5 Unranked SoCal Players to Watch
With so many athletes in southern California, it is difficult to rank every player that stand out. Of course you have your top tier, power 5 FBS recruits, but there are also some unranked gems that will go toe-to-toe with…
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Continue ReadingWith so many athletes in southern California, it is difficult to rank every player that stand out. Of course you have your top tier, power 5 FBS recruits, but there are also some unranked gems that will go toe-to-toe with anyone in front of them. Take a look at 5 unranked players that can ball out:
Lando Brown, LB, Junipero Serra HS (C/O 2021)
Brown can play as a stand up OLB or a down DE. As a junior, Brown racked up 19 sacks, establishing himself as a lethal pass rusher. Brown shows the ability to utilize power, finesse, dip, or a spin move to get into the backfield. He reminds me a lot of a young Dwight Freeney. He has solid short area quickness and takes a good track toward ball carriers. He shows quick, athletic hands and does a great job attacking the mesh point on RPO’s to blow up plays. He has solid reaction overall, and has shown the ability to take blocks head on, including pass-pro RB’s, and run through opponents to make plays. Good physicality with a solid striking ability, making him a legit tone setter. Brown does his best work as a pass rusher, and is a definite player keep in mind.
Isiah Carl, CB/WR, Chino Hills HS (C/O 2021)
Carl shows loose hips with solid fast twitch, and breaks on the ball extremely well. He shows a good transition out of his backpedal to close on or turn and run with receivers. He does a great job trusting technique and not biting on head fakes or double moves. Carl shows solid change of direction with a burst, and reads the QB eyes very well as he’s done a good job leaving his man to high point balls for INT’s. Carl has good range and ball skills at CB, with very good speed all around. He could add physicality, but has shown flashes of flying up to help with run support. He does his best work as an off-man CB, and holds big potential to develop into a lockdown CB at the next level.
Dylan Wheatley, QB, Citrus Valley HS, (C/O 2021)
Wheatley shows a quick, fluid release with a nice wrist flick. He shows solid pocket presence overall and moves around fairly well. He does a great job with his pre-snap read, as he identifies favorable matchups and knows where he is going with the ball before the snap. He shows good anticipation for routes and plays to develop, and hits intermediate throws with velocity. On film, he has shown the ability to throw tight window strikes on seams and skinny posts. He shows a high football IQ and has numerous tools to build off of, and is definitely a sleeper QB to get on your radar.
Sebastian Deleon, LB, Crescenta Valley HS (C/O 2021)
Deleon racked up 163 tackles, 102 of them solo during his junior season. He has excellent play recognition and reacts to the ball well. He does a great job shedding blocks to stop ball carriers in their tracks. He has shown good lateral vision to take a good pursuit track on outside runs to make plays. Deleon has shown the ability to drop in coverage and sit in zone coverage well, and has solid closing reaction on shallow crossing receivers. He still has room to develop and mature, but sings point to him having a big senior season.
Luke Rotenberg, DB/WR, Brentwood School (C/O 2022)
Rotenberg is a ball hawk in the secondary, showing loose hips and a solid change of direction. Good short area quickness with a solid fast twitch overall. He breaks on the ball well with good ball skills. He does a good job being patient when manned up and trusting his quickness. He has solid recovery speed and can turn and run with receivers. He could add physicality, but is overall a solid cover DB. He’s lined up at FS and CB and has shown to make plays at both positions. He is quick and jittery in open space as a WR, but does his best work as a DB on film.