2012 recruiting

This week's Thursday Recruitin' discusses Jordan Payton's upcoming decision, the recruitment of Zach Banner, T-Rich and "Little Shane," and Tom Lemming's high praise of Ty Isaac. Usual request: Please let me know if you have any comments, criticism, suggestions, etc.—as always, I'll be reading the comments, and you can also reach me on Twitter or via email, where I'll also encourage you to send any recruiting articles of interest that you think I should include for the next week's edition.

Payton Sets a Date Plus a Look at the O-Line

Oaks Christian (CA) four-star wide receiver Jordan Payton (right) will announce his college decision next Tuesday ($, info in header), after he returns from a visit to Notre Dame for the USC game. Payton has narrowed his list to Michigan, Notre Dame, and Cal, but has maintained for several weeks that Michigan is his leader and that stance has not changed. Unless he has a major change of heart while visiting South Bend, Payton will likely end up wearing Maize and Blue.

Another recruit of interest visiting Notre Dame this weekend is Lakewood (WA) Lakes OL Zach Banner, who has set a top five of Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, USC, and Washington. The blue-chip tackle prospect has already visited Michigan and Oklahoma and will make his way to USC and Washington later this season. Sam Webb profiled Banner this week in the Detroit News, and the atmosphere when Banner visited Ann Arbor (for the Notre Dame game) could give the Wolverines a leg up to land his commitment:

Huffman added: "The best thing (the Wolverines) had going for them is he saw the game of the century. He got to fully got to experience the game atmosphere the energy of 115,000 people. He got to meet with Beilein, but more importantly he got to experience a pretty special and electric feeling that he is not going to be able to duplicate anywhere else. Oklahoma topped out at about 80,000 people against Missouri and the kid has been going to Washington games (with fewer fans) his whole life."

Apparently, Michigan has also told Banner they could see him making an impact as soon as next season, potentially at right tackle. Banner says he plans to make his college choice on January 14, but adds that "a change of schedule could happen at any time."

Tim Sullivan (YTTS) takes a look at potential 2012 offensive line commits for the Free Press, discussing Banner, fellow Washingtonian Josh Garnett, recent offeree Alex Kozan, and very recent USC decommit Arik Armstead. Since Michigan's chances at landing Armstead are thin at best, let's look at what Tim has to say about Kozan:

He has a top eight list that includes U-M, Iowa and LSU, and he plans to visit as many of those schools as possible before making a decision in late December. The 6-4, 295-pound Kozan is a powerful drive blocker that needs more polish in pass protection. He said U-M is recruiting him to play guard.

Several recruits trimmed their lists this week. Lakewood (CA) receiver Darius Powe maintains a top five of Michigan, Oregon State, UCLA, Utah, and Arizona State, but says that the Beavers and Bruins currently stand out as his favorites ($). Cincinnati Moeller receiver Monty Madaris hasn't narrowed his focus too much yet, but says that he only has two definite visits lined up, to Michigan State and Florida State. Cincinnati Taft teammates Adolphus Washington and Dwayne Stanford have eached named a top three ($) and will announce their decision on November 9—Washington is down to Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan State, while Stanford will choose between Ohio State, Oregon, and Cincinnati.

Quickly: Oregon has taken the lead for five-star safety Shaq Thompson ($, info in header), and Cal and Washington round out his top three, but he still plans on taking visits to Notre Dame, Michigan, and Arizona State and maintains that he is still quite open. Alex Kozan's interest in Michigan has picked up since receiving his offer ($, info in header). Tom interviews Jordan Diamond for ESPN.com—please tell me Dave Brandon does not watch this video and get any more brilliant ideas about the uniforms.

Hit the jump for much more on current 2012 commits and 2013 recruits.

This week on Weekday Warriors, Joe Bolden does it all for Colerain, the Harrison duo strikes again, and several Wolverine commits contribute to dominant defensive performances as the playoffs loom across the Midwest.

2012 Commits

TN OL Blake Bars

Montgomery Bell (3-5) had a bye last week.

This week: The Big Red play at McCallie on Friday.

OH LB Joe Bolden

Bolden had two fourth-quarter scores—a one-yard rushing touchdown and a six-yard receiving touchdown—to go along with a team-high 7.5 tackles and a sack to lead Colerain to a 28-7 victory over Lakota East. The two touchdown's were the first ever for Bolden as a varsity player:

“All I know is that we practice, practice and the line got a great push and I wasn’t stopping until I got in the red,” Bolden said of his first touchdown. “It was a unique feeling.”

Bolden, who is committed to the University of Michigan, also led Colerain in tackles with 7.5 and recorded a sack.

“It was a big night for Joe. What a great way for him to go out in his last guaranteed home game,” Colerain head coach Tom Bolden said of his nephew. “It was a special night for him, but it was a special night for all these seniors and not just Joe.”

This week: The Cardinals (7-1) travels to Hamilton on Friday at 7:30.

MI OL Ben Braden

Rockford put up 27 second-half points to blow open their game against Hudsonville, winning 44-14 to improve to 7-1 on the season.

This week: Rockford looks to cap off their regular season with a road win at Jenison on Friday at 7.

OH DE Pharaoh Brown

Brown was part of a defense that held Lakewood to just 124 total yards in a 20-0 shutout win for Brush.

This week: The Arcs (3-5) host Parma on Friday at 7.

MI TE Devin Funchess

MGoReader blue22 watched Harrison take down Lake Orion, 28-7, reporting back that Funchess recorded two receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown to go along with a strong defensive performance:

He was also playing LB, though he was matched up as a corner in nickel sets which I didn't know he did. There he had a tackle and an absolute monster of a sack.

All in all, Funchess looked bigger than pretty much everyone out there.

This week: Harrison (8-0) looks to finish with an undefeated regular season at home against Farmington on Friday at 7.

OH S Allen Gant

Gant recorded an interception as Southview held Anthony Wayne (that's a high school, not some dude) to just 79 total yards in a 36-14 victory.

This week: The Cougars plays at Springfield on Friday at 7.

MI DT Matt Godin

Godin texted that he finished with seven tackles and a sack, but Catholic Central dropped their first game of the season against Catholic League rival Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 14-13, due to a missed PAT.

This week: The Shamrocks will get an immediate chance for revenge, as they face off against OLSM for the Catholic League title in Saturday night's Prep Bowl at Ford Field. Kickoff is at 7.

UT FB Sione Houma

No stats are available for Houma from Highland's 22-0 loss to Salt Lake City East to wrap up their regular season.

This week: MaxPreps shows no more games scheduled for Highland, though I assume they are awaiting their playoff draw.

MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone

Cass Tech dropped their second game of the season to Crockett, 14-9, in the semifinals of the Detroit PSL playoffs. No stats were available for RJS.

This week: The Technicians (5-3) will play Renaissance on Thursday at 4 for the chance to lock up a playoff spot.

OH OL Kyle Kalis

St. Edward dropped their second game in a row, a 17-10 loss to St. Xavier, after starting the season 6-0.

This week: Things don't get easier for the Eagles, who host Cincinnati Moeller on Saturday at 2. I'll be there covering the game, which also features Moeller wideout and Michigan recruit Monty Madaris.

Lots on Magnuson, and a Jarrod Wilson EEEEEE moment after things go jump.

Last Friday the Creeper Van made its way east of Cleveland to Mentor, home of defensive end Tom Strobel and the Cardinals, to watch them take on the Medina Bees. I was greeted in Mentor by a pre-game downpour, which had me worried about being able to shoot film, but then the skies cleared to reveal this, which subsided my concerns entirely:

What does this mean? Oh, time for some football.

Anyways, I'm guessing you care far less about double rainbows than Tom Strobel, so here's the part where I tell you Mentor won 45-7 while Strobel recorded ten tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, and two QB hurries in a little over three quarters of action. Highlights are short—Medina did their best to run to the weak side (Strobel always flipped to the strong side) and roll their pocket away from him—but relatively spectacular:

[EDIT: Original video didn't play due to copyright issues with the song I used, but this one should work fine.]

Scouting

Considering Strobel's opponent did everything within their power to stay away from him—both running and passing—and he still managed to finish with double-digit tackles and multiple stops behind the line, I thought he had a pretty outstanding game. I have now seen each of the three players recruited for strongside defensive end in this class—Strobel, Matt Godin, and Chris Wormley—and Strobel impressed me the most, just edging out Godin.

At this level of competition, Strobel utilized his superior strength by essentially doing the same thing on every play: bull-rushing the offensive tackle, pushing him 3-5 yards into the backfield, then either heading for the quarterback or peeling back towards the line of scrimmage to make a play on the running back. While this strategy is entirely unsound against college competition—any good offensive coach would've realized that Strobel repeatedly opened up a big crease off-tackle and run right at him—it worked quite well since his side was avoided entirely, to the point that I think he was being coached to play this way. It certainly worked.

While Strobel isn't the quickest player, he did a good job of getting off the snap and shooting right into his blocker, getting his hands into an offensive lineman's chest before his counterpart could get a hand on him. This allowed him to get great leverage, both in terms of pushing his man off the line and in helping him disengage from his block. Strobel recognized plays quickly and there wasn't a play when he couldn't shed his block and get two hands on the ballcarrier if one was within reach. When Strobel got his hands on someone, that was it for the play—his upper-body strength is impressive.

One area where I had a mild concern was with Strobel's will to play to the whistle. He had a great motor off the snap, always pushing his blocker back and trying to disrupt the play early, but there were a couple long-developing plays in which he was loafing a bit instead of tearing towards the opposite sideline. This only occurred on plays that were across the field later in the game, so perhaps fatigue (doubtful, considering his initial burst) or simply the fact this game was a blowout (far more likely, IMO) played a factor, but it would be nice to see him finishing every play around the ball like I saw with Matt Godin.

The other point of concern for me was with Strobel's lack of variety in his off-the-snap moves—he bullrushed, again and again, without showing much else except a quick shove to the inside that wasn't quite a full swim move. Again, there are some obvious explanations for this: the bullrush kept working, so there wasn't much of a reason to switch things up, and Medina almost never attempted a pass without rolling the pocket away from Strobel and throwing quickly. There just wasn't enough of a reason—or many opportunities—for Strobel to switch things up.

At 6'6", 265 pounds, Strobel certainly has the size to come in and be an immediate contributor, and I think he has the best chance of doing so out of the three recruits coming in at the five-tech. He needs to add a couple pass-rush moves to his arsenal (or at least utilize a couple more), but he showed a lot of ability against both the run and the pass and the motor to be in and have an impact on a lot of snaps.

Photo Gallery

Mentor had a pretty cool pre-game video tribute to the seniors, if you're wondering what the second picture of the scoreboard is all about. Strobel is #36, and also the guy who's bigger than everyone else:

This Week

I'm deciding between heading to the Prep Bowl, which features Matt Godin, Wyatt Shallman, and Detroit Catholic Central facing off against James Ross and Orchard Lake St. Mary's for the Catholic League title, and going back to Ohio to catch Kyle Kalis's St. Edward squad take on Cincinnati Moeller. I've seen OLSM twice this season and DCC once, plus the game being at Ford Field means it may be more difficult to get good film, so right now I'm leaning towards seeing Kalis play for the first time. Your suggestions are encouraged in the comments.

This week's Thursday Recruitin' features Michigan at the top of Scout's team rankings, several uncommitted prospects planning visits, Kyle Kalis laughing off the threats of Buckeye trolls, and a whole lot on the class of 2013. Usual disclaimer: Please let me know if you have any comments, criticism, suggestions, etc.—as always, I'll be reading the comments, and you can also reach me on Twitter or via email, where I'll also encourage you to send any recruiting articles of interest that you think I should include for the next week's edition.

Hoke's Magic Takes Michigan to the Top, More on Uncommitted Seniors

Scout is a believer in Brady Hoke and his first full recruiting class, naming Michigan's 2012 class as the nation's best in their latest team rankings. Click through to see national recruiting analyst Scott Kennedy analyze the class, but unfortunately not saying that Brady Hoke poops magic, despite that clearly being the case. He does have a very good point, however, in saying that Michigan—despite their tremendous early success on the recruiting trail—has yet to capitalize on their strong start to the 2011 season with a commit, though that is obviously expected to change.

Josh Garnett is featured as Scout's Performer of the Week, and in the accompanying video (which has been out for a couple weeks, but paywalled) he discusses his official visits. Garnett mentions Nebraska, Miami, and Michigan as the three schools he'll definitely take officials to, though he also mentions several West Coast schools—Washington, Oregon, Cal, USC, and UCLA—that he'll likely take trips to in an unofficial capacity:

The Seattle Times not only discusses Garnett, but also fellow Washingtonian Zach Banner and their respective timelines:

"Banner revealed this week he is probably going to decide in the next month or two but is only going to tell the coach of the school he is committing to and then wait to make the announcement at Lakes High probably right before the Army All-American Game (which is on Jan. 7). Garnett doesn't have an official timeline but he is definitely going to take his time and take his visits until he is going to make an announcement, so that's kind of why it's been so quiet."

It'll be interesting to see if Banner is able to keep his decision under wraps if he does in fact plan on telling a coach his commitment plans so long before his formal announcement.

For the rest of Thursday Recruitin', jump with me.

Mario Ojemudia blocked a punt and recorded a sack to help keep Harrison undefeated this season.

This week on Weekday Warriors, Pharaoh Brown dominates at wide receiver, Matt Godin comes up with a game-sealing sack, Kyle Kalis's squad falls in a matchup of national powerhouses, and Tom Strobel has a huge week.

2012 Commits

TN OL Blake Bars

Montgomery Bell dropped to 3-5 with a 52-10 loss to Ensworth.

This week: The Big Red have a bye.

OH LB Joe Bolden

Bolden helped Colerain's defense hold off Lakota West late and seal a 24-19 win after a late fumble recovery with under a minute left to play.

This week: The Cardinals (6-1) host Lakota East on Friday at 7:30.

MI OL Ben Braden

Rockford once again dominated on the ground en route to a 49-0 defeat of Grandville. My former fellow TWB writer Alex Cook was at the game, and relayed this report from an opposing player:

Braden is obviously huge and fast, but he wasn't very good at finishing the play, and apparently his technique was terrible and he held a lot. Don't know if this is "heat of the battle stuff" but he's not ready to play at a BCS level. Fortunately he has potential enough to do it, but he needs a ton of work.

Alex did have this to say about the technique bit: "I didn't think his technique was that bad; he just bullied weaker players without the need for good technique." This falls mostly in line with what I observed from Braden—big, quick, and talented, but still needs to put it all together, and it's tough to get a gauge on his technical skills when he's pushing around guys 150 pounds smaller than him.

This week: Rockford (6-1) hosts Hudsonville on Friday at 7.

OH DE Pharaoh Brown

Brown caught seven passes for 173 yards and a touchdown to lead Brush to a shutout win over Normandy, 34-0. You can find highlights and a post-game interview on Rivals here.

This week: The Arcs play at Lakewood on Friday at 7.

MI TE Devin Funchess

Funchess had a productive game on both sides of the ball, hauling in two catches while tallying two sacks, a forced fumble, and "several" tipped passes as Harrison rolled to a 48-21 win over Rochester Adams.

This week: The Hawks have a bye this week.

OH S Allen Gant

No stats are available for Gant from Southview's 49-17 win over Bowling Green (NTBG), which improved their record to 6-1 this season.

This week: The Cougars host Anthony Wayne on Friday at 7.

MI DT Matt Godin

Godin texted me that he finished with six tackles and two sacks as Catholic Central held off Brother Rice, 21-19, to remain undefeated at 7-0 and earn a berth in the Prep Bowl. Godin's second sack came on Brother Rice's final drive, and helped seal the game for DCC:

Brother Rice would take over from the Catholic Central 44-yard line. With the clock ticking away, Brother Rice quarterback Nick Rao dropped back to pass on a third and long and Catholic Central senior defensive tackle Matthew Godin came in for the sack for a 7-yard loss.

“They doubled me and I made a quick move to the inside and slammed the center and I just flew through,” Godin said.

On a fourth down and eight yards to go situation, Rao’s pass was broken up by the Catholic Central secondary that sealed the victory to keep the Shamrocks undefeated on the season.

This week: The Shamrocks hope to wrap up the Catholic League title at home against James Ross and Orchard Lake St. Mary's on Saturday at 7.

UT FB Sione Houma

No stats are available for Houma from Highland's 55-10 victory over Cyprus.

This week: The Rams (6-2) take on Salt Lake City East at home on Friday at 7.

MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone

No stats are available for Jenkins-Stone as Cass Tech defeated Mumford, 49-13, to finish the regular season 5-2 (5-1 PSL).

This week: The Technicians now await their playoff draw.

OH OL Kyle Kalis

St. Edward played the nation's top team, Don Bosco Prep (home of Yuri Wright), but managed just 186 yards of total offense in a 38-7 loss. I wish a picture of this moment existed so we could have the Kalis version of the Carvin Johnson hatred-of-losing photo:

His team battered, bruised and overwhelmed with emotion, St. Edward offensive lineman Kyle Kalis stood at midfield, his hands attached to his hips.

...

"We didn't come out fast and physical the way we wanted to at the gate," Kalis said. "It just didn't happen for us, and it just adds fuel to the fire for the season going forward. We can't let this define our season, or next week, or the week after that."

This week: The Eagles return to Ohio to host St. Xavier on Saturday at 2.

CA OL Erik Magnuson

La Costa Canyon had a bye this week.

This week: The Mavericks play at Carlsbad on Friday at 7.

MI DE Mario Ojemudia

Ojemudia had a sack and blocked a punt to help Harrison stay undefeated in a 48-21 win over Rochester Adams. Steve Wiltfong on Ojemudia:

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Ojemudia blocked a punt and had a second-half sack to help Harrison seal the ball game late. The future Wolverine is quick off the snap with a variety of pass-rushing moves. One of the most dominant players in the state, the only question mark is where exactly does the tweener fit in on the next level?

Rush end? Rush end.

This week: The Hawks have a bye this week.

MO DT Ondre Pipkins

No stats for Pipkins (perhaps thankfully) from Park Hill's 49-0 loss at the hands of Lee's Summit West.

This week: The Trojans (4-3) go to Staley on Friday at 7.

MI CB Terry Richardson

No stats were available for Richardson from Cass Tech's 49-13 victory over Mumford.

This week: The Technicians's regular season is over.

OH LB Kaleb Ringer

Ringer sat out most of the second half with a knee problem—one that isn't expected to hold him out of future games—as Northmont fell to Centerville, 34-7.

This week: The Thunderbolts (2-5) host Fairmont on Friday at 7:30.

MI LB James Ross

Ross finished with seven tackles and three TFLs as St. Mary's dropped Shane Morris and Warren De La Salle, 35-10, in this week's CVO game. Highlights:

This week: OLSM (6-1) has a Saturday night showdown at Detroit Catholic Central.

OH OL Caleb Stacey

Stacey and Oak Hills fell in a shootout for the second straight week, this time dropping a 46-41 contest to Sycamore and fellow Michigan commit A.J. Williams.

This week: The Highlanders host Mason on Friday at 7:30.

IL CB Anthony Standifer

Via Son of MGoBlog Tim Sullivan, Standifer had six solo tackles, seven assists, and a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown as Crete-Monee defeated Rich Central 34-20. Standifer's teammate, 2013 prospect Laquon Treadwell, caught nine passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

This week: The Warriors hosts Rich South on Friday at 6.

OH DE Tom Strobel

Strobel was dominant in Mentor's 44-20 victory over Solon, recording three sacks, a fumble recovery, and a blocked extra point, though he deflected the attention from himself after the game:

"No, not at all," said the 6-6, 265-pound Strobel, when asked if his defensive mates are underappreciated. "We love being under the radar. We know [Mentor quarterback] Mitch [Trubisky] is going to score.

"We told ourselves that if [Solon] scores, just come back. There are no heroes. We just played as one."

The Cardinals were stung for two touchdowns in the first half, one on a 38-yard pass play in the first quarter and on a short pass late in the first half.

"Things like that are going to happen," said Strobel. "They have a great team. It's all about coming back at them and finishing it. We wanted to make a statement tonight."

This week: The Cardinals host Medina on Friday at 7. I should be in attendance and filming the game.

OH TE A.J. Williams

Williams and his Sycamore squad came up with just enough offense to outpace Caleb Stacey and Oak Hills, 46-41, to improve to 7-0 on the season.

This week: The Aviators play at Middletown on Friday night at 7:30.

OH S Jarrod Wilson

No stats are available for Wilson from Buchtel's 26-14 win over Akron North.

This week: The Griffins (4-3) host Kenmore on Friday at 7..

OH DE Chris Wormley:

Thanks to in-game Twitter updates from reader @RBones40, we know that Wormley had a tackle, a QB hurry, and a pass breakup and also forced an interception with a big hit in the first half as Whitmer took down Findlay, 49-23.

[UPDATE: Now with the weekly report from Mason Lowry:

The most interesting development to me was that Chris saw significant minutes as the secondary tight end. He isn't a guy that's going to be catching passes over the middle, but a holding penalty aside, he blocked pretty well. We haven't seen many two tight end looks this season, but I think Chris proved that he can handle going both ways if necessary.

Defensively, the front seven got great penetration all game long. Findlay's offense is mostly predicated on bubble screens to their crew of speedy, Wes Welker-esque receivers. With Chris being 6'7, Findlay's QB's had to throw over the top of him and into the flat, which gave the secondary time to adjust. I would say that if Chris were on most teams, opposing offensive lines could key on him, and force the rest of the team to beat them. But this defensive front in particular is good enough that you can't really do that.

Thanks, as always, to Mason, who you can hear calling every Whitmer home game on WRSCSports.com.]

This week: The Panthers (7-0) have a home contest against Fremont Ross, alma mater of one Charles Woodson, on Friday at 7.

2013 Commits

KY S Jeremy Clark

No stats available for Clark from a 61-0 North Hopkins victory over Hopkins County Central, which improved the Maroons to 6-1 in 2011.

This week: The Maroons host Calloway County on Friday at 7.

MI QB Shane Morris

Morris, the other subject of this week's CVO (highlights above), completed 5-of-11 passes for around 100 yards and had a 20-yard rushing touchdown, but De La Salle fell to OLSM 35-10 as Morris faced a heavy pass rush all night.

This week: The Pilots (5-2) play U-D Jesuit at Lake Short High School on Saturday at 7 in their regular-season finale.

OH RB/S Dymonte Thomas

Thomas had a nine-yard touchdown run, but Marlington (5-2) fell to Minerva by a score of 21-13.

This week: The Dukes host Canton South on Friday at 7.

In this week's CVO, I finally got the chance to see Shane Morris play in person as his Warren De La Salle squad hit the road to play Orchard Lake St. Mary's, who happen to feature fellow Michigan commit James Ross at linebacker. The game was close in the first half, with Morris scampering 20 yards for a rushing touchdown to cut De La Salle's deficit to just 14-10 at halftime, but OLSM pulled away in the second stanza with three unanswered touchdowns to cap off a 35-10 victory.

The stat line for Morris differs depending on where you look, but I had him down as completing 5-of-11 passes for right around 100 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, plus the one rushing touchdown and a couple short scrambles. Morris also punted for De La Salle, showing off a decent leg and delivering a huge (but late) hit after a return that drew a flag but also looked fairly awesome, especially coming from a quarterback. Ross, meanwhile, had a dominant effort across from Morris, finishing with seven tackles and three tackles for loss while regularly wreaking havoc in the Pilot backfield. Hello, highlights:

Scouting

Shane Morris: I had several people ask me via Twitter whether or not Morris was really as good a prospect as advertised, given his rather pedestrian stat line, which wasn't the first of its kind this season. To answer that question, look at the first highlight in Morris's segment (0:45 mark)—in which he buys time, gets his body turned, and delivers a strike that should have gone for a touchdown if his receiver could just hold on—and the throw at the 1:00 mark in which he chucks an absolute laser on a 30-yard post route. There are absolutely no questions about his arm, and though he had a little bit of difficulty with the accuracy on his deep ball, for the most part he was right on target.

Unfortunately, Morris didn't have a lot of help—his offensive line allowed pressure all night, sacking Morris three times and forcing the junior into awkward dumpoff throws or desperation scrambles on several other plays, and there were a couple drops by his receivers, including an on-target pass that comically doinked right off a player's helmet in the flat. If I were to say one negative about Morris's play, it's that he held onto the ball too long at times, and on one occasion stepped up to avoid pressure, but moved up the pocked too far and shuffled right into a sack.

For the most part, however, Morris did everything you could reasonably ask of him in a game in which OLSM was just the better team. He's obviously got great size, and his ability to change speeds with his throws is already at a very advanced level—he knows when to bring the heat and when he needs to put some touch on the ball, which you can see in some of his shorter throws. He did seem to get a little overzealous when throwing the bomb, but he also didn't really have any open receivers when he threw far downfield, to the point where it was difficult to tell if he was inaccurate or just executing a functional throwaway.

As you can see on the touchdown run, Morris is decently mobile. Nobody is going to confuse him with Denard Robinson, but he can buy time in the pocket and burn defenses with his legs if given the space to do so. He's also clearly a tough guy who knows he's the emotional leader of his team—he was not going to be denied the end zone on his touchdown scramble, and his (yes, late, but still) hit on the sideline after a punt was the hardest blow any Pilot player laid on an Eaglet all night. He also delivered on a third-and-13 late after taking a hard hit on a sack the previous play, which I liked to see in a game that was clearly getting away from his team. I came away from this game just as impressed with Morris and I was by his highlights and accolades—give him talent on the line and at the skill positions, and I have little doubt he'll excel at the college level.

For the scouting report on Ross, photos from the game, and bonus highlights of Jordan Payton, hit the jump.