Boom Best of the Best Showcase: Top Performers
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Boom Football hosted their best of the best showcase on Sunday and it was a sight to see. Athletes from all divisions were competing with one another with highlights from each position. There were many players who had highlights and glimpses of their playing abilities, the ones here are players who stood out the most.
124 Kendrick Washington
Washington comes out of Shepard High School and boy did he show out at the showcase. He has good hands catching out of the backfield and was elusive in the RB vs LB drill. In one on ones he continued to amaze by making catches over defenders with ease causing those watching to cheer him on. I’ve scouted Washington before this showcase and seeing him in person doesn’t do his film justice. He’s an explosive player who given the opportunity can excel at the next level.
17 Alonzo Morning II
Morning comes out of Marist High School and he made players older than him look silly. He’s only a freshman but oh boy does he have a high upside. He can catch coming out of the backfield and broke LB’s ankles during the RB vs LB drill on multiple occasions. He has good body control where he can accelerate, stop on a dime, and re-accelerate in the opposite direction. During one on ones he ran routes with east getting in and out of the breaks, he even made one of the best catches of the night jumping up and leaning backward in the air to catch it. Morning is a young player you should keep an eye on.
268 TJ McMillen
McMillen comes out of St. Francis High school and had a dominant performance at the showcase. He went up against OL at the showcase and didn’t back down from the challenge beating them on a few occasions. During the OL vs DL drill, he made it look too easy at times getting past the lineman using a mixture of a bull rush, swim move, and spin move. McMillen has a mixture of moves in his utility box that creates problems for offensive linemen blocking him in the passing game and he won best defensive lineman at the camp.
298 Melvin Priestly
Priestly comes out of East St. Louis and is a dominant force on the offensive line who last season won the state title. He was the best offensive lineman at the camp winning MVP during the first wave of players. Priestly held his own against all of the defensive linemen that he went up against and only got beat once by TJ McMillen when they went head to head towards the end of the OL vs DL drill. Overall, whoever gets Priestly at the next level is going to be lucky with how talented he is and his mindset of wanting to go up against the top players time and time again.
248 Christopher Petrucci
Petrucci comes out of Maine South High School and he was easily the best tight end at the showcase. His route running is solid, gets in and out of his routes fast, and can adjust quickly to the ball. During one on ones he did a good job of making catches through contact, when being pressed, and on the deep ball. Petrucci won the best TE award for the first wave and he is going to be a deadly weapon as a catching TE.
209 Carson Eggebraten Carson Eggebraten 6'0" | 220 lbs | LB Saint Viator | 2022 State IL
Eggebraten comes out of Saint Viator High School and he had a good showing in the combine drills. His 5-10-5 agility showed his good change of direction and his speed was showcased in his 40 yard sprint time. During the position drills, he had good footwork and had good transitions between coming down, back peddling, and opening the hips. Eggebraten still has room to grow with his coverage one on one and looks to have a good season this year.
131 Kaleb Miller Kaleb Miller 5'8" | 170 lbs | ATH Nazareth | 2023 State IL
Miller comes out of Nazareth High School and is a playmaker to say the least. I’ve watched his film before the showcase and in person, it’s just as good as on film. He was in wave two of the showcase and was in the MVP race for that wave. Miller only got stopped two times the whole night and broke defenders off at the top of his route on multiple occasions. Miller has a high ceiling and a player that is going to make a huge impact on Nazareth this upcoming season.
27 Ryan Boyd
Boyd comes out of East St. Louis and he is a sight to see when he’s running routes. He gets off the line of scrimmage fast, stacks defenders with ease, and breaks defenders at the top of the route. Boyd creates separation from the defender easily and it was evident at the showcase that he is a major deep threat for the Flyers. He is one of many East St. Louis players at the showcase that had a good showing.
267 Jalen Handford Jalen Handford 6'3" | 215 lbs | LB Warren Township | 2022 State IL
Handford comes out of Warren Township High School and he showed out at the showcase. He was hungry and determined to get his name out there, he wasn’t afraid of going up against top talent in the RB vs LB drills and even called out top RBs to come out and face him. In doing so, he won every matchup that I saw and was able to showcase his skills. In one on ones he stayed with the RB and WR in pass coverage staying on their hip and making the catch very difficult. Overall, Handford has a great showing and caught the attention of those who watched.
There are many more names that could have been switched in and out of this list, all of the athletes put on a show at the showcase. These players stood out above everyone else at their given positions.