There were known commodities in attendance such as Scout's No. 2 ranked safety
Alec Ogletree, but there were also dozens of players aiming to put themselves on
the recruiting map, and many did just that.
If the previous week's New
Orleans Scout Combine was all about the interior linemen, the Peach State
had the defensive ends.
Henry Anderson (6-7/240) of Woodward Academy and Lacy Coleman (6-5/220) of Sandy
Creek were virtually unblockable during the one on one segments of the day.
At 6-7 and 240 pounds, Anderson is one of the top big athletes in the entire
country. A two way standout for his Woodward team, Anderson could play either
defensive end or tight end on the college level, and that versatility, combined
with his size and athleticism, have led to offers from the likes of Maryland,
Oklahoma State, Stanford, and West Virginia among others.
Anderson showed a terrific swim move that baffled opposing offensive linemen
during one on one drills. He proved that he can stay on the defensive side of
the ball and be a standout on the college level.
Lacy Coleman
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Coleman was a little bit less of a known commodity going into the day, but that
is certain to change as word of his performance on Friday makes its way through
the college ranks. A long 6-5 and 220 pounds, Coleman won every one of his one
on one drills against the offense. He showed a wide variety of pass rush moves,
and could also rely on pure quickness and strength to beat his opponents.
Anderson and Coleman weren't alone in a standout group of defensive linemen.
Jalen Fields of Dalton measured in at a solid 6-5 and 250 pounds. The Georgia
commitment showed he was a true competitor by not only going through all of his
physical tests and taking rep after rep on defense, but when the linemen drills
were over, Fields went and took reps at wide receiver.
"Upside" is a term used to describe an athlete of Fields' caliber.
While not as refined in his pass rush moves and technique as Anderson and
Coleman, Fields is a little bigger and a little more athletic than the aforementioned
duo.
Griffen's Xzavier Dixon measured in at 6-4 and 230 pounds, and he, along with
Coleman, may have done as much as any defensive lineman to help his stock
through the day. Dixon showed a very good first step off the line, and he used
his hands well to control his blocker.
Not only is a pass protection drill heavily favored to the defense with no
threat of a running play, but the offensive linemen were short handed compared
to the numerous defensive linemen in attendance. The low numbers gave ample reps
to the offensive lineman, and it was Kenarious Gates (6-5/297) from Greenville
High School near LaGrange, Ga. that showed the best through the day.
Greenville may be a Single A school in Georgia's classification system, but the
Patriots have a big time talent in Gates. Pushing 300 pounds as a high school
junior, Gates was exceptionally nimble on his feet, played with a good base, and
used his hands well when battling the defenders. Gates improved his recruiting
stock immensely with his showing at the Scout Combine on Friday.
David Yankey (6-5/278) of Centennial is a familiar name recruitniks and college
coaches with scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, North Carolina,
Stanford, and Tennessee among others. A skilled athlete with a great frame as a
sophomore starter, Yankey measured 245 last spring and has begun to fill out his
frame with a 30 pound growth spurt over the last 12 months. Yankey showed in
agility drills that he has not lost any of his footwork and athleticism as he
continues to grow bigger.
Yankey also took rep after rep after rep for an outmanned offensive line. Yankey
struggled at times with his technique as he would get caught lunging from time
to time but all of the tools were very apparent including improving through the
day and challenging himself.
Daniel Blitch (6-6/322) helped lead his North Hall team to a Georgia Dome
appearance in the State Semi-Finals as a sophomore, and the big lineman has
continued to get better as he's headed towards his senior season. He is a
leaner, quicker 322 pounds that can be a standout interior lineman on the
college level. He excels in run blocking, so pass protection was not his
strength, but like Yankey, he was always stepping up to take reps and continued
to improve through the day.
From the Class of 2011, Chattahoochee's Matt Kiefer is one to watch. Already a
solid 6-4 and 280 pounds, Kiefer showed that he will be a force to watch for the
Cougars the next two seasons.
Scout's Chad Simmons put a keen eye on the skill position players.
During the one on ones, two positions really jumped out in Atlanta - quarterback and wide receiver. Both had numerous prospects step up and shine on the big stage in front of other prospects, fans, high school coaches, and recruiting analysts.
Quarterbacks
Connor Shaw
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Flowery Branch quarterback Connor Shaw really turned in a strong performance during the one on one session. He threw with great
accuracy, showed very good footwork, and he had a quick release.
Shaw just started playing this position in 2008, so his development has come in a short amount of time. He looked like a natural out on the field
Friday, and he made all throws. Everything looked effortless – from transferring his weight from his back foot to the front, to getting shoulders squared before to delivering the ball, to taking his drops.
He walked away with the Offensive MVP award and he deserved it, but he was pushed at the quarterback position by guys like Hutson Mason, Nash Nance, and Blake Sims.
Those three all threw the ball very well and Sims actually worked at both safety and wide receiver as well. He was one of the top overall athlete that has the size, speed, ability to play multiple positions on the next level. Sims has a very strong arm and displayed that and he also looked very comfortable catching passes at wideout.
Both Nance and Mason showed more arm strength than they have in the past. Mason really threw the underneath routes well and then showed very good accuracy when delivering passes on the sideline routes. He put it on the outside shoulder away from the defenders giving his receiver a good pocket to catch the football. Nance has continued to improve since we spotted him a year ago. He threw the deep ball especially well in the wind,
showed a live arm, and his footwork has improved also.
A trio of underclassmen to keep an eye on that showed they could emerge as high level recruits in the future were Nick Marshall
(2011) of Wilcox County, Jonathan Terry (2011) of Washington, and Eddie Printz
of Lassiter. Marshall has a very strong arm, Terry was best with accuracy, and Printz has a lot of tools to work with and he is in the class of 2013.
Wide Receivers
Ronald Carswell
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The top overall performer at the Atlanta Combine came from this position and he just committed to the University of Alabama. Ronald Carswell traveled up from Westside High School in Macon, Ga. and it was worth it for him.
We all knew he was a solid receiver, but he looked much more than that on Saturday. After running the 40 yard dash in 4.52 seconds, he put on a show against the defensive backs.
It started at the line of scrimmage when he made it difficult with his quickness for any defensive back to get a hand on him. From there, he had corners on their heels before his route running ability. After that, he created a lot of space between him and the defender giving the quarterbacks plenty of room to hit him in the open field. Carswell helped his stock tremendously on Scout.com with his performance inside Hallford Stadium.
He was not the only receiver that stood out. Two others really showed why they are being recruited by most top programs in the South as well.
Da’Rick is a big receiver with very good speed, hands and body control, while Antonio Goodwin (4.37 in the 40 yard dash) is fluid wideout with very good speed and the ability to get great separation.
None of the defensive backs had much success covering any of these three receivers on Saturday and all showed they belong high in the rankings not only in their home state of Georgia, but also in the South Region.
Other receivers that had good showings in this talented combine were Jonathan Krause, Alex Chisom, Christian Conley, and Edward Muldrow. Krause is a 2010 receiver that is very fluid and quick. Chisom, Conley, and Muldrow are long wideouts in the class of 2011 and they have the tools to be a top recruit.
Defensive Backs
At this position, there was a mixture of corners and safeties in Atlanta. The one prospect headlining this list was Alec Ogletree and he held his own in coverage. He is a big (6-3/212) safety out of Newnan, so one on one coverage is not his specialty.
He did well throwing guys off their routes at the line of scrimmage and he ran well with the bigger receivers most of the time. Man coverage is not a strength of his, but he got his hands on a few balls and performed well considering his a safety or possibly linebacker on the next level.
He took several reps at wide receiver and made an argument to be the top players
on the offensive side of the ball.
Guys that are true corners that did the best were Jonathan Mincey and Darius Robinson. Mincey is a smaller corner (5-foot-9), but he turned with the receiver and ran with him down field well in coverage. He did a good job with his hands inside of five yards also.
Robinson is one that could emerge as one of the top corners in the state of Georgia. He showed very good change of direction on Saturday, he displayed good hands, he has a nice back peddle, and he showed good break on the ball.
All guys are used in the same way at combines, but some are just natural safeties. Other than ‘Tree’, Kenneth Ladler and Tyler Hunter showed they belong in the top group.
Ladler was somewhat unknown until Saturday, but he came out and ran and covered well. Hunter could grow into a linebacker, but this 2011 athlete performed well on Saturday. He stayed with receivers, he was very strong against the underneath routes, and he stayed with quite a few receivers deep down field.
An athlete out of South Georgia that could play either safety or corner on the next level is Pernell Williams. He may have been the top cover guy there on Saturday and he has the size to play safety. He is very physical at the line, but he has good closing speed too. Not many got open when Williams was assigned to them.
Other DBs that need to be mentioned are D.J. Green (2011), Ryan Dillard (2012), Detrick Bonner (2010), Corvoski Hutto (2010), and Martin Jenkins (2010).
Rusty Mansell of GAVSV.com
scouted the big skill players including running backs and linebackers.
Michael Taylor- LB- Showed he can perform in a combine type setting. A couple of
times he went one on one versus Mack Brown and held his own. He is a lot better
with his hands than I thought he was from watching film. He was very good in
space going against smaller running backs all day. Nice frame and should be able
to add 15-20 pounds and maintain his speed.
Rahmon Swain
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Rahmon Swain - LB from MLK- Was a bit of an unknown coming into the camp. He
quickly made a name for himself during the one on one's. He took almost all of
the running backs he faced to the ground with a strong initial punch. He has
very good hands and seems to be really strong in his upper body. He kept his
hips low to ground and had good change of direction without losing much speed.
He was able to hold his own as well in coverage type settings. Playing on a team
with Mack Brown he will get a lot of looks from coaches.
Alexander Ogletree- The twin of highly touted safety Alec Ogletree. He is
much smaller about 5'10". I was impressed by two things with him. First,
every time I turned around he was on the field; he must have gotten 20 reps in
the one on one's. He was there to compete no doubt. Second, he also showed he is
very physical and held his own against some backs that were bigger than him. I
have seen him at a combine and seen him play live, he can play on the D1 level.
He already has a Florida State offer.
Ean Pemberton - RB Grayson- Probably the smallest kid I have ever seen at one
of our combines at 5'4" tall. All he did was win every rep he took in the
one on one's and beat (LB) Swain in front of the whole camp. He will have to
find a place in college to fit in, but he is something special. Rushed for over
1,900 yards at the 5A level in Georgia last year.
Mack Brown- Not really much more I can say about this elite running back. His
offer sheet says it all. He, like Ogletree, must have had 20 reps in the one on
one's. He is fast, physical, has great hands and a great kid. He did not win
every battle, but he did win 95% of them. The thing that stood out to me is how
quick he gets to full speed. The LB's had trouble stopping him off the line of
scrimmage all day long.
Stay tuned to Scout.com for more coverage of the Scout Combine Series stop in
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