PrepRedzoneIL Showcase Session 2 Standouts: DB, WR, QB, TE, LB

Two Saturday’s ago in Naperville a tremendous amount of players and accompanying talent gathered together for the inaugural PrepRedzoneIL Showcase. The second session of the event featured the skill positions, and the DBs, WRs, LBs, RBs, and TEs in attendance showed up and showed out in force. With over 250 athletes for session 2 the scouts and coaches watching had a lot of studs to keep an eye on, and the prospects who got my attention are no exception. Find out who made my standout athletes list of skill positions below, and thanks for reading! Defensive Backs [player_tooltip player_id="57168" first="Austin" last="Brown"] (Johnston City) 2022. 6’0.5, 203 lbs. @austintyler_25 . Holds offers from McKendree, Iowa State, Boston College. Well-built DB who ran well and possesses a ton of athleticism. [player_tooltip player_id="20930" first="Saveon" last="Brown"] (Thornwood) 6’2.5, 193 lbs. 2022. A legitimate 4.4 runner who holds offers from Akron and Iowa State and is receiving recruiting graphics from half a dozen other FBS programs, Brown earned my attention by coming and competing to the Showcase a little beat up with some lower body issues going on, and even though he wasn’t 100% you could easily see that he was a FBS prospect based on his combination of size, speed, and natural ability. That being said, he does have some impressive fundamentals, and I liked his ball-skills and his physicality/hand-usage both at the LOS and to contest a catch. Definitely has a high-ceiling and will be a fun prospect to watch as an upperclassman on the toughness he showed at the Showcase alone. Mark Cannon (Evanston Township) 6’2, 183 lbs. 2022. Showed clean footwork and loose hips. Bryce Coley (O’Fallon Township) 5’10, 181 lbs. Holds offers from Minnesota State-Mankato, Roosevelt University, Monmouth College, Wayne State College, Quincy University. My DB MVP of the Showcase, there was a ton to like about Coley’s game. He’s a well-built kid at 181 lbs. and has long arms and knows how to use them. He was the most fundamentally sound corner I saw as well, and used his length efficiently and aggressively at the LOS as well as at the top of WRs routes. He also showed tremendous eye-discipline, and used his hands perfectly when playing the through the ball as well. He also had good speed and never got burnt or ran by, and when out of position showed great recovery speed and got out of his breaks quickly. Additionally, he took a ton of reps. At these kinds of events I like seeing kids stepping up, competing, taking as many reps as they can, and giving it their all and finishing every rep, and Coley checked all of those boxes. I would be really excited if MSU-Mankato landed him, but he is deserving of a lot more attention. Great job, Bryce! Cameron Colquitt (Aurora Christian) 2022. Showed good footwork and loose hips. [player_tooltip player_id="20935" first="Cyris" last="Davis"] (OFallon High School) 2022. Good footwork and loose hips. Clark Dilger (Lincoln Way East) 6’1, 181 lbs. Offers from Augustana College, North Park University, St. Norbert College, Roosevelt University, DePauw Univeristy, Millikin, Kalamazoo, Culver-Stockton. I really liked Dilger’s timing when breaking up passes, and he showed good footwork, a smooth backpedal, and loose hips. He competed hard and successfully all day and from what I saw he should have some DII offers by now. Coaches, don’t be shy! Jacob Freeman III (Belleville East Township) 5’11, 167 lbs. Freeman was another one of my favorite standout DBs on the day, and competed really well all day with a ton of confidence and fundamentals. What stood out to me the most was his speed, both on the top end and in and out of his breaks. He was just a speedster and I loved watching him play. Chris Garrett (Plainfield South) 5’10.5, 167 lbs. Showed some really clean footwork and got out of his breaks well. Jalyn Givan (Plainfield North) 6’0, 155 lbs. Offers from St. Olaf College, Trinity International, St. Norbert College, Millikin, Rose-Hulman, Knox College, Roosevelt University, North Park. Competed very well all day and took a ton of reps. Sean Kinard (Brother Rice) 5’11, 144 lbs. 2022. Good hips and efficient breaks. Grant Larkin (Neuqua Valley) 5’11, 167 lbs. 2023. Ton to like about the 2023 prospect, and he showed some nice nuances in his game for a sophomore. Joey Lumino (Oswego) 5’7, 140 lbs. Speedy athlete with good lateral agility, clean footwork, and a competitive attitude. Israel Oke-Diran (Taft) 5’10.5, 185 lbs. Offers from Roosevelt, DePauw Univeristy, Loras College, Augustana College. Had a successful 1 on 1 period and tested well to boot. Not afraid to compete and showed some good hands. [player_tooltip player_id="20932" first="Peter" last="Roll"] (Nazareth Academy) 5’11, 184 lbs. 2022. Ran a solid 40 at 4.58 seconds and is a solidly built prospect who is athletic and strong in his hands. Battled all day against some good competition and showed good ball skills and the speed to stay in position through a WRs route. A good junior season at Nazareth and you’ll see his stock shoot up. Dan Statam (Thornwood) 5’9, 165 lbs. 2022. Did a great job of competing and going all out on every rep. Giovanni Volpentesta (Highland Park) 5’10.5, 196 lbs. Offers from Valparaiso, Roosevelt, Truman State, St. Norbert College, Grand Valley State, Northern Michigan, Minnesota State-Mankato. Well-built prospect who tested well in our 40 and the shuttle and showed out in 1 on 1s too. Linebackers [player_tooltip player_id="20925" first="Bryan" last="McCoy"] (Joliet West) 5’11.5, 217 lbs. One of the most impressively built prospects at the camp with a great upper body who ran a solid 40 and had impressive lateral quickness. A downhill LB who showed some impressive ability in coverage as well. Incredibly high-ceiling as a LB prospect. Zach Wingerter (Minooka) 6’0.5, 227 lbs. Looked smooth and natural testing and doing individual drills, and competed well during 1 on 1s as well. Great size as well. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="20231" first="James" last="Cooper Jr."] (Harlem High School) 5’11, 175 lbs. Offers from Valparaiso, Quincy University. Really athletic QB prospect who had a quick release that was smooth and mechanically sound, and threw a beautiful ball with solid touch and accuracy. Also had some good arm strength and was a fun QB prospect to watch. Jalen Cunningham (Thornwood) 6’3.5, 201 lbs. Offers from Millikin, Roosevelt, Augustana, Olivet College. One of the camps unanimous QB standouts, Cunningham had a great showing and had a cannon of an arm that he used to throw some beautiful deep balls. He’s a great-sized kid with with a solid mechanics. He’s definitely under-recruited as well. Coaches should take a solid look at him. [player_tooltip player_id="20861" first="Nathan" last="Hayes"] (St. Charles East) 2022. Balled out all day. Tested well, looks great, and threw a consistently accurate football that helped the WRs make plays. Never really put the ball in a compromising position more beneficial for the DB. I really liked watching him throw the rock. Ty Hoese (Mayer Lutheran HS, MN) 6’1, 182 lbs. 2022. Ran a 4.71 40 and had good accuracy and touch on the back from the pocket. Athletic QB prospect as well. George Sandven (Edina HS, MN) 6’4.5, 195 lbs. High-ceiling as a pocket-passer who has an efficient and smooth release and has a cannon of an arm. Under-recruited QB prospect. [player_tooltip player_id="20225" first="Hunter" last="Simmons"] (Marion) 6’1.5, 241 lbs. Offers from Millikin, Monmouth, Roosevelt University, Quincy. Played really well during 1 on 1s and threw accurately on a consistent basis. Tyjaune Stewart (Kankakee) 5’9.5, 165 lbs. Ran a 4.56 40 and was a very athletic QB prospect. Runningbacks Bryson Boes (Maroa-Forsyth) 5’9, 198 lbs. Ran a 4.51 40 and had impressive lateral quickness and footwork. Had some good hands out of the backfield too and had a good 1 on 1 competition period. [player_tooltip player_id="20245" first="Davion" last="Cherwin"] (South Elgin) 5’8.5, 194 lbs. Holds offers from Lake Forest College, Valparaiso, Northern State,Grand Valley State, Concordia-St. Paul, Ran a 4.48 40 at the combine portion of our Showcase, and was an athletic and explosive RB prospect with some speed at the top end as well as out of his cuts. Had some quick feet as well. Jordan Collins (Harlan) 5’7, 152 lbs. Ran a 4.52 40 and was an absolute burner of a RB. Explosive first-step and acceleration. Chance Joseph (Crete-Monee) 5’8.5, 170 lbs. 2022. Laterally quick who gets out of his breaks fast. Ja’arie Mack (Joliet Catholic Academy) 6’, 212 lbs. Holds an offer from Valparaiso, Roosevelt University. Ran a 4.68 40 and is a great-sized RB prospect who has good, quick, active feet. Athletic and exciting prospect to watch in-person. Allen Middleton (Mascoutah) 5’10, 175 lbs. 2023. Intriguing 2023 prospect. [player_tooltip player_id="20839" first="Kaleb" last="Miller"] (Nazareth Academy) 5’6.5, 155 lbs. 2023. Intriguing 2023 prospect. [player_tooltip player_id="20242" first="Nate" last="Thomas"] (Thornwood) 5’8, 210 lbs. Well-built and strong, had a nice lower-body and had some quick feet, Wide Receiver/Tight End Malik Armstrong (Minooka) 6’1, 152 lbs. Ran some great routes with some good footwork, head fakes, and loose hips. Did a good job of stacking DBs and utilizing the separation he creates. Tyler Brueckner (Aurora Christian) 5’11.5, 177 lbs. Holds a PWO from Western Illinois. Balled out during 1 on 1s and had some good speed and strong hands. Was a deep-threat WR and had utilized head/shoulder fakes and solid footwork to gain separation. Did a good job of working back to the football as well and was shifty at the LOS. [player_tooltip player_id="20843" first="Malik" last="Elzy"] (Simeon) 6’1.5, 191 lbs. 2023. There isn’t much I can say about Elzy that isn’t already known, as the 2023 prospect already holds a Michigan offer, and for good reason too as he’s an incredibly natural athletic who can jump out of the gym and has game-changing speed that keeps DBs on their toes. He’s already got some polish in his route-running and you can tell he’s an elite Power-5 WR prospect. You can just tell with some prospects that things come easier to them, and they are doing some things in their game that other prospects just can’t replicate. He’s one of the top recruits in the entire state for 2023 and will be a force in Illinois for the next three years. Jalen Johnson (Metea Valley) 6’3.5, 180 lbs. 2022. A lean and long WR whose long strides help him to cover an incredible amount of ground, Johnson is an athletic recruit who can jump out of the gym and has some sticky hands. He’s really fun to watch and has been getting a lot of recruiting attention lately, and for some good reason. He’s also got some really quick feet and is impressive laterally as he ran a 4.45 shuttle with ease. Na’zir Jones (Hillcrest) 5’8, 145 lbs. Has some jets and ran a 4.5 40. Joe Kuthe (Stillman Valley) 6’, 180 lbs. Really shifty and explosive off the LOS and was deceptively efficient in his route-running and separation ability. Really crazy he doesn’t have any offers at this point. Ran a 4.51 40 as well. Ryan Orput (Hinsdale Central) 6’3.5, 212 lbs. Ran a 4.56 40 at almost 215 pounds, and was well put together and showed good body control and ball skills in 1 on 1s. Intriguing prospect who could potentially play TE or WR at the next level. Tai Sesta (Joliet Catholic Academy) 5’6, 130 lbs. 2024. Did not play like a freshman in high school and was a speedy and quick WR prospect. Keep your eyes out for this kid going forward! KeShon Singelton (Sacred Heart-Griffin) 5’11.5, 187 lbs. 2023. Had a really impressive performance during 1 on 1s and caught my eye for multiple reasons. Natural and efficient route-runner who is well put together and plays like an upperclassman. Really high ceiling and no doubt a FBS prospect. You’ll be hearing a lot more about him in the future! [player_tooltip player_id="20836" first="Carnell" last="Tate"] (Marist) 6’2.5. Holds offers from Minnesota, Purdue, Iowa, West Virginia, Michigan, Notre Dame. A long and speedy WR, Tate is another prospect who you look at and watch and just know he’s going to be playing P5 football on Saturday’s in prime time. A threat on short or deep routes, he does an incredible job of getting DBs out of position by stacking them after their release and using his polished route-running skills to create separation with head fakes and body control. Also has a really crazy vert and can jump out of the gym, and has strong hands and uses them well to catch the ball. He was so dang fun to watch and will be one of the best WR prospects in the country for the class of 2023.