X Midseason Film Room: Five under-appreciated Stars

I'm not kidding- each and every one of these players could easily be considered a star on their team. Each of these five players has played incredible football so far this season, and I was highly impressed with everyone on this list. Today, I'll be checking out five players who I've barely covered, some of which will be on the rankings soon!    Jalen is someone that I probably overlooked when I watched Hudsonville face off against East Kentwood.   Hudsonville does a lot of blitzing, and Jalen is one of those key TFL treats. On those "blitz chaos" plays (0:14) Jalen is oftentimes able to become a free rusher and have free reign to the ballcarrier. At other times, (0:30) Jalen can line up on-ball, be a great contain man, and make a tackle behind the sticks.   Jalen's role on the defense is extremely fun to watch. Most of the time, he's blitzing or running hard to defend the outside run. This is a linebacker who seems to be playing free, and he does great in those improvised moments.   In terms of recruiting, Jalen's size is ideal. Just because of his size, he'd get looks at LB/DE/WR/TE from D2s/D3s. His athletic testing numbers will also play a role in recruiting. Right now, I'd consider Jalen a fringe D3 prospect.      I like AJ's midseason tape quite a bit. It's one thing to be a good skill position player, it's something else entirely to be a versatile weapon on both sides of the ball.   Offensively, AJ plays running back and slot. At both positions, AJ showcases good athleticism and explosiveness. The first play on his highlight tape shows a great outside zone run where AJ was able to find the edge and outrun defenders up the sideline. The second play shows a very well-run wheel route that completely fooled the safety. Finally, at 0:30, AJ shows off his open-field elusiveness and a little contact balance.   Defensively, AJ has a pick-6 at 0:56 but not too much else from that side of the ball.   It doesn't look like AJ has any offers so far, but his tape alone makes me confident he can succeed at the NAIA level at the very least.        It's safe to say that [player_tooltip player_id='1514601' first='Liam' last='Kania'] is one of the best defensive ends in the OAA. Throughout his tape, you can see consistent effort, explosiveness, and physicality. Take the first play for example. Good getoff, drives the opposing tackle backward, and cuts inside to punish the QB. 0:40 shows a great run stop, 1:33 a physical QB pressure, and another physical run stop at 2:16.   I watched Adams play against Oxford, but I was mainly focusing on non-seniors. I totally missed out on Liam's performance against Oxford, and it's extremely apparent that Liam is a great football player. Considering his size, I think that Liam should receive a ton of D3 opportunities.      I say it over and over- having a great special teams absolutely changes the game, especially in high school.   Jeremiah looks to be one of the best returners in the state, and he's only a sophomore. The beginning of his tape shows several kick return TDs. What I want to draw attention to is the return at 0:56. Jeremiah secures the ball on the bounce, then runs with great vision and patience- something you rarely see from a HS returner. Granted, he really takes his time during this return, but it was still an explosive play that not many returners can make.      He's already a very highly-ranked player in our class of 2027 Rankings. This season, he's proving his ranking and he's truly breaking out.   Time and again you'll see Charles take the top off of the defense as well as attack the middle of the field. At 1:14, Charles runs a great curl and shows a little bit of athleticism after the catch. At 0:18. Charles finds himself wide open in the middle third of the field and scores the easy TD.   It's apparent that Charles is an extremely athletic player. Great, explosive release, good route running, and developing open-field elusiveness. It's impressive that Charles cracked the starting lineup at Belleville as a sophomore but it's even more impressive to be performing so well.

I'm not kidding- each and every one of these players could easily be considered a star on their team. Each of these five players has played incredible football so far this season, and I was highly impressed with everyone on this list. Today, I'll be checking out five players who I've barely covered, some of which will be on the rankings soon!