mason cole

Well, now that Denzel Ward is gone, Michigan doesn't have any offensive linemen committed for 2014.  But February was good to Michigan last year, so maybe it will be again.  One guy who likes Michigan is Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake's Mason Cole.  I did a scouting report on him, and while he doesn't look likely to replace Ward as a tackle, Cole does look like a promising guard prospect.  He moves pretty darn well for an offensive lineman.  I think he would do a good job as a pulling guard in Al Borges's offense:

http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/01/scouting-report-mason-cole.html

Life intervened last weekend, preventing me from scouting a high school game in person. Thankfully, the amazing MGoBlog community came through in the last couple weeks, so I have scouting reports to post on 2013 commit Patrick Kugler and 2014 prospects Montae Nicholson (offer), Mason Cole (offer), and Artavis Scott.

We'll start with reader Eric, who attended the Gateway/North Allegheny game a few weeks back and delivered this report on senior line commit Patrick Kugler:

Patrick Kugler looked definitely larger then most of the other students.  Gateway spent most of the night running away from him when he was covering the D tackle position.  Kugler, who plays both ways, definitely looked winded as the first quarter and early second quarter wore on.  His pad level on defense leaves something to be desired but a solid first step allowed him to push double teams in the backfield on a few snaps.  His offensive line work is a completely different animal.  The kid switches gears and is a brick wall at left tackle.  Great hand work (from what I could see) and good leverage on single coverages.  Consistently gets to the [defensive] backfield for second level blocks.  Has a tendency to stop once the play is not headed his way, a lot of standing around and watching (playing both ways leads to energy conservation at all costs).  North Allegheny definitely a solid run scheme, a lot of off tackle running, and misdirection bubble screens etc. 

Gateway's Montae Nicholson and Ricky Rogers WR tandem was a lethal combination (sort of).  The two have slender long frames that could definitely use some more weight but they looked the part of D1 WRs.  Nicholson was the smoother route runner of the two, coming out of routes and cutting sharply.  Rogers more of the slot style slice and dice his way to several 10+yd gain catches near the sideline.  Gateway was having some success on the ground so the air attack never really got going negating any real flashy WR play from either guys. 

A hard fought victory for North Allegheny of 14-3 but the score isn’t as lop sided as you may think.  Gateway is a very good squad and there is a reason it was the Pittsburgh game of the week.  A lot of talent all over that field, Michigan is getting something they can mold into a tough O Lineman in Kuglar for sure. 

And here's reader Mike, who caught Cole and Scott in action last weekend:

I caught a portion of Mason's game on Friday night...  Let me start with the limitations of my review...  My daughter cheers for the East Lake team so my attention is split (when you have daughters, you will understand).  I got to the game after the first quarter started.  As I was walking towards the ticker booth East Lake scored and the announcer attributed the TD to Artavis Scott.  I didn't see the play so I'm not sure if it was a pass play or not, I assume it was.  The stats for Scott are based on what I saw except I am including that first score in his TD total.

Mason once again dominated.  I did not see any pressure on the EL QB that could be attributed to Mason not blocking his man.  As I was seated in the lower level, I didn't have much of a view on the running plays (not that EL ran often).

Scott was a stud.  I saw 7 throws in his direction of which he caught 6.  His one drop was on him, square to the throw, right in his chest.  And while I am pointing out this one glaring muff, let me note that two of his catches were highlight reel candidates.  The first was a sideline catch and an impressive 25 YAC.  The next was a one foot in bounds end zone grab for a TD.  Three TD's in the first half.  Not bad.

I did not see the second half so that's all I have...  In summary, these two were men amongst boys.

No stats for Cole—not a surprise, given that he's a lineman—but I found Scott's: nine receptions, 189 yards, four touchdowns. Not bad.

Thanks to Eric and Mike for taking the time to check out these games and write them up. If anybody else knows of a game in their area for which they'd like to do the same, or want to know if there's a prospect nearby that they could check out, please email me.