Ohio State commit Kareem Walker was creating separation every single rep in one on ones for the most part. He dropped a ball or two on the day when he was pressured, but he was willing to go out and snag the ball and didn’t wait for it to get into his body. The running backs positional coach at the camp was raving about his balance to me. This is all particularly good news, considering Walker is a kid that uses his power very well as a tool in his arsenal which doesn’t apply well to camp settings. I’m expecting a huge senior year out of him.
Lamont Wade was phenomenal on the day. The only rep he lost during 1v1’s was to DeKaylin Metcalf, who was just absolutely scorching all day, and that was on a ball he tipped that Metcalf snagged. He was staying on everybody’s hip and not allowing any separation. Even managed to win a jump ball against 6-foot-4 five star wide receiver Trevon Grimes, who he was giving up at least 6 inches in height to. I’ll be incredibly disappointed if he doesn’t earn his fifth star at the next evaluation update, as he has proven to me time and again that he is that level of talent.
Grimes was another of the day’s best performers. Givler had the chance to post about him a bit in the live update thread, but there’s not enough good things you can say about him. Footwork, balance, body control, speed, quickness, footwork – he has all of it and he knows how to use it. Jersey grabbing, forearm shivers, hip pulls, it wouldn’t matter, he’d get his regardless. Unbelievable talent.
A trio of 2016 Florida wide outs made some waves on the day, namely Nate Craig-Myers, Sam Bruce, and Binjimen Victor. Craig-Myers looks right back to being his old self after his leg injury and had no problem winning contested balls. Sam Bruce might be the quickest human being I’ve ever seen and was getting open and being his Samborghini self every time the quarterback could get it in his area code. Victor has that crazy wingspan and massive hands and still needs to add hands, but he’s a big vertical threat.
Demetris Robertson was switching across both sides of the ball, playing wide receiver and defensive back and had the chance to go against a few other names on this list. Absolute freak athlete and can play plenty of positions in college if he wants to. Change of direction is unreal for him.
There was a very strong crop of 2017 defensive backs in the field with Richard LeCounte, Isaiah Pryor, Deangelo Gibbs – the Georgia Three - and Devon Hunter of Virginia, as well as Jeffrey Okudah of Texas. All five impressed me today, some at different points of the day than others. While Lamont Wade, who I discussed above, absolutely blew me away and was the clear top guy so far, that does not diminish the performance of these guys. All five have a legitimate chance to be big Ohio State targets, and some already are. I think Okudah is going to become a very important target after he visits this June, which I discussed in my story with him.
Perhaps the only group as impressive thus far as the 2017 defensive backs was the 2016 defensive linemen. Antwaun Jackson, Dexter Lawrence, Rashan Gary, Kendell Jones, and Jonathon Cooper made for one hell of a line up along the defensive front. I couldn’t believe that we were seeing 300-pounders like Dexter Lawrence and Rashan Gary moving as quickly as they were. Lawrence’s balance was unbelievable and Gary is the best physical specimen in the country and with college coaching they will be absolute terrors.
Kendell Jones is just a bull at over 360 pounds and he told me he can squat 800 pounds (more on him below). Antwaun Jackson has a lightning first step, even among a group of elite performers, and he’ll penetrate backfields with ease at the next level. Reminds of Aaron Donald or Michael Bennett if those guys had the size/frames to be potential future NFL draft picks, which is saying a lot. Coop is Coop, and Spiderman did as he always does, blowing by guys and employing a full arsenal of moves. He tied on a couple reps and as Givler says – ties go to the offensive linemen, but he never got straight up stonewalled so the streak continues.
I was very impressed with two offensive linemen in particular: Greg Little and Drake Jackson. Drake is just so technically sound. He slides where he needs to and he anchors when he needs to and rarely makes mistakes on the technique aspect of things. Some of the bigger defensive lineman, like Alabama commit Kendell Jones, were able to blow him off the ball at times due to his size, but he’s just so damn good. Speaking of Kendell Jones, the only lineman in attendance who could stop him when he started driving his feet was Greg Little, a Texas A&M commit who Ohio State is actively recruiting and have an outside shot at. However, as good as those two were, none compared to USC commit Frank Martin. Big, nasty, and perfect throughout the day. Best in attendance for my money.
Lamont Wade was phenomenal on the day. The only rep he lost during 1v1’s was to DeKaylin Metcalf, who was just absolutely scorching all day, and that was on a ball he tipped that Metcalf snagged. He was staying on everybody’s hip and not allowing any separation. Even managed to win a jump ball against 6-foot-4 five star wide receiver Trevon Grimes, who he was giving up at least 6 inches in height to. I’ll be incredibly disappointed if he doesn’t earn his fifth star at the next evaluation update, as he has proven to me time and again that he is that level of talent.
Grimes was another of the day’s best performers. Givler had the chance to post about him a bit in the live update thread, but there’s not enough good things you can say about him. Footwork, balance, body control, speed, quickness, footwork – he has all of it and he knows how to use it. Jersey grabbing, forearm shivers, hip pulls, it wouldn’t matter, he’d get his regardless. Unbelievable talent.
A trio of 2016 Florida wide outs made some waves on the day, namely Nate Craig-Myers, Sam Bruce, and Binjimen Victor. Craig-Myers looks right back to being his old self after his leg injury and had no problem winning contested balls. Sam Bruce might be the quickest human being I’ve ever seen and was getting open and being his Samborghini self every time the quarterback could get it in his area code. Victor has that crazy wingspan and massive hands and still needs to add hands, but he’s a big vertical threat.
Demetris Robertson was switching across both sides of the ball, playing wide receiver and defensive back and had the chance to go against a few other names on this list. Absolute freak athlete and can play plenty of positions in college if he wants to. Change of direction is unreal for him.
There was a very strong crop of 2017 defensive backs in the field with Richard LeCounte, Isaiah Pryor, Deangelo Gibbs – the Georgia Three - and Devon Hunter of Virginia, as well as Jeffrey Okudah of Texas. All five impressed me today, some at different points of the day than others. While Lamont Wade, who I discussed above, absolutely blew me away and was the clear top guy so far, that does not diminish the performance of these guys. All five have a legitimate chance to be big Ohio State targets, and some already are. I think Okudah is going to become a very important target after he visits this June, which I discussed in my story with him.
Perhaps the only group as impressive thus far as the 2017 defensive backs was the 2016 defensive linemen. Antwaun Jackson, Dexter Lawrence, Rashan Gary, Kendell Jones, and Jonathon Cooper made for one hell of a line up along the defensive front. I couldn’t believe that we were seeing 300-pounders like Dexter Lawrence and Rashan Gary moving as quickly as they were. Lawrence’s balance was unbelievable and Gary is the best physical specimen in the country and with college coaching they will be absolute terrors.
Kendell Jones is just a bull at over 360 pounds and he told me he can squat 800 pounds (more on him below). Antwaun Jackson has a lightning first step, even among a group of elite performers, and he’ll penetrate backfields with ease at the next level. Reminds of Aaron Donald or Michael Bennett if those guys had the size/frames to be potential future NFL draft picks, which is saying a lot. Coop is Coop, and Spiderman did as he always does, blowing by guys and employing a full arsenal of moves. He tied on a couple reps and as Givler says – ties go to the offensive linemen, but he never got straight up stonewalled so the streak continues.
I was very impressed with two offensive linemen in particular: Greg Little and Drake Jackson. Drake is just so technically sound. He slides where he needs to and he anchors when he needs to and rarely makes mistakes on the technique aspect of things. Some of the bigger defensive lineman, like Alabama commit Kendell Jones, were able to blow him off the ball at times due to his size, but he’s just so damn good. Speaking of Kendell Jones, the only lineman in attendance who could stop him when he started driving his feet was Greg Little, a Texas A&M commit who Ohio State is actively recruiting and have an outside shot at. However, as good as those two were, none compared to USC commit Frank Martin. Big, nasty, and perfect throughout the day. Best in attendance for my money.
