West Michigan Drive 7v7 Tryout Impressions

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a tryout for the West Michigan Drive 7v7 team. This team will eventually compete in a few very competitive tournaments, including a few of our Prep Redzone events!   Here are seven prospects that stood out to be during the tryout.    There were a lot of QBs at the tryout, and Braylon was one of the most talented.   Just watching all of the QBs casually warm up, I could tell that Braylon was the best out of the initial group. Smooth throwing motion, quick release, decent footwork. On top of that, Braylon has great throw power + good size.   Throughout the tryout, it was obvious that Braylon was pretty talented. Though, Braylon's accuracy was widely inconsistent.   It didn't matter the route he was throwing- Braylon was just a bit off. It seemed like 33% of the time, Braylon was perfectly on point; 33% of the time, the ball was underthrown/thrown behind the receiver, and 33% overthrown/ in front of the receiver. I honestly don't have enough QB knowledge to know how to fix the accuracy issue, but my gut says it's a mix of inconsistent throwing motion/footwork and mental.   Braylon is now at Grand Rapids Northview, and I think that with a great offseason, Braylon will start and develop into a college prospect.     Ahman was the best receiver at this tryout.   This should be no surprise if you've been keeping up with West Michigan Football. Ahman is coming off of an amazing season at East Kentwood, undoubtedly catching the attention of college coaches.   Ahman's best trait is his athleticism/twitchiness. Routes I watched included slant, whip, fade, post, and comebacks. His great acceleration, combined with solid footwork on his breaks, made for consistent separation even against the best DBs. Great route runner.   The one major aspect that Ahman needs to work on is his hands. Ahman had several drops, much of them completely uncovered with zero pressure. In fact, I thought he had BETTER hands when in tight coverage. It just comes down to focusing and looking the ball in.   Also, real quick, Ahman should continue perfecting his routes. I liked what I saw, but on a few routes, I thought Ahman could be just a step faster out of his break. Focus on the "little things" this offseason!   I could easily see Ahman earning a ton of GLIAC offers this offseason. Though, he NEEDS to test well. Above all else, I think Ahman needs to perfect the shuttle. If he can perform really well in that test plus ball out at camps, he will earn GLIAC offers.     After his stellar State Championship performance, I'm very glad I got to see [player_tooltip player_id='1573500' first='Cameron' last='Payne'] early in the offseason.   First off, Cam is built very well for a 3-down RB. He flat-out passes the eye test.   Athletically, Cameron looked great for his size. Good change of direction, good overall route-running, and coachable. I honestly didn't love some of his routes early on, but he took coaching well and improved throughout camp. He especially runs a good whip, which is an excellent route to have in your toolbox as an RB. Finally, Cam has great hands. I saw very few drops, and he secured a few super difficult catches in traffic.   Now, having watched him in-season twice plus once this offseason, I think that Cam should be a MAC prospect. Cam needs to test very well to get those MAC offers. Rep the 40, shuttle, and broad jump.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   Finally, I won't name names, but Cam is almost a mirror image of a few other MAC-offered RBs I've seen over the years. I'm pretty confident in my MAC evaluation, but I know that Cam needs to test well and perform well in front of those coaches to be offered.     AJ was a super solid receiver. He played his best ball late in the tryout during the 7v7 period. Good routes, good change of direction, and good hands. Can take the top off of the defense. Very fit and athletic.   I didn't watch AJ quite as closely as some others, but he did enough to earn my praise. My gut says that AJ is a good Division 3 prospect. I hope he can attend camps and ball out this offseason. It's very difficult to stand out as a WR, so I hope AJ works on the finer details (testing & routes).   I also think AJ could stand out at DB. I just didn't see much man-to-man to confidently say if he has college upside at the position.     Tate is a very competitive football player, but I honestly don't know how colleges will view him this offseason.   Expectedly, Tate did well at yesterday's tryout. At receiver, he's a solid route-runner with good hands. Plus, he has a great frame, and he's physical- making him an ideal X.   Tate shined on the defensive side of the football. I really, really liked his play at corner. Tate is patient, quick on his feet, and has very good ball skills- commonly swatting away passes with great precision. Combined with his physicality and competitiveness, I'd say Tate should be a GLIAC prospect.     Jack has excellent upside as a tight end and linebacker.   I watched Jack pretty closely at the beginning of the tryout- and thought he did well. His routes on air were all solid but not excellent. Though still above average for someone his size.   What I liked most about Jack was his catch radius and overall hands. Jack has great hands and can even catch hard-thrown balls with one hand. Combined with his good size, Jack can be a solid D3 Tight End.     Quick shoutout to Owen who (likely) punched his ticket to the WM drive team from his 7v7 performance.   Early in the tryout, I liked what I saw from Owen. Average size, good athleticism, and solid route running.   Late in the tryout, Owen consistently took the top off of the defense and made several plays downfield. He's also a solid defender. I didn't watch Owen as much as I would've liked, but he's 100% earned a ranking and further evaluations.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a tryout for the West Michigan Drive 7v7 team. This team will eventually compete in a few very competitive tournaments, including a few of our Prep Redzone events!