We’ll keep the scouting reports rolling on top prospects from across the country.
Christian Bentancur – TE
Woodstock, IL (Marian Central Catholic)
TE prospect who played WR and DE in High School while also receiving offers to play basketball. Good height and very good weight in a well-proportioned frame with long arms and legs. Very good release from 2-point stance, uses good agility and balance to evade. Good hand technique to fend off the press and gain leverage during his stem. Very good acceleration and foot speed eating ground in a hurry and threatening Zone and Bail DBs with good coverage awareness. Good separation on high degree cut routes (Zig, Comeback, Over, Out), sinking his hips at the breaking point and using his acceleration to open up throwing windows consistently. Elite hands at the catch point, shows elite extension and grip strength to pluck the ball safely away from his frame. Elite ball tracking and adjusts his body to bring in the catch in contested situations or while running at full speed. Very good YAC, uses his good COD and very good acceleration to change pursuit angles while having the ability to break away from LBs and bigger DBs. Rarely used in classic in-line assignments but showed good knee bend and quickness from DE spot, combined with his processing and good physical toughness indicate solid Zone Blocking Ability.
Adequate upper body strength, relies mostly on his quickness in one on one situations and was rarely asked to create movement in drive or base blocking situations. Almost no experience in pass protection, adequate lower body strength could lead to adequate anchor ability especially against Big Ten pass rushers. Very good prospect due to his athletic and mental abilities; should lead to an immediate contribution as a Big Slot/Y option. Has a very high ceiling that he should reach once he figures out the techniques of the position and gains access to a Power 5 strength program.
https://twitter.com/akantecki/status/1431429457269731332
Josiah Thompson – OT
Dillon, SC (Dillon High School)
OT prospect that is receiving attention from every Power 5 conference. Good height and adequate weight in a bulky frame with very good arm length. Good initial quickness out of all his stances, using good quickness and acceleration to settle and beat edge rushers to the spot. Good knee bend and punch timing, stays leveraged when taking on speed rushers and uses good COD to guide around the arc and mirror on counters. Good on Reach and Pull concepts, uses good acceleration to get his hat across while showing very good hand placement to target outside and control DEs to the sideline. Good Angle Blocks, shows solid processing and good quickness to position himself between target and ball carrier, targeting inside shoulder and guiding out of the play. Very good drive and base blocks, uses his very good lower body strength to add leg drive and create movement at the POA when able to get his hands inside. Very good second level blocker, shows very good vision agility to key his assignment and create angles for RB to expose. Very good competitive toughness, keeping his head on a swivel and always blocks through the whistle when engaged.
Adequate punch power due to adequate upper body strength especially in pass protection when anchoring against head on DL. Not able to stop initial momentum and allows bigger bull rushers to displace him and penetrate the pocket. Adequate sustain against defenders that outmatch him in upper body strength as his hands can get taken off which allows a late pursuit. Good prospect who brings the necessary length and athleticism to project as a starting LT in the SEC but will need to add more muscle to his upper section to be trusted consistently in pass protection.
https://twitter.com/bportnoy15/status/1540001819484618752
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Brauntae Johnson – WR
Fort Wayne, IN – (North Side High School)
WR prospect who also lined up as a Safety that is garnering interest throughout the Big 10 and Big 12 conferences. Good height and marginal weight in a high cut, linear frame that leaves room for maxing out. Good release against Off coverage using very good acceleration to quickly close the gap and good coverage processing to open up windows for himself to cut away from coverage and attack the soft spot. Good separation on linear routes and speed cuts, shows good foot speed and stem adjustments to gain leverage and open up throwing windows. Good separation underneath and intermediate against Zone coverage to find voids and settling with good vision and balance. Good body adjust at the catch point when running full speed using good ball tracking and balance to turn upfield quickly and bring in the catch on the sideline with good mental toughness. Very good YAC, uses his very good COD and agility to fake out tacklers and uses his acceleration and foot speed to run away from slower DBs.
Adequate release against Press coverage, allows the defender to get hands into his chest and gets re-routed due to adequate strength and hand technique. Adequate hands at the catching point when contested, adequate extension leads to body catches and gives pass break-up opportunities for defenders. Was rarely used as a blocker and will need to add muscle to be considered effective in that area despite good overall competitive and physical toughness. Good prospect who brings good size and athleticism while also showing good mental processing to be trusted early on to get open and create extra yards with the ball in his hands. Needs to add more muscle to reach his ceiling and not get pigeonholed into a slot receiver.
https://twitter.com/ChrisRyanWPTA/status/1441594447662309376
Jeffery Rush – DL
Pascagoula, MS (Pascagoula High School)
DL prospect that is receiving offers from major SEC programs. Solid height and marginal weight with long legs and slender upper half. Very good burst, uses his very good quickness and acceleration to threaten OTs’ sets and allow himself to get his hands on the blocker before vertical setters can get into a leveraged position. Very good punch timing and placement, has solid upper body strength to swipe hands off or extend into the blocker’s shoulder on outside long arm move. Good cornering at the top off the rush outside, good knee bend to dip under and force QB to step into the pocket. Good counter moves when initially stalled and showed multiple different moves to beat OTs of different sets and strengths due to good processing. Good pursuit from open side alignment, showing good agility and vision combined with his very good aggressiveness to hunt ball carriers down to the opposing sideline consistently due to very good competitive toughness. Good tackler, targeting low consistently and wrapping up with good technique and solid grip strength.
Adequate bull rush especially out of head on alignment, unable to build up his burst and not able to generate constant leg drive due to adequate lower body strength. Mainly aligned as open side 5-tech or wider and was not asked to set the edge against the run. Body proportions make him sort of a tweener at the next level, will need to add mass to hold up inside against SEC competition while smaller stature and arm length question his projection to the edge spot. Overall good prospect due to his burst, processing and competitive toughness and is best fit as a 4-3 open side pursuit defender that brings good contributions to a pass rush and can be counted on to start by his third year.
https://twitter.com/JefferyRushJr1/status/1563680674829189121
