for the ball and coverage.   Staples is intriguing because his sophomore tape is not the greatest. Still, through the spring and summer, he has completely transformed his fundamentals in coverage and really was battling with a couple of WNY's top D1 prospects.   Staples stood out. His willingness to keep taking reps and take several in a row showed his motor skills and willingness to learn from the reps he lost.   Staples is in for a huge Junior season for McKinley.     Young was a new name to me, and the Williamsville North prospect showed much improvement over just a few hours. Young moves well, and he shows burst and speed, and he also has a track background.   I was pleased with his ball skills for a player who still is pretty raw as a DB overall, he was able to anticipate and swipe a hand through the ball multiple times.     Taking reps on both sides of the ball, Cook Jr. has the athleticism of a DI prospect. Although positionally, he could probably play RB or SAF at the next level; I was impressed by what he could do in coverage.   Cook Jr has fluid hips, can explode out of breaks, and shows effective closing speed to impact the catch point. Cook Jr.'s feet move quickly, and there rarely are any missteps. Cook Jr is one of the top WNY prospects in any class, and it showed on the field.     Another prospect in the long line of Schroeder Washington's, Travis is a very talented WR prospect but played some DB at the clinic, and I was impressed with his overall movement skills and ability to take coaching and immediately apply that to his next reps.     Worthy was a player I only had a few notes on, but he was a twitchy prospect, and the Timon DB showed solid footwork in coverage. Worthy has playing time on varsity as a freshman and I liked what I saw in some coverage reps.

Last Sunday, I spent some time in WNY. I was grateful to the guys in the Buffalo area who extended the invitation to the DB clinic to check out some prospects for whom I was very interested in getting live evaluations. Shout out to Coach McCann, Coach Brim, Coach Cook, and Coach Williams for putting on an excellent event with solid prospects of all ages emphasizing DB work.