The top uncommitted senior in IL is Kenwood Academy’s Mako Grant Mako Grant 5'11" | 185 lbs | ATH Kenwood | 2024 State IL . The 5’11” 185 lbs athlete shined on both sides of the ball in ’23. At LB, Mako flies around the field. He is an instinctual, rangy LB who delivers devastating hits every chance he can. Grant offers the ability to line up in the slot and run with shifty WRs. On offense, Grant is a well rounded RB. He has the speed to run or receive out in space. Between the tackles Mako shows off lateral agility, quick twitch athleticism, and the burst to create big plays when given even the smallest seam to daylight. Grant can help on either side of the ball at the next level.

Mako has himself well entrenched as one of the most versatile prospects in IL. The 5’11” 185 lbs senior can make an impact on either side of the ball at the next level. On defense, Mako fits the requirements of a DB. He has the range to easily cover ground and play in space. The senior is quick to read and recognize. His change of direction is smooth and he has a closing burst that he turns into impressive hit power at the point of contact. On offense it is all about Mako’s speed, vision, and elusive running style at RB. Those three traits combine to make him a nightmare to contain when he gets around the edge. Don’t sleep on the stud difference maker.

Grant, another Division I prospect for the Broncos, is a two-way player who makes a massive impact on both sides of the ball. At running back, Grant ran for 547 yards and 6 touchdowns on 64 carries. He has fantastic speed and vision that allow him to find creases in the defense and take it to the house. Defensively, Grant tallied 64 tackles and 3 forced fumbles. He is physical outside linebacker who is equally as good in the run game as he is the pass game. Grant is as surehanded a tackler as one will find, showing off his ability to make open field tackles on a multitude of plays. Grant stock is soaring heading into his senior year.

I broke down Kenwood Academy’s two-way standout and P5 prospect Mako Grant Mako Grant 5'11" | 185 lbs | ATH Kenwood | 2024 State IL in depth for my recent PRzIL feature highlighting the top uncommitted rising seniors in the state, so for this feature I’ll focus solely on his prowess at the contact point. If you want to read more about Grant, his recruitment, production, offseason, and overall skillset, check out the recent article here! Grant’s second play of his junior highlights is one of the most explosive collisions I came across watching hours of tape for the PRzIL 2024 update, where the DB/LB hybrid comes from the slot, takes a couple read steps before sticking his cleat in the ground and getting upfield, and meets the opposing RB, who is spinning off another tackle attempt and is just getting his head around, with a beautiful, clean, and pure stick right in the RBs chest plate that sends the kid completely off his feet and horizontal to the turf before Grant finishes him into the turf for a final blow. If you’ve played football and laid a good shot on someone before, you’ll know that you barely feel a clean hit like that, which is not to say the opposition does, and this hit is about as clean as it gets. Grant’s build (5’11, 185 lbs.), physical strength, consistency in accelerating through contact, and natural pad level make him a bowling ball of explosive power at the contact point, and he sends opponents flying with an ease and force that I don’t see too often when scouting prospects. Additionally, he’s a heckuva prep RB who Oregon recently offered to play the position, and will lay a menacing truck stick with the ball in hand as well. There’s power, physicality, and aggression in his game, and made him an easy choice for one of Illinois’ hardest hitters. Make sure to peep that linked article for a deeper breakdown of his game and recruitment.

Kenwood Academy’s 2023 roster is filled to the brim with FBS talent, something PRzIL will highlight in a future article this week, but of the many standouts soon to be stepping into college football locker rooms, 5’11, 180 lber. Mako Grant Mako Grant 5'11" | 185 lbs | ATH Kenwood | 2024 State IL very much holds his own, especially given the fact that he’s still uncommitted. A standout performer at several major offseason camps during the spring and summer, Grant could project to either RB or DB at the next level, with a recent offer from Oregon on May 16th coming as a RB. Grant also holds offers from Buffalo, Arizona State, Louisville, Wyoming, Illinois State, Akron, Western Michigan, Bowling Green State, Ball State, Marshall, and West Virginia coming in 2023 and a B1G Nebraska offer from the ‘Huskers old staff coming in late November of 2022. Not a lot of news concerning visits or interest coming from Grant’s side, so I can’t give you much insight there, but Oregon did get a recent commitment from a RB out of Washington DC, so that may impact how committable that Ducks offer is now. Grant undoubtedly has game though, and in addition to being one of the hardest hitters in the state, he’s fast, strong, physical, and dynamic. Posted 64 carries for 547 yards (8.5 YPC) and 6 TDs and 64 tackles and 3 FFs defensively, and showed off vision, burst, contact balance, and decisiveness. Defensively, he diagnoses, triggers, and closes on the football very quickly, and as mentioned, has some eye-popping boom at the contact point. Offensively, he can beat tackle attempts in a variety of fashions and brings an aggressive mentality to the RB position that can break down a defense over four quarters. Very dynamic on both sides of the ball and overall. Still a lot of unknowns in his recruitment, so PRzIL will be eagerly following this one and giving you guys detailed updates as they come.