Best Thing on Film- Defensive Backs Part II

Hopefully everyone is coming off of a great memorial day weekend where they were able to spend time with love one’s as well as honor those who serve.  The extra day should give us all something to be thankful for as high schools near the finish line and we turn our attention to summer pursuits.  I for one look forward to continuing to dig into film on the state’s defensive prospects and with that being said here is another crop of defensive backs and the best thing I saw on film for each, enjoy! &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="299957" first="Andrew" last="Westermeyer"]- (Wayzata High School) 6’2 200 Lbs. C/o 2023. @AndrewWesterme1 The first thing that strikes me about Andrew’s film is how big he looks.  This is a player that could quite possibly translate to an outside linebacker at the next level, particularly with how much spread offense is taking over the game right now.  He is best in zone schemes from his safety spot where he shows a good understanding of route concepts and is one step ahead breaking on balls because of it.  He does a nice job supporting in the run game as well.  <strong>Best Thing on Film-</strong> has to be the first clip where he breaks on a sideline vertical from his safety spot, highpoints the ball and has the body awareness to keep his feet in bounds to complete the interception. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="245652" first="Peyton" last="Himley"]- (Edina High School) 6’2 185 Lbs. C/o 2023. @HimleyPeyton Peyton is absolutely a tackling machine coming from his spot in the secondary.  There are times when Edina plays him more as a box safety but he does his best work from the middle of the field where he can diagnose and trigger on run plays.  He takes great angles and commits once he sees what is going on in front of him.  He also does a nice job in the pass game cutting receivers off and making plays.  <strong>Best Thing on Film-</strong> at the 30 second mark you get a great taste of his ability to diagnose and trigger.  The ball declares to the offenses right on a run play, Peyton triggers, takes a great angle and runs full speed to intersect with the back for a zero gain play. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="212719" first="Ruhan" last="Jordan"]- (Eastview High School) 6’0 165 Lbs. C/o 2023. @RuhanJordan Ruhan may look at this and say, DB, I’m a wide receiver.  And he is right he is an outstanding WR but as evaluators we often need to try and project position players especially because so many teams may play their best guys on offense and at the college level you are looking for those athletes on both sides of the ball.  When evaluating Ruhan as a defensive back and watching his offensive film there are two things that stand out and make me think he could play defense well.  One, he has tremendous hips, he is smooth in and out of breaks and has great wiggle with the ball.  Secondly, there are only a few blocking clips but they show me enough to know he is more than willing to be physical.  He can certainly play offense at the next level but many teams may feel pretty good about him in the defensive backfield as well.  <strong>Best Thing on Film-</strong> at the 59 second mark he catches a smoke screen and shows the fluidity I am looking for in his hips to feel good about him playing the defensive side of the ball. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="112081" first="Cordell" last="Wilson"]- (Armstrong High School) 5’10 175 Lbs. C/o 2023. @Cordellwilson19 Cordell’s film is put together about as good as you would want to evaluate a corner.  He shows the ability to press, play off man and zone with great eye discipline.  He is a good man corner who shows technique and patience in press, but is best when he can play off with his eyes in the backfield.  One of the most impressive things for me is how good he is with his hands both when he is in coverage and when he is using his punch to get off of blocks and make tackles.  <strong>Best thing on Film- </strong>at the 1:06 mark is a great example of this as he is pressing the number one receiver and a run play is coming his way.  He is physical with his hands, maintains outside leverage and in good team defense the ball is forced all the way to him for a tackle for no gain. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="112062" first="Parker" last="Knutson"]- (Sartell-St. Stephen High School) 6’1 190 Lbs. C/o 2023. @KnutsonParker This is another prospect who I think may present even more as an outside linebacker than safety but he can probably play both.  His ball skills are outstanding, the number of times he gets to a ball is impressive.  You can tell how he understands the game and the space on the field by how many interceptions he gets late in plays and on scramble drills.  He knows how the field is shrinking and is able to identify potential places the quarterback wants to go with the ball and beat the receiver to that spot.  <strong>Best thing on Film-</strong> an example of this is at the 2:30 mark, their opponent is running a smash route into the boundary.  The quarterback holds just a little too long and by the time he lets it go Parker has already identified that the corner route is his only threat, drives on it and undercuts the receiver to make the pick.  He also does a nice job of turning Defense into Offense on his interceptions.