25' Watchlist: Varsity Impact Players

We've debuted our Class of 25' Watchlist, this is our initial watchlist with the student athletes that we had on our radar. If you feel as if we've overlooked you and that you deserve a spot in this watchlist you can fill out our FREE <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/">Prospect Player Index</a> which not only gets you on our radar but also college coaches' radar's as they can contact you straight off your account which is NCAA Approved. Enough said, we're diving into our 25' Watchlist Varsity Impact Players to keep an eye on heading into their Sophomore Season Campaigns. Let's dive into it. <hr /> [player_tooltip player_id="213605" first="Jovan" last="Clark"] <a href="https://twitter.com/__JC23">Twitter</a> <img class=" wp-image-166236 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/3D9ABCD4-D2EA-4D8D-AC6E-FDED70061A81-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="185" height="247" /> We're kicking things off with Mr. Clark who is a versatile defender who can play as a linebacker, safety, force player and is utilized in the return game as well. He played this last fall season on Varsity for his team giving us an insight into what's to come over these next few seasons. When he's coming off a blitz, he uses his quick first step to explode off the ball to jolt the offensive lineman and drive the lineman back into the pocket. This results in forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away and he can get his hands up to disrupt throwing lanes as well. A trait to keep an eye on is his instincts/awareness as he seems to be in a good position to make the play. When the run is coming at him, he triggers downhill quickly in close space to meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage as he works gap to gap. He can shoot gaps and get through for backfield penetration to disrupt plays. This happens in two ways. The first is him flashing a strong punch to jolt the blocker back and the second is using his active hands against the run blocker, both of which he uses to stay free and make the tackle on the play. He can also disengage and close quickly on the ball carrier, this is seen when it's an outside zone run. Here, he uses his good playing speed to chase down the play along the sideline limiting the ball carrier to turn the corner. If the run is going away from him, he can clean up plays on the perimeter by taking pursuit angles to make the tackle downfield. Currently holds a few FBS Offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16152129/61421af63453b503bcc0f706">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278245" first="Gabe" last="Kaminski"] <a href="https://twitter.com/gabe_kaminski">Twitter</a> <img class=" wp-image-166246 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/A2B61A49-BAE1-4AE9-B200-A4289EAB8BE6-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="167" height="223" /> Mr. Kaminski has really solidified himself into a 7 tech/edge rusher for the Roadrunners after this fall season performance on Varsity. He has a good first step and uses his initial quickness to get on top of the offensive lineman before they're set to block. Upon doing so, he can sink his hips and explode into the offensive lineman. This results in him jolting the lineman back and driving the lineman back during his pass rush. From here, he can disengage and close on the quarterback quickly to come away with the sack or force the throw away. What's impressive is how active his hands are when he's firing off the ball as he utilizes his club/swim move. His initial quickness combined with his hand use and strength allows him to drive through the gap to collapse the pocket further disrupting plays. He can hold outside contain before he triggers to the quarterback trying to escape the pocket. Upon contact with the quarterback, he can force a fumble off the hit. In run support, he's quick to get hands on the run blocker where he can lock out and press the offensive lineman backward until the ball carrier goes to make a move. Once this happens, he can free himself up to make the tackle. This young man currently holds an FBS Offer from The University of Tennesse, look for more to come his way as he's only going to continue to hone his craft. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15952634/61a187a7bee1200af837b189">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278899" first="Tyler" last="Lofton"] <a href="https://twitter.com/3tyx_">Twitter</a> Mr. Lofton is an up and coming name that is primed to take over the starting ball carrier role for his team. He played his freshman season on JV where we got an insight into his ability. We got to see glimpses of the combination he has of his speed, quickness, and agility which is one to keep an eye on moving forward. He showcases his vision where he can find running lanes between the tackles and get vertical quickly upon doing so as well as having the lateral quickness to turn the corner. Again, this is on the JV level so we have to see how he's going to fair against Varsity level competition. Currently, he runs a 4.58 40 yard dash and you can see that clearly on film against the freshman competition. I'm most curious to see the stat totals that he's able to produce with a full season's worth of carrier on the Varsity level as he finished his freshman season with 115 carries for 1391 yards and 23 TDs. Granted that was against lower competition than what you'd go up against on the Varsity level, but that's still impressive, to say the least. If you want an insight into how this young man faired, go check out his highlights at the end of this paragraph and see for yourself. I believe he's an up and coming ball carrier that has a high ceiling. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16172578/618c8dfa2347b1133c11e667">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278884" first="Andre" last="Lovett"] <a href="https://twitter.com/andrelovett_cfk">Twitter</a> Mr. Lovett got his feet wet on Varsity where we got an insight into his skill set at the Safety position. Currently, his skill set is geared more toward being a run support safety but he's such a young player that he has a lot of room to continue to hone his craft. It's too early to really give an insight into his backpedal/hips as we have to wait for further development to give a fair analysis. What I can say is that he closes quickly in run support. Once he diagnoses the play as a run he plants his foot and goes. This goes hand in hand with him playing the alley as he triggers downhill quickly to clean up plays. He can force turnovers upon making contact with the ball carrier as well. Not necessarily with his hit, rather by stripping the ball as he's bringing the ball carrier to the ground. If the run is coming at him, he can disengage the blocker and close quickly on the ball carrier. If the run is going away from him, he can take pursuit angle to make the tackle downfield. All in all, this young man has a good starting point to build off of heading into a full off season and one that I believe is going to continue to improve over the next few years. Currently holds no offers, did go on a Game Day Visit to Notre Dame University this fall. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16177809/6181a831f31c94044cef7474">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="118787" first="Logan" last="Malachuk"] <a href="https://twitter.com/LoganFranchise">Twitter</a> <img class="size-medium wp-image-116180 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/03/86E65CCE-25F1-42A8-93BD-5C3A81E3E661-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> Mr. Malachuk is a young man that was on my radar before he even took his first high school snaps. He really made his mark in the middle of the season when he got pulled up onto Varsity because of an injury. Once he got his chance, he ran with it. This young man can make plays when scrambling giving us an insight into his athletic ability. What's most impressive, is his quick feet as he has the ability to set up and get rid of the ball fast when working in platform. This is also seen when he buys second chances after sliding quickly to avoid sacks. Once he's flushed out of the pocket he can make strong and accurate throws on the move while working out of platform. He can also re-st his feet and get rid of the ball quickly at times as well. His arm strength is one to keep an eye on moving forward as he can rip deep shots downfield and can add zip both when he works in platform as well as out of platform on the move. Another impressive trait this young man possesses is his ability to make strong and accurate throws in tight windows. We get a glimpse of this throughout his film, most noticeable is how he can fit the ball between the corner back and the safety coming over from a two-deep look along the sideline. He can also add easy velocity across all level throws (level 1, level 2, and level 3). His mechanics are good which help him make quick hitting passes on short pass drops, he also has a quick and compact delivery/release. When he drops back quickly, he can drive off his back foot and get rid o the ball quickly and this is further showcased when he runs RPOs. If you end up flushing this young man out of the pocket he further showcases his skillset by having his upper/lower half work in unison while he throws on the run to keep the chains moving and can deliver accurate passes when doing so. There's a play in the beginning portion of his film where he looks off the safety and comes back to the backside deep shot downfield giving his receiver more space to work with as he goes up to haul in the grab. As a last resort, he can use his foot quicks to pull the ball down to scramble for the first down. The last trait to keep an eye on for this young man is his poise in the pocket. He showcased glimpses of this in his highlights where he wouldn't panic and would get the ball off under pressure right before he takes a hit from the defender. Currently holds no offers at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if this young man becomes one of the top recruits in the state and one that's highly sought after at the next level. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16078154/6176f9fb0c5417052037c8ae">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278888" first="TaRyan" last="Martin"] <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinTaryan">Twitter</a> Mr. Martin is a young man that I got a chance to scout in person during the 6A IHSA State Championship and one that moved well against the Varsity competition. He uses his foot quicks to change direction in an instance as he's able to make defenders miss and make sharp jump cuts as well. This young man also gets in and out of the hole quickly as well as has good playing speed to take it the distance. He has the vision to find running lanes quickly between the tackle and uses his quickness to hit holes hard. What's impressive is the vision/feel he showcased to find open space and once he does he uses his quickness to get through. He has the lateral quickness to turn the corner and showcases his next level gear as can outrun pursuit angles as well as blow by 2nd level defenders. If the defense overpursues, he can find the cutback lanes and uses his jump cut to hit it hard. Upon securing the catch out of the backfield, he gets vertical quickly. This is where we get an insight into his ability to change direction quickly after securing the catch which is one to watch as he can make defenders miss in open space. I believe he could potentially be utilized out of the slot in situational packages to further exploit the matchup with the linebacker. All in all, he's only going to continue to hone his craft over these next few seasons and is one to keep an eye on as he does so. Currently holds one FBS Offer from West Virginia University. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15526314/61c105eaf5604c08ac776a08">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278886" first="Quinn" last="Morris"] <a href="https://twitter.com/QuinnMorris07">Twitter</a> Mr. Morris got in early experience against Varsity competition working out of the slot. He showcased good hand/eye coordination, body control, and balance to adjust to tough catches which are predominantly seen with him making back shoulder grabs. We get glimpses of his ability to stack defenders as well where he can break the defender off at the top of the route creating enough separation on the play to come away with the grab. When he's running a seam route out of the slot he can stem his route outside to gain leverage before breaking the route back inside and once he does he shows that he can hold onto the catch after being hit. If the defense overpursues, this young man showed glimpses of his ability to reverse field to gain extra yards on the play. When he attacks the ball at the highest point going up on 50/50 balls he showcases strong hands to secure the contested catch. He can also use his toe tap to secure sideline grabs further showcasing his foundational skill set as he heads into his Sophomore Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16197170/619fdec3bee1200af8371f1f">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="278901" first="Brayden" last="Trimble"] <a href="https://twitter.com/BraydenTrimble6">Twitter</a> Mr. Trimble played his freshman season as an outside receiver on Varsity for Mt. Zion and has the foundation skill set to solidify himself as an X receiver. He has good vertical speed as he's quick off the line of scrimmage and he can make back shoulder grabs. We get glimpses of him stacking the defender and breaking the defender off at the top of the route creating enough separation on the play to come away with the grab. His toughness is showcased as he heads into traffic with no hesitation to make the catch in traffic and he isn't afraid to go up attacking the ball at the highest point to come away with the contested catch. Once he secures the catch, he gets vertical quickly. His foot quickness combined with his ability and quickness to change direction are one to keep an eye on moving forward. There are countless plays in his highlights where he'll secure the receiver screen, get vertical quickly and showcase his elusiveness by making the defender miss in open space. This is also where we get an insight into him weaving in and out of defenders by planting his foot to reverse field gaining extra yards on the play. He can also keep his legs driving to break arm tackles in his run after catch ability. In the run game, he's a good blocker on the perimeter where he can crack block the outside linebacker. All in all, this young man could potentially see his stock rise after his Sophomore Season Campaign. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13911959/618142ddd2251304c86e65ca">Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="161508" first="Ethan" last="Plumb"] <a href="https://twitter.com/Eplumb_10">Twitter</a> Mr. Plumb got his feet wet on Varsity this fall season as the starting quarterback for his team. His ability to make plays when scrambling with the ball is impressive as he's not afraid to put his body on the line to get into the endzone and fights for extra yards. He uses his quick feet to set up and get rid of the ball fast. If he gets flushed out of the pocket, he can make strong and accurate throws on the move when he's working out of platform. He has the ability to rip deep shots downfield as well as add zip on the ball when working both in platform as well as out of platform on the move. This young man can make strong and accurate throw in tight windows between the linebacker and safety at the soft spot in the middle of the field. He can also add easy velocity across all level throws (level 1, level 2, and level 3). When he drops back he can drive off his back foot and get rid of the ball quickly on quick hitting passes and can get the ball out quickly when running RPOs. When he's working out of platform his upper/lower half work in unison as he throws on the run delivering a strike downfield. He can create second chances by sliding quickly to avoid sacks and escape the pocket pressure. Once he does, he can make accurate throws on the move. If nothing is open downfield, he can use his foot quicks to pull the ball down to scramble for the first down if need be. What's most impressive is his poise in the pocket as he doesn't panic and will stand strong to get the ball off under pressure right before he takes a hit from the defender. Keep an eye on this young man as the best is yet to come. Currently holds no offers. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9808030/61bcd7094deafe0a1418a511">Highlights</a> <hr /> Be sure to follow <a href="https://twitter.com/PRZJordan">@PRZJordan</a> regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football as well as <a href="https://twitter.com/prepredzoneIL">@PrepRedzoneIL</a>. Want to be ranked? Fill out our FREE <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/">Prospect Player Index</a>, another tool to help you in your recruiting journey.