Hawk’s 2024 Scholarship Level Prospects: Pt 3

<p>You know what time it is: back to continue highlighting scholarship-level 2024 Western PA prospects. Camp season is in full swing, leaving numerous scholarship-level schools scrambling to find their next target. The process of evaluating seniors can be flawed, considering how multiple eligible prospects often fall through the cracks. Hawk to the rescue again, to let you know who to keep on your radar this summer. All of the prospects highlighted have received at least one football scholarship to date.</p>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='91555' first='Taymir' last='O'Neal'] </li> </ul>   <ul> <li>Da'json Craggette</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='255067' first='Derek' last='Burk'] </li> </ul>   <ul> <li>Alex Jackson </li> </ul>   <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='377385' first='Jacob' last='Messina']</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>K'Adrian McLee</li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/oneal_taymir/status/1614373839152054272?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 2</td></tr><tr><td>Wheeling</td></tr><tr><td>Clarion</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p><br>Taymir is a bonafide athlete who shows a lot of promise as a prospect. He has good footwork, and his reaction time on the backend is swift. He pedals at a good pad level, controlling his tempo. He is a ball hawk on defense, always seeming to be in position to make a play. Taymir runs the alley as fast and aggressively as the best safeties in Western PA. He's physical and likes colliding with ball carriers in the open field. His ball skills are displayed in his interceptions and on a comeback for a touchdown on his film. On offense, he runs good routes and has the ability to turn short passes into long gains. He has body control mixed with reliable hands. He's quick in short spaces and exhibited top-end speed on a long catch-and-run touchdown. On the recruiting front, O'Neal has two D2 offers from Wheeling and Clarion, respectively. Taymir has FCS potential and will have more PSAC offers when it's all said and done.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/averyhawkins/status/1671308348124282883?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 2</td></tr><tr><td>Notre Dame College</td></tr><tr><td>Alderson Broaddus</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p>Craggette is another prospect that I believe has D1 capabilities. He has good size at 5'11, 190 lbs for the position collegiately. His vision is good, and he runs too strong for arm tacklers. He hits the hole quickly and has the speed to put the afterburners on and leave defenders in the dust. He's a skilled rusher that's good inside or outside of the tackles. He has the build to consistently receive a lot of carries while being effective. In '22, he was a 1000+ yard rusher that hit paydirt 16 times. Presently, Da'sjon has two offers from Notre Dame College and Alderson Broaddus, but he is being courted by multiple FCS programs. If he falls to a D2 program, whoever lands him won't be sorry.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/derekburk_/status/1595177590561595395?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 2</td></tr><tr><td>Notre Dame College</td></tr><tr><td>Edinboro</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p>Burk is a pocket QB who has the intelligence and arm strength. He displays great pocket presence and gets the ball out fast. His footwork in the pocket is that of a scholarship QB. He does a good job of going through his progressions while keeping his eyes firmly planted downfield. He has good ball placement and throws with good anticipation. He's deceptively athletic but normally scrambles to buy time in the pocket. He displays athleticism rushing and has the ability to make a play when he decides to. Burk has good QB mechanics and consistently displayed the ability to throw off of play action. I think Derek would excel in a RPO-heavy offense at the next level. He's mobile and skilled at being accurate on rollouts and scrambles. Burk has two scholarship offers from Edinboro and Notre Dame College so far. He's also been receiving a lot of attention from various D1 programs but hasn't gotten an offer just yet.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alexvjackson12/status/1663729369674575872?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 1</td></tr><tr><td>Wheeling </td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p>Alex is another athletic OT with good size at 6'4, 260 lbs. He's light on his feet and equipped to handle quick-twitched edge rushers. His pass sets are solid, and he goes hard until the play concludes. He's skilled at reach blocking and getting LBs on the second level in the run game. Jackson has the frame to add 30 lbs and still retain his foot speed. He's still bulking, but being physical isn't a problem. Improving his punch by staying in the weight room will be pivotal for his advancement. I'm excited to see if he's able to gain more depth in his kick slide during pass pro this season too. I think Alex is far from his ceiling and will continue to reach new heights at the next level. He has one offer from Wheeling, but programs such as Notre Dame College, Cal (Pa), Slippery Rock, IUP, Lock Haven, and Alderson Broaddus need to take a look at him too.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/jacob1632/status/1666166784246857728?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 3</td></tr><tr><td>Cal (Pa)</td></tr><tr><td>Wheeling </td></tr><tr><td>Clarion</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p>Jacob is an agile 6'3, 275 lbs OL prospect from North Hills. He plays with a nasty demeanor and looks like he enjoys finishing DL to the ground. Messina's knack for pancaking defenders further exploits his ability to intimidate. He's solid at pass protection but sometimes needs to activate his feet quicker when kick sliding so he doesn't crossover. He's strong with a good punch and excels at combo blocking. He's a good drive blocker that's skilled at running his feet upon contact. He's very mobile, showing the ability to get blocks on the second level as the lead blocker on screen passes. He's especially aggressive when he down blocks, exhibiting the ability to take DL to the turf regularly. I think Jacob could be a great pulling OG collegiately, versatile and agile enough to play OT as well. Messina has 3 football offers from Cal (Pa), Wheeling, and Clarion.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/utownfball/status/1670947600646692865?s=46&t=Z9HVsIfxlYpUmBtFJHGC4g </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Total: 2</td></tr><tr><td>Cornell</td></tr><tr><td>Lock Haven</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>    <p></p>   <p><strong>HAWK'S OPINION:</strong></p>   <p>McLee has D1 size and a knack for Mossing DBs. He's 6'4, 200 lbs with body control and speed. He has FBS ties as the younger cousin to former WVU standout Boo McLee. K'Adrian is a 50/50 jump ball guy that consistently catches the football above his head. I can see McLee being a cheat code weapon in the red zone in college. Another great thing about him is his ability to get in and out of his breaks. He's a deep ball threat that has quickness and moves agile like he's 5'11. McLee is very similar to class of '23 Laurel Highlands WR and FCS commit Keondre Deshields. I actually believe K'Adrian has faster game speed and is a bigger deep threat in one-on-one situations. He's a possession WR that has the frame to bully smaller DBs. It's definitely rare to find a 6'4 wideout with McLee's ability and potential. He recently performed well at WVU's prospect camp, snagging multiple jump balls. K'Adrian has an FCS offer from Cornell, and one from PSAC institution Lock Haven presently. I think he has FBS size and ball skills as an X WR. All the PA FCS schools should be evaluating McLee hard. Heck, I don't think it would be a bad idea for the local FBS schools to do the same thing.</p>

You know what time it is: back to continue highlighting scholarship-level 2024 Western PA prospects. Camp season is in full swing, leaving numerous scholarship-level schools scrambling to find their next target. The process of evaluating seniors can be flawed, considering how multiple eligible prospects often fall through the cracks. Hawk to the rescue again, to let you know who to keep on your radar this summer. All of the prospects highlighted have received at least one football scholarship to date.