No filler this week kids, straight to the Prospect Report. I saw Charles Reeves and Todd Sibley both secure big-time playoff wins in the first round of Division IV and III in Ohio, respectively, and look great while doing it. Here's my evaluations of the prospects that I saw:
Charles Reeves was the only notable recruit in the Steubenville-Indian Creek playoff game, but boy was he notable. There was a whole lot of good, but a little bit of bad. Let's lead with the bad and get it out of the way. I don't like to criticize kids if I can avoid it, but Reeves blocking was incredibly inconsistent. For as big as he is, he should have been a much better blocker and there were times when Steubenville subbed him out on running downs because he wasn't engaged in the blocking game.
When he did give his efforts to the fullest in run-blocking, he destroyed kids. He was the lead blocker on two of Steubenville's rushing touchdowns. On both of them, he locked onto a defensive end and drove the kid five or seven yards off of the football and pancaked him by the end of it. Reeves is so big and so strong that when you see him do something like that, it's frustrating that you don't see it on every down. His coach said he's up to 265 pounds and virtually none of that is bad weight. I interviewed Reeves following the game and he had taken his shoulder pads off by this point and I can tell you that there is no bad weight on this kid. He is 265 pounds of muscle. If he's over 10% body fat, I'd be shocked. The kid is a titan physically.
In terms of play, Reeves caught the football really well. He has strong hands and just snatches the ball out of the air, despite inconsistent QB play. Reeves had a really nice dig route that he ran on 3rd &12 where he got to the first down marker, used his body to box out a defender, and caught a ball away from his body as he was falling down to get the first. A lot of his routes, however, were screen plays where he catches the football and stiff arms or lowers the shoulder over a couple kids and picks up 10 yards. He had 5 catches for 55 yards. On two of those plays, it took three Indian Creek defenders to push him out of bounds. Some of these kids were comically under-matched against him. I embedded a picture of the match-up below just to show you what it was like being a DB lined up against Reeves.
Todd Sibley also had a really nice night for Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban. Sibley only had 14 carries for Hoban in their 37-0 blowout of Warren (Ohio) Howland, but that was enough for him to pick up three touchdowns and 174 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game. Sibley showed really nice vision and balance, generating big yards and slicing through the holes provided by his offensive line. I believe he had at least two yards on every carry, so he wasn't taking negative plays and he was moving the pile for extra yardage. Sibley has really quick feet for a back and he's comfortable dancing in the backfield to find the right hole when he has to. He's a one-cut kind of back, but he can position himself well to get upfield in a hurry. He's not a player anytime will mistake for a track star, but he also doesn't get caught from behind easily once he his the seam. Quick feet, powerful leg drive, good vision, impressive balance/core strength, and plus straight-line speed are pretty much everything you need from your running back. I've been watching Todd play since his sophomore year and he keeps improving on the little things to become a more well-rounded back. I didn't get to see him make any plays in the passing game unfortunately, but that's not his fault, just a function of play-calling. Watch Sibley identify the correct gap from his line here and then pull away for a 77-yard touchdown:
Of other players on the Hoban team, 2017 Kentucky QB commit Danny Clark looked pretty good. The kid has a really nice arm and placed the football as well as I've ever seen him do it on Saturday night. He was 6-of-9 (nice) for 91 yards, but two of those three incompletions were drops. Clark showed nice touch and he's always had a cannon for an arm. As he gets the mental side of the game down, look for him to compete for a starting spot early on. He's such a big kid too.
Danny's little brother Caden Clark is just a freshman, but physically, he's so well put-together. I don't really talk about freshmen because it's too early, but the kid already has an offer from Kentucky. Here's a picture of him next to Danny, who is 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. Caden is number 87.
2018 ATH Nate Bauer looked good in coverage at cornerback for Hoban, but he's probably a safety long-term. Also plays wide receiver for Hoban. Pitt hasn't offered yet, and I'm not sure if they will, but he's a Power Five kid. Boston College has offered.
2018 DE Daeshon Martin was physically well put-together and made some nice tackles. I like the kid.
2019 OL Nolan Rumler has a Michigan offer and he'll add more. They probably offered too early but he's definitely a Division I kid and a Power Five player, most likely at offensive guard. Big-bodied and strong, but needs to get more flexible and work on his foot speed. He's young and he'll grow into his body.
For Howland, 2017 Toledo commit Victor Williams played well at DB and WR and made a really nice catch that was ruled out of bounds, but 2018 LB Chris Julian was the star of the show. He brought pressure on Danny Clark and landed some hits on him, which isn't easy to do for a QB of Danny's size. Julian free-lanced too much, but he was good at identifying the gaps to rush in, showed quickness in his hips, and physicality. There's a lot to like, but areas to improve on as well. Look for P5 offers to come his way eventually.
Charles Reeves was the only notable recruit in the Steubenville-Indian Creek playoff game, but boy was he notable. There was a whole lot of good, but a little bit of bad. Let's lead with the bad and get it out of the way. I don't like to criticize kids if I can avoid it, but Reeves blocking was incredibly inconsistent. For as big as he is, he should have been a much better blocker and there were times when Steubenville subbed him out on running downs because he wasn't engaged in the blocking game.
When he did give his efforts to the fullest in run-blocking, he destroyed kids. He was the lead blocker on two of Steubenville's rushing touchdowns. On both of them, he locked onto a defensive end and drove the kid five or seven yards off of the football and pancaked him by the end of it. Reeves is so big and so strong that when you see him do something like that, it's frustrating that you don't see it on every down. His coach said he's up to 265 pounds and virtually none of that is bad weight. I interviewed Reeves following the game and he had taken his shoulder pads off by this point and I can tell you that there is no bad weight on this kid. He is 265 pounds of muscle. If he's over 10% body fat, I'd be shocked. The kid is a titan physically.
In terms of play, Reeves caught the football really well. He has strong hands and just snatches the ball out of the air, despite inconsistent QB play. Reeves had a really nice dig route that he ran on 3rd &12 where he got to the first down marker, used his body to box out a defender, and caught a ball away from his body as he was falling down to get the first. A lot of his routes, however, were screen plays where he catches the football and stiff arms or lowers the shoulder over a couple kids and picks up 10 yards. He had 5 catches for 55 yards. On two of those plays, it took three Indian Creek defenders to push him out of bounds. Some of these kids were comically under-matched against him. I embedded a picture of the match-up below just to show you what it was like being a DB lined up against Reeves.
Todd Sibley also had a really nice night for Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban. Sibley only had 14 carries for Hoban in their 37-0 blowout of Warren (Ohio) Howland, but that was enough for him to pick up three touchdowns and 174 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game. Sibley showed really nice vision and balance, generating big yards and slicing through the holes provided by his offensive line. I believe he had at least two yards on every carry, so he wasn't taking negative plays and he was moving the pile for extra yardage. Sibley has really quick feet for a back and he's comfortable dancing in the backfield to find the right hole when he has to. He's a one-cut kind of back, but he can position himself well to get upfield in a hurry. He's not a player anytime will mistake for a track star, but he also doesn't get caught from behind easily once he his the seam. Quick feet, powerful leg drive, good vision, impressive balance/core strength, and plus straight-line speed are pretty much everything you need from your running back. I've been watching Todd play since his sophomore year and he keeps improving on the little things to become a more well-rounded back. I didn't get to see him make any plays in the passing game unfortunately, but that's not his fault, just a function of play-calling. Watch Sibley identify the correct gap from his line here and then pull away for a 77-yard touchdown:
Of other players on the Hoban team, 2017 Kentucky QB commit Danny Clark looked pretty good. The kid has a really nice arm and placed the football as well as I've ever seen him do it on Saturday night. He was 6-of-9 (nice) for 91 yards, but two of those three incompletions were drops. Clark showed nice touch and he's always had a cannon for an arm. As he gets the mental side of the game down, look for him to compete for a starting spot early on. He's such a big kid too.
Danny's little brother Caden Clark is just a freshman, but physically, he's so well put-together. I don't really talk about freshmen because it's too early, but the kid already has an offer from Kentucky. Here's a picture of him next to Danny, who is 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. Caden is number 87.
2018 ATH Nate Bauer looked good in coverage at cornerback for Hoban, but he's probably a safety long-term. Also plays wide receiver for Hoban. Pitt hasn't offered yet, and I'm not sure if they will, but he's a Power Five kid. Boston College has offered.
2018 DE Daeshon Martin was physically well put-together and made some nice tackles. I like the kid.
2019 OL Nolan Rumler has a Michigan offer and he'll add more. They probably offered too early but he's definitely a Division I kid and a Power Five player, most likely at offensive guard. Big-bodied and strong, but needs to get more flexible and work on his foot speed. He's young and he'll grow into his body.
For Howland, 2017 Toledo commit Victor Williams played well at DB and WR and made a really nice catch that was ruled out of bounds, but 2018 LB Chris Julian was the star of the show. He brought pressure on Danny Clark and landed some hits on him, which isn't easy to do for a QB of Danny's size. Julian free-lanced too much, but he was good at identifying the gaps to rush in, showed quickness in his hips, and physicality. There's a lot to like, but areas to improve on as well. Look for P5 offers to come his way eventually.
