23′ Rankings: TE Breakdowns
Over the next few months we’re going to be diving into our rankings positional breakdowns to highlight every single student athlete received the honor of being ranked. We’ve added over 300+ prospects to our class of 23′ rankings with another…
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Continue ReadingOver the next few months we’re going to be diving into our rankings positional breakdowns to highlight every single student athlete received the honor of being ranked. We’ve added over 300+ prospects to our class of 23′ rankings with another 100+ added to the watchlist. If you feel like you should be ranked fill out our FREE Prospect Player Index which not only gets you on our radar but also college coaches’ radar’s as they can contact you straight off your account as it’s NCAA Approved. Enough said, we’re diving into our tight end positional rankings breakdown. Let’s dive into it.
Deakon Tonielli Deakon Tonielli 6'6" | 220 lbs | TE Oswego | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Tonielli was a name I’ve been keeping an eye on heading into this fall season and one that has been impressive since his sophomore season. He’s projected as a receiving tight end at the next level but can also get it done in the run game if need be. He lines up as an X receiver as well as works out of the slot at times, both of which give him the matchup advantage. This young man is quick off the line of scrimmage where he can gain a step advantage on the defender before stacking and breaking the defender off at the top of the route creating separation on the play. What’s most impressive about this young man is his ability to go up for 50/50 balls on deep shots downfield where he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the contested catch – can also secure the contested catch in double coverage. On deep shots downfield, he does a good job of tracking the ball and using his long catch radius to secure the catch above the defender. When he makes the catch in traffic, he gets vertical upon securing the catch and keeps his feet driving breaking weak arm tackles in the process of doing so. He has a good understanding of spacing where he can find the soft spot in zone coverage as he’ll sit to become an outlet for his quarterback and keep the chains moving. I believe he has the ability to make an impact in the run game when lined up as a tight end, he has a good frame to him as well as the potential to do so. With his good frame, I believe he has room to add to it without losing a step either. This young man currently holds a handful of P5 Offers and that’s no surprise as his potential is high. Highlights
Joey Neumann Joey Neumann 6'4" | 205 lbs | TE Antioch | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Neumann was a name I had on my radar heading into this fall season and one I was keeping an eye on. Upon analyzing his full season highlights, it’s evident he needs to be on coach’s radars. He’s projected as a balanced tight end at the next level that can make an impact in both the air attack and in the ground game. This young man can find the soft spot in zone coverage showcasing his understanding of spacing as he’ll sit to become an outlet for his quarterback and keep the chains moving. On deep shots downfield, he goes up for 50/50 balls as he attacks the ball at the highest point to come away with the contested catch. All of this happens when he’s lined up as an X receiver. What’s most impressive is his ability to adjust quickly to back shoulder throws and adjust last second to secure the contested catch downfield. He’s used on reverses as well where he showcases his lateral quickness to turn the corner. In the run game, he works up to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow and washes the defensive lineman down to create a running lane for his ball carrier. I believe this young man has a good foundational skill set that will translate well to the next level. In my eyes, he still has a high upside and potential yet to come to light. I look forward to seeing just that happen during his senior season. Currently holds no offers but has interest from a few FBS Schools. Highlights
Nick Hawkins Nick Hawkins 6'5" | 230 lbs | TE Lemont | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Hawkins was a name I had on my radar for some time now and one that I’ve enjoyed seeing his development over these last few seasons. He’s projected as a balanced tight end at the next level that can get it done in both the air and ground game. At times, he’ll be lined up in the slot to create a mismatch against the linebacker while he runs underneath routes to keep the chains moving. He does a good job understanding spacing where he can find the soft spot in zone coverage and sit to become an outlet for his quarterback. In both instances, he gets vertical upon securing the catch and keeps his feet driving to fight for extra yards. In run blocking, he can get to the 2nd level blocks and cuts off the linebacker flow. He can also block in open space picking up the defensive back playing the alley and wash the defensive lineman down. All of this creates running lanes for his ball carrier as he’s quick out of his stance and latches on quickly getting inside hand placement to control the rep. I’m interested to see how he’ll get utilized during his senior season campaign in terms of the ariel attack as I believe he has the potential to become a big redzone target. Currently holds no offers but has interest from some FBS Schools. Highlights
Mack O’Halloran Mack O’Halloran 6'4" | 225 lbs | TE Downers Grove South | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. O’Halloran was a name I’ve had on my radar for a while now and one that I continue to see growing his skill set. I didn’t get a chance to scout this young man in person but after analyzing his full season highlights we get to see his progression over the last few seasons. He didn’t have as big of a Junior Season as he was hoping for but I’m putting my money he’s going to be ready to make his impact felt during his senior season campaign. He’s projected as a balanced tight end at the next level that can get it done in both the air and ground attack. This young man is primarily used on short/intermediate routes, here he showcases his understanding of spacing where he can find the soft spot in the zone coverage and sit to become an outlet for his quarterback to keep the chains moving. Upon securing the catch, he gets vertical and if you try to arm tackle this young man he’ll not only run through it but showcased glimpses of his physicality by throwing defenders to the ground over the course of the last few seasons. On running downs, this young man can stalk block downfield when working out of the slot and can drive block the defensive end downfield by keeping his feet driving through the whistle. Outside linebackers need to keep their heads on a swivel when this young man crack blocks as he can deliver a deadly block to seal the outside linebacker. I am interested to see how this young man produces during his senior season campaign, I personally believe he’s going to rise his stock and be one to keep an eye on moving forward. Currently, he has no offers that I’ve seen but has some interest from a few FBS Schools. He can also play DE. Highlights
Nate Branch Nate Branch 6'2" | 220 lbs | TE Palatine | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Branch was a newer name to me heading into this season and one that has caught my eye early on during his Junior Season campaign. I was shocked that I didn’t have him on my radar beforehand but thankfully he’s on it now. He’s projected more as a receiving tight end at the next level but has a good foundational skill set in both receiving as well as run blocking. This young man will line up in the slot at times where he can create a mismatch against the linebacker. Here, he does a good job of stemming his route outside gaining leverage before cutting his seam route inside. As he does so, he’s able to either secure the catch in the gap between the linebacker and safety as well as lay out for the catch showcasing his catch radius. What’s impressive is how he’s able to understand the quarterback scramble drill where he’ll recognize this early and get himself open to be an outlet for his quarterback. Upon doing so, he can go up for 50/50 balls and attack the ball at the highest point to come away with the contested catch. I believe he’s going to become one of his team’s primary redzone targets come his senior season, especially with the departure of talented WR Jacob Bostick Jacob Bostick 6'3" | 170 lbs | WR Palatine | 2022 State IL as well as Mitch Larkin Mitch Larkin 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Palatine | 2022 State IL and company. In the run game, he can block on the perimeter out of the slot where he latches on quickly getting hands inside and drive the defender back downfield. What’s one to keep an eye on is his ability to crack block the outside linebacker to seal the edge as the linebacker needs to keep their head on a swivel. I believe he has the foundational skill set to flourish in run blocking at the line of scrimmage as he’s quick out of his stance and has an attacking edge to him. Currently holds no offers that I can see, has picked up some interest from FBS/FCS schools. Highlights
Matthew Allen Matthew Allen 6'7" | 220 lbs | TE Bradley Bourbonnais | 2023 State IL
Mr. Allen was a new name to me this fall season and an interesting prospect in my opinion. He’s currently projected as a run blocking tight end at the next level, however, I can see him getting transitioned into an offensive tackle as he stands at 6’7 220. Currently, he has a lean frame and has room to add to it. Upon doing so, it’ll help give a better projection of where this young man ends up positional wise at the next level. He can wash the defensive lineman down and get to 2nd level blocks cutting off linebacker flow. Both of which create running lanes for his ball carrier as he runs off his blocks. When he’s pulling we get a sense of his agility as he’s quick out of his stance and can block in open space sealing the outside linebacker as well as picking up the defensive back playing the alley. I am interested to see how his route running transpires during his senior season campaign as currently it’s limited and needs further development. I believe once he’s able to add to his frame as well as improve his route running his stock will rise in the eyes of college coaches. Who wouldn’t want a 6’7 tight end, right? Haha, all jokes aside I believe this is more of a raw prospect that’s stock is only going to rise as we head into his senior season campaign. Currently holds no offers from what I see. Highlights
Saad Abdulazeez Saad Abdulazeez 6'0" | 210 lbs | TE West Chicago Community | 2023 State IL Twitter
Mr. Abdulazeez was a new name to me this fall season and one that’s an interesting prospect in my opinion. He’s projected as a run blocking tight end at the next level and one that has high potential. He has a solid foundational skill set that can be built upon at the next level as well as he heads into his senior season campaign. This young man can seal the edge by hooking the defensive end as well as getting to 2nd level blocks to cut off the linebacker flow on the play. He can drive block the defensive end back with his quick punch at the line of scrimmage as well. Again, he has room to hone his craft as well as develop further. In my eyes, the building blocks are there and given he gets picked up into the right system he could potentially elevate his game to another level. I’m also interested to see where he’s at in terms of his route running as well as his ability to get utilized in the air attack. He’s a high potential prospect that given further development can add value to your program at the next level. Currently holds no offers from what I see. Highlights
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