Impact Junior Spotlight: Jireh Mays

This article looks at one of the most dominant, and top ranked DL prospects in the state, and he is only entering his Junior season in 2020. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="20908" first="Jireh" last="Mays"] (East St. Louis HS)- </strong>Good height and weight, thick, sturdy, proportioned with definition. Very good get off, whether using lateral quickness to beat OL across gap or going to his punch with a combination of lower leg strength. Good UOH in order to get off blocks quickly and without hinderence, maintains base and balance when disengaging. Good body control once through the LOS in order to settle and square to the ball carrier in the A and B gaps. Displays very good lateral movements in order to open and pursue if ball carrier tries to bounce to another gap. Strong on contact, shows very good play strength to stand up ball carriers, and is a knock back tackler. Vs. Pass, maintains get off, and can apply pressure with both quickness or power. Shows a very good Bull Rush, is able to get under OL pads, and use his leverage and legs to consistently walk OL into the QB. When using quickness, good UOH and agility in order to get around shoulder of the OL cleanly. Very good closing burst, and shows good competitive toughness to continue to pursue the QB. Shows the ability to get the QB on the ground when getting home. Good overall tackler, maintains his ability to breakdown when penetrating the pocket, and will hit/wrap on contact. Mays is a unique talent, with his athletic ability combined with size, quickness, and strength. He is going to be a very good player at the next level, as he still has two more seasons to develop at East St. Louis HS. [player_tooltip player_id="20908" first="Jireh" last="Mays"] is going to be a name to continue watching as his recruitment takes off within the next year. A unique player, who has enormous upside and can be a game changer in the middle of a DL.