[Barron/MGoBlog]

I hope Rutgers is investing heavily in its material sciences department, because the fence around New Jersey failed once again. Paramus Catholic made a trip to Ann Arbor last Friday night to play under the lights (technically it was under the blinding setting sun, then the lights) at the Big House, taking on St. Frances Academy.

Paramus jumped out to an early lead before two quick St. Frances touchdowns turned what seemed as though it might be a Paramus blowout into a 14-13 Paladin deficit at halftime. Paramus then took control in the second half and cruised to a 38-20 win.

The stands were about as full as a 2014 home game without the ticket giveaways (not that you can blame high schools from New Jersey and Maryland for not packing the place), but there were some notable faces in the crowd. Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown and Chris Partridge were on hand, as well as Paramus Catholic alums Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary. It just so happens that two Michigan targets, linebacker Drew Singleton and defensive tackle Corey Bolds, were on the field for Paramus on Friday night. Both impressed; four-star LB Drew Singleton, a top-100 player per the 247 composite, looked every bit his ranking, while three-star DT Corey Bolds was a bit more up-and-down but still impressed on the whole.

[After THE JUMP: Singleton and Bolds scouting reports and highlights]

Video

Drew Singleton

Corey Bolds

Scouting

2017 LB #5 Drew Singleton (M offer)

Singleton wasted no time making an impact in the game; the highlight video is in chronological order, and on the first play he was involved in he showed an ability to read and react quickly, athleticism, and power. All three of those elements of his game showed up over and over again on Friday night.

Singleton was able to use his athleticism to his advantage when asked to cover a short zone, which he did fairly effectively. At 00:52 he’s tasked with covering the flat, and though he’s a step too late to break up the pass he’s there in time to make sure that any YAC is off the table. This plays out again at 1:55, where Singleton breaks to the sideline and takes an angle that would have him taking out the receiver if the first tackle was missed. Maybe the most pronounced example comes at 2:48, where Singleton reads that it’s a jet sweep, reads the position of everyone on the left side of the line, and then rockets to the hole to hew down the receiver like some kind of souped-up electric carving knife. He did a consistently nice job flowing to the ball.

There’s a high level of on-field awareness present in a guy who calculates the right angle to take on an outbreaking route with help, and that awareness is on display again at 2:04. Singleton comes screaming inside on a blitz, and as he sees the back he breaks down just a bit in case the RB got the handoff off the read. He didn’t, so Singleton continues pursuing the QB and forces the ball out quickly. He did incur what I thought was an awfully dubious roughing the passer call; I saw it more as a guy playing to the whistle, which he did all night, than a reason to knock his on-field awareness.

As for power, at 00:12 he gets to the back second, but he makes sure extra-effort yards can be churned out; it looks like he went to the Jabrill Peppers School of Tackling (Read: Suplexing) here. At 1:11 Singleton’s thwacked downfield by an offensive lineman, and instead of getting pancaked he’s able to spin off the block and get further downfield. He likely would have been in on the tackle if he didn’t run into a teammate after getting off the block, too. Singleton later was able to get off a block (2:28) and wrap up the RB as he runs by. He’s strong enough to rock back a blocker and escape for a chance at getting to the RB when he doesn’t use his quickness to avoid the blocker altogether (check 2:38 for two examples of the latter).

He played Will almost exclusively, and that’s where I think he fits in college as well. He can take a zone when asked to, but his strong suit is reacting quickly to what’s in front of him and using his athleticism to get to the right spot; this athleticism and football IQ allows him to get away with not having perfect technique. Singleton seems like an especially nice fit in a Don Brown defense, where his aptitude for both diagnosing plays and using his speed to blitz like the wind would be called upon often.

2017 DT #9 Corey Bolds (M offer)

[Barron]

Bolds spent most of the early portion of the game burrowing his way through offensive linemen, who seemed to feel that the best way to slow Bolds was to hold him. Starting at 00:20, there’s a sequence that shows why doubling Bolds wasn’t a bad idea; neglect to wrap an arm around him and he can do what happens at 00:29, knocking the lineman back with one arm.

There is, however, more to his game than just brute strength. At 1:05 he shows a little speed off the edge, blowing past the left tackle and pressuring the QB; he doesn’t look like an end at the next level, but he’s quick off the ball. At 1:17, he avoids the cut block deftly while keeping his eyes in the backfield. Even when brute strength is the lynchpin of the play there’s more than meets the eye; at 1:43 Bolds is able to stymie a double team, but most impressive is that he’s able to maintain gap integrity while doing it.

That’s not to say that Bolds is without flaws. He occasionally stands straight up, losing leverage and illustrating an issue with pad level that showed up over four or five snaps. Though able to fight his way to a stalemate, Bolds gets too upright on the aforementioned play where he fends off a double team; from this play is seems that increased leg strength should help mitigate some of those issues in college when doubled.

Despite the nice rip move off the edge at 2:04, Bolds’ future appears to be on the interior of the defensive line. He’s got the quickness (just look at how often he was held when single blocked) to hack it at 3-tech, and with some time in a college strength program—Bolds is currently 6’3 and 276 pounds—he could play nose. The pad level issues don’t raise any red flags; it’s hard to find a high-school lineman who doesn’t have this as one of their areas for improvement. It’s easy to see why Bolds has generated interest on the recruiting trail considering his frame and quickness.