By Cole Laing
Sam Dawson
Crestwood, KY (South Oldham)
Committed to Louisville
Sam Dawson committed to Jeff Brohm and Louisville Thursday immediately after getting the offer, giving the Cardinals their fourth commitment in the class. He’s a defensive lineman from the Louisville area who held one other offer – from FCS Eastern Kentucky. In 2024, Dawson had 60 tackles, eight for a loss, 16 solo tackles, two fumble recoveries, a sack, and an interception.
Dawson has good height at 6’4″ and a good frame, currently at 270lbs. He plays a down defensive end role in an odd front scheme, alternating on both sides of the formation. Good athlete with very good balance, acceleration, and explosiveness with good foot quickness, lateral movement, flexibility, and foot speed. Very good upfield burst with an explosive first step to gain leverage on the offensive linemen, playing with good pad level to become a small target for offensive linemen.
Displays very good hand usage to engage and lockout to keep linemen from grabbing within his frame, displaying very good upper and lower body strength to maintain his ground. Very good use of his eyes, and mental processing to key run/pass read and adjust accordingly. Also, is very good versus the run and has a developed rip and rag-doll move to shed blocks to control his gap and disrupt the run with good lateral movement down the line of scrimmage. Good power rush versus the pass, using his explosiveness, strength, and hand placement to push the pocket and force pressure on the QB. Lacks a speed rush move in his pass rush plan with a marginal ability to corner an offensive tackle or make a quick move inside.
Overall, Dawson is a good prospect who will win with his strength and power. Expect him to be a player used to pushing the pocket in pass-rushing situations and be a dependable run defender for the Cardinals who can find rotational reps by year two.
Landen Von Seggern
Omaha, NE (Millard South)
Committed to Illinois
The Nebraska offensive lineman had six total offers, including Iowa, Kansas, and Kansas State, and passed them up for Illinois. He is the fourth commit for the Illini and the first on the offensive line.
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Von Seggern has solid height and a good frame, currently at 280lbs. Good athlete who displays very good balance, flexibility, lateral agility, foot quickness, good explosiveness, and acceleration. He plays Left Tackle for Millard South but projects as a Guard in college.
Good run blocker in both zone and gap schemes, firing off the ball with explosiveness to engage the defender and drive him using his good leg strength. Very good at blocking in space on pulls, screens, and reach blocks, taking very good angles, and using his very good lateral movement and balance to engage the defender in combination with his good upper body strength to grip and control second and third-level defenders. Good use of hands in pass protections, with a quick and explosive punch, displaying good grip strength to control the pass rusher. Good processing versus stunts and twists, requiring them quickly to pass off his defender and catch the twist. Good anchor ability showing a quick hop step and hip drop to halt the power rush.
Von Seggern does lack consistency in his set point footwork and will lose a strong base when recovering and will turn his shoulders early versus the outside speed rush in vertical sets.
Overall, a good prospect who will be a Guard for the Fighting Illini. His processing of defensive stunts and twists and his athleticism to be utilized in open space as a lead blocker will allow him to be on the field sooner and he should be pushing for a starting role by year two.
Elias Coke
Harrisburg, PA (Harrisburg)
Committed to Rutgers
The Central Pennsylvania Wide Receiver was a heavy target of Penn State, one of his 22 offers. However, it was fellow Big Ten team Rutgers who secured Coke’s commitment to add their second commitment in the class, joining fellow pass catcher Dyzier Carter. Coke caught 50 passes for 968 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging nearly 20 yards per catch in 2024.
He possesses good height and size at 6’2″, 205lbs with very good athletic ability displaying very good acceleration, lateral movement, foot speed, explosiveness, foot quickness, good balance, change of direction, and hip fluidity. Very good release off the ball using his acceleration and speed to win versus soft and off coverages, and his lateral movement and size to just rip past the DB versus Press.
Coke is a good route runner in intermediate and deep seams, posts, corners, and crossing where he can utilize his good speed to create separation, with good processing of zone coverage to find the hole in the coverage for his QB. Solid route running in COD routes using his good speed in his route stem to set the defenders up and then his good change of direction at the top of the route to create separation.
Very good adjustment and body control to make the catch, understands how to use his size and speed to position himself, and displays very good manual dexterity and fluidity to catch balls outside of his frame. Solid hands and grip strength to secure the catch. Good run after the catch, showing very good foot speed and good balance as a ball carrier to run through weak tackles. Coke is a willing blocker downfield for his teammates with a good ability to sustain blocks versus DBs.
He will need to polish his overall route stems to be a consistent threat in the Big Ten for the Scarlet Knights. Overall, a very good prospect who should find early reps for the Scarlet Knights on special teams and some offense due to his very good release and processing of his route against defensive coverages and will eventually develop into their top receiver. Projects as an outside WR, but his release and physicality will be useful in the slot as well.
