We’ll keep the scouting reports rolling on top prospects from across the country.
Elijah Rushing – EDGE
Tucson, AZ (Salpointe Catholic)
Heavily recruited EDGE prospect who just committed to Arizona at the beginning of August, just after they announced their Big 12 induction. Very good height and solid weight make up a lankier build with broad shoulders that have a lot of room to add weight. Displays good agility and balance, combined with great quickness and explosiveness to make him an athlete that any team in the western region will have on their board at some point. Pass rush skills are already at an elite level with a wide arsenal of counters to combat the very strong bull rush that allowed him to get into the backfield a lot during his junior season. His point strength and ability to establish a base are very good, allowing him to leverage his gap when the ball is coming his direction. Shows very good strength and shed timing to make him a nightmare for any opposing OL. Solid at reading/reacting when setting the edge against options or misdirection. Flashes a good competitive motor with consistent play in high-pressure environments.
Marginal at man-key from his 5-9 tech position, often the last of his teammates to leave the LOS. During takeoff, he often hops or repositions his launch, limiting him to a marginal attack despite his speed and strength. Marginal tackling angles from dropping his head too early cause him to miss tackles in the open field or allow a few extra unnecessary yards. Overall, a good 5-9 tech who will need to add some meat to his bones to be effective in a P5 scene like Arizona. He’ll be best used as a speed rusher off the weakside edge in a 3-4 system because of his repertoire in pass rush and ability to be a reliable read-man against read options. He has the athletic capabilities to be a key star on a P5 defense but has a lot of work to do on his technique to get there.
https://twitter.com/elijah_rushing/status/1698027022868684895
Mardale Rowe – EDGE
Phoenix, AZ (Brophy College Prep.)
Heavily recruited by Arizona who offered him first back in May of 2021. Picked up 13 other offers since then, including Oregon and Kansas. Good height and weight are shown by a muscular, broader frame that still has room to add. Good overall athletic ability is made up of good agility and explosiveness, very good quickness, and adequate ability to stay upright when moving through contact at the LOS. Upfield burst is elite, always the first of his teammates off the LOS when man-keying from his usual 5-technique. Able to use his good play strength to drive the OL 2-3 yards back before accessing his very good pass rush arsenal made up of spins, single-hand swipes, and swim counters. He is used often as a twist-man in designed stunts, his very good speed and ability to finish make him a nightmare when attacking with a running start. To cap off his already very good speed pass-rushing capabilities, his use of hands is nothing short of elite, he’s elite at placing his hands where they need to be and very good at timing his counters to get into the backfield. Solid at keeping a base and leveraging his gaps in the run game, able to keep his feet planted most of the time and make his ball-side shoulder available in his gap. Solid lateral movement and ball-leveraging capabilities cause him to make most of his open-field tackles. Good at processing option plays from his weakside position, is able to make the right read, does not overcommit often, and can use his gifted athleticism to make the play even when his read is a little late. Very good motor and consistency, even on special teams.
Marginal ankle flexibility and adequate balance limit him from cornering effectively. Has a hard time getting to the ball carrier on zone runs from this lack of balance. Overall, he is your ideal weakside speed rusher who can be counted on to make plays in the backfield every game. Will be a good 2 to 3-year starter at a school like Arizona with the upside to be all-conference even in their Big XII arrival.
https://twitter.com/BJMedia1/status/1450308216953270274
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T.A. Cunningham – DL
Miami, FL (Miami Central)
Committed to Penn State out of his 64 D1 offers and heavy recruitment from Michigan, Oklahoma, Miami, and Texas A&M. Elite height with low bound weight for a 4-3 DT at 270lbs, holding a sturdy frame that has plenty of room to add weight. He’s a solid overall athlete, especially for his size, possessing good quickness, solid explosiveness, along with adequate agility and balance. He has a good upfield burst, made up of good ball-key reaction instincts and a good head-on attack that usually features good initial contact. His speed and QB close are solid after he has shoved his way through the OL. His very good strength is where he earns his reputation, able to drive OL 3-5 yards into the backfield when rushing the passer. His strength shows in his very good ability to hold off OL with one arm and keep his gap-side shoulder available for the ball carrier. His raw power alone is a solid disruption in the offense’s zone running game as well, able to knock moving OL off balance and push towards the ball carrier with ease. Solid motor with consistent play in most situations.
Adequate balance and agility make it hard for him to find tackling angles and bring down guys in the open field. Lack of knee bend and overall flexibility limit him to an adequate base in gap runs. At the high school level, his strength allows him to throw guys around and hold off OL, but he’ll have to be able to plant his feet in the ground and lean his body if he wants to be as effective in the running game at the next level. His strength domination has made him marginal with his hands, he lacks any real counter and may have trouble moving guys as he has before with his size. He gets lost in the flow of the offense at times with misdirection due to adequate ability to keep his eye on the ball carrier through traffic. Kid has a gifted frame and raw strength that will carry him far in his football career. He’s perfectly fitted as a 4-3 gap-filling DT that can make an impact after a year of P5 coaching. He has real all-conference potential with the floor to at least be a solid gap-filler in his upperclassman years.
https://twitter.com/_getlikealex/status/1660100105431597056
Jordan Washington – RB
Long Beach, CA (Jordan High School)
Has picked up four power five offers and is committed to Arizona like a lot of our evaluated west coast guys. Solid height with low bound weight for his position at 170 pounds. Average wingspan with smaller shoulder width and some room to add muscle. As a very good overall athlete, he possesses very good agility, explosiveness, and quickness with good balance in his open-field movement and solid balance through contact. He has very good burst and top speed, making him hard to catch when he finds space. His change of direction is solid with a lot of room to improve because of his extremely quick feet. Solid inside runner due to good mental processing which allows him to follow blocks and make cuts as his holes are developing. Very good at running the ball outside of his Tackles since he can bounce to the edge in a hurry and make defenders miss in the open field with his good elusiveness. He is solid at hauling in passes out of the backfield, keeping his eyes on the ball into his gloves. Willing blocker.
Adequate running strength causes some problems when met with resistance on the goal line. His team doesn’t trust his receiving ability to get him going on anything other than dump-down flat routes. He ran very few screens, wheels, or routes out of the slot, leading me to believe his route-running ability is marginal. His footwork is marginal even for such an elusive runner, will have to be broken of his hopping and stutter-stepping habits. Overall, he’s a speedy, agile runner that has a whole lot of room to improve on these already very good abilities with proper coaching. He’ll be a good rotational back on most first and second downs, and most likely won’t see a lot of short-yardage situation carries. His track speed has this kid’s ceiling towards being a three-down guy that an offense looks to get going in space. He will be a decent rotational back for a school like Arizona at the very least.
