QBWON Group workout standouts

The Illinois season is rapidly approaching and this past Friday night, I was able to head out to Northbrook and caught QBWON’s workout led by Byron Dawkins. The group of players consisted of quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs, linebackers and defensive backs. Here are the players that stood out at evening. 2022 Quarterback Brandon RogersBrandonRogers5'10" | QBMt. Carmel | 2022IL, Mt. Carmel (5’11” and 187lbs) @Brandon_Rogers8 I’ve seen Rogers since the summer and he continues to develop, getting better and better each time. He shows great footwork with an extremely strong arm, his baseball background shows. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361729373599072259?s=21 Rogers has a traditional arm-slot, but when he’s on the move, the arm angles can change without the accuracy suffering. Rogers even took a few reps as a wide receiver, showing his impressive athletic abilities. I’m really excited to see how he fares this spring. 2022 Quarterback Carson Vandello, St. Francis (6’ and 150lbs) @CVandello My first time seeing Vandello and what shows right away is his arm strength and how the ball just flies out of his hands. He’s a bit slight in stature but very good footwork and ball placement. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361734647823138820?s=21 Short and compact arm motion and his feet never stop moving, putting him in great position to get the ball out of his hands. Excited to see what he can do this spring. 2022 Wide receiver / running back Tommy Latka, Libertyville (5’11” and 185lbs) @TommyLatka Very well put together, Latka showed a very nice skill set. He’s got enough speed to get behind defensive backs and very good hands. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361736423745990656?s=21 Great concentration after trying to high point the ball, Latka is a very impressive athlete. Another guy that I’m excited to see how much he has improved since last season. 2023 athlete Justin Taylor, Nazareth (6’ and 180lbs) @__justintaylor Taylor works and works and works, a great attribute for such a young player. He worked out on both sides of the ball, showing that position coaches at the next level are going to fight over what room Taylor eventually ends up in. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361761398116790273?s=21 I feel like wide receiver is his future because he’s got the hands your looking for at the position, but if that doesn’t workout, Taylor has the skill set to play cornerback as well. He needs to be on everyone’s radar, Taylor has a very high ceiling that should take him to the Power 5 route as his next destination in his football journey. 2022 Wide receiver Luke JonesLukeJones6'0" | WRDeerfield | 2022IL, Deerfield (5’11” and 164lbs) @lukej237 Another player I have seen numerous times, Jones is a technician with his routes. His great footwork in and out of breaks gets him separation from defenders. Jones also has good hands and enough speed to stretch a defense. Shows very reliable hands as well, Jones has gotten some interest from his brothers school Iowa along with a few MAC schools. 2022 Defensive back Khary Shaw, Brother Rice (6’2” and 205lbs) @KharyShaw Coming off of a very strong MLK Showcase performance, Shaw keeps grinding to get better. He was another player who repped both on offense and defense, but I see Shaw as a safety at the next level. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361764154974097409?s=21 Shaw has the attitude you’re looking for from a corner on an island, he wants to be challenged and is certainly up for it. A great frame with a very high ceiling, Shaw should eventually be a Power 5 prospect. 2022 Safety Saveon BrownSaveonBrown6'0" | DBThornwood | 2022StateIL, Thornwood (6’1” and 196lbs) @SaeNext Although Brown projects as a safety, he showed that playing in the slot or corner in a pinch isn’t out of the question. The defender has a great frame and has just gotten better during the long offseason. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361768655659429890?s=21 Brown went to the workout with the intention to get better and did, consistently facing the best receivers in attendance (which included a few college players) and didn’t back down. I wouldn’t be surprised when Brown gets some new tape for his junior season and blows up. He’s that talented. Defensive end Derrick ParkerDerrickParker6'2" | TERich Central | 2022IL, Rich Township (6’3” and 245lbs) @DP2Different Parker joined this group to continue to get better and once again he showed why he’s a big time prospect. He worked with the safeties and showed that he wasn’t out of place for such a larger player. https://twitter.com/mikefchen/status/1361771670294396931?s=21 I missed recording the rep where Parker broke up a pass, but it still was a glimpse of what he can do. A defensive lineman that can drop back and defend the pass is an offenses nightmare and that’s exactly what Parker is.