Penley is an extremely underrated corner who is sure to put people on notice in his junior campaign. Penley was a standout on varsity last year for Naz, as the sophomore excelled in a variety of ways. He is extremely polished in his technique, whether it’s press man or zone. In man-to-man, Penley plays physical at the line of scrimmage, making it difficult for wide receiver to get clean releases off the line. He stays on top of routes with ease and breaks on the ball with urgency. The same goes for Penley in zone coverage, as he reads the quarterbacks eyes and jumps underneath throws to take it the other way. Penley is the definition of a rising prospect. As he begins his junior season, Penley could very well finish the year as one of the state’s top corners.

The sophomore WR out of Nazareth Academy in IL quickly grabbed my attention and kept it during the QB-WR time and one on one battles. When they were running routes against air, I got an up close look at the footwork James used during the breaks of his routes. There was very little wasted movements. Within 3-4 steps he was getting through his breaks without much loss of speed. His hips and overall balance allowed him to make sharp cuts at top speed. In the one on one battles, Penley maintained the sharp route running to create separation. He also did a good job of getting off the line quickly, and he snagged the ball out of the air naturally. Penley made it worth the trip north.

Mr. Penley is another standout sophomore for the roadrunners that finished with 4 receptions for 102 yards, 10 tackles, and 1 PBU. On offense, this young man can win over the top with his quickness off the line to stack defenders on deep shots downfield where he can then track the ball over his shoulder to get his team into the redzone. One play that was impressive was where he fully laid out to secure a deep shot downfield off a fly route to secure a 31 yard reception putting his team in the redzone. Let’s not forget about his crisp route running where he can get in/out of his breaks quickly breaking the defender off creating separation on each route. On defense, he was making open field tackles on the perimeter in run support and jumped a route in the flat where he almost came away with an interception but had to settle for the PBU. Another high caliber prospect that has 2 years left of HS ball under his belt.

Twitter