I've been really impressed this summer with a pair of 2018 prospects from Louisville (Ky.) Waggener High School. The Bluegrass State is not normally a place that you'll see a lot of big time prospects come out of, but they've had a nice uptick as of late with Damien Harris, Landon Young, Drake Jackson, Jedrick Wills, and now these two underclassmen.
Jairus Brents is a really physical press corner prospect who checks in at 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds. He's not as big as some other cornerbacks that Narduzzi and company have recruited (that 5'10" may even be a hair generous) but he's strong and incredibly fast. Brents showed up at Ohio State's camp late when he hit track coming from Louisville, stretched for about 5 minutes, and reeled off forty-yard dash times of 4.30 and 4.32. Now those are hand-timed, so they're probably a laser-timed 4.42, but that's still absolutely flying, especially for a kid who hasn't even started his junior season. More than that, Brents is a pit bull at his size and has really been packing on the muscle. His trainer Chris Vaughn has been doing some unreal work with him and tweeted a video today of Brents bench-pressing 405 pounds on a one-rep max, well over twice his body weight. Narduzzi and company love physical press corners who can turn and run, and Brents is exactly. Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, and Boston College have offered, so bigger programs are taking notice.
Tahj Rice is a defensive lineman who's built in that James Hudson mold where I could see him playing either 5-tech defensive end or 3-tech defensive tackle. He's a really thick kid at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, but he's quick twitch and gets off the ball well. He showed up at the Rivals Camp Series event in Columbus, Ohio State's June camp, and the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge and really showed out at all three events. He doesn't have quite as many offers as Brents at this point in time, but that could be a good thing for Pitt's chances to get involved and make an impression here. Louisville, Indiana, and Duke are his biggest offers so far. I think he can be that explosive pass-rushing 3-technique defensive tackle that college coaches love to move towards these days, and he's emerging as a really nice prospect. Recently picked up his fourth star.
Both prospects have told me that they'd like to hear more from Pitt and could be offer candidates if they're able to get in touch with the coaches and set up some visits up to the city. They've been willing to go visit just about anywhere and they're wide open right now, so it'd be prudent for Pitt and others to start offering sooner rather than later, IMO. I think both end up as four-star prospects by the end of their recruiting cycle, lots of upside for both that their training program should help to maximize.
Jairus Brents is a really physical press corner prospect who checks in at 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds. He's not as big as some other cornerbacks that Narduzzi and company have recruited (that 5'10" may even be a hair generous) but he's strong and incredibly fast. Brents showed up at Ohio State's camp late when he hit track coming from Louisville, stretched for about 5 minutes, and reeled off forty-yard dash times of 4.30 and 4.32. Now those are hand-timed, so they're probably a laser-timed 4.42, but that's still absolutely flying, especially for a kid who hasn't even started his junior season. More than that, Brents is a pit bull at his size and has really been packing on the muscle. His trainer Chris Vaughn has been doing some unreal work with him and tweeted a video today of Brents bench-pressing 405 pounds on a one-rep max, well over twice his body weight. Narduzzi and company love physical press corners who can turn and run, and Brents is exactly. Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, and Boston College have offered, so bigger programs are taking notice.
Tahj Rice is a defensive lineman who's built in that James Hudson mold where I could see him playing either 5-tech defensive end or 3-tech defensive tackle. He's a really thick kid at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds, but he's quick twitch and gets off the ball well. He showed up at the Rivals Camp Series event in Columbus, Ohio State's June camp, and the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge and really showed out at all three events. He doesn't have quite as many offers as Brents at this point in time, but that could be a good thing for Pitt's chances to get involved and make an impression here. Louisville, Indiana, and Duke are his biggest offers so far. I think he can be that explosive pass-rushing 3-technique defensive tackle that college coaches love to move towards these days, and he's emerging as a really nice prospect. Recently picked up his fourth star.
Both prospects have told me that they'd like to hear more from Pitt and could be offer candidates if they're able to get in touch with the coaches and set up some visits up to the city. They've been willing to go visit just about anywhere and they're wide open right now, so it'd be prudent for Pitt and others to start offering sooner rather than later, IMO. I think both end up as four-star prospects by the end of their recruiting cycle, lots of upside for both that their training program should help to maximize.
