Thursday, September 23, 2010

JUCO Spotlight: Cordarrelle Patterson

Cordarrelle Patterson
Patterson is a 6'3, 190 pound wide receiver for Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, KS and is originally from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, SC. Despite being a 2009 recruit coming out of high school, this is Patterson's freshman season at Hutchinson. He spent the 2009 season at the beleaguered North Carolina Prep Tech, a post-graduate program. 

I had the opportunity to see Patterson play his final high school game vs. arch-rival South Pointe in the class AAAA Division II state championship. Patterson more than held his own against a South Pointe squad that ended the season ranked as high as number two in the country and featured current University of South Carolina starters Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman as well as a sophomore Jadeveon Clowney, who is currently the consensus number one player in the nation for the class of 2011. Patterson made one of the more impressive plays of the game when he leaped over Holloman, who was in good position to make a play, snagging a fade pass from Justin Worley for a touchdown. 

People around Northwestern, and Rock Hill in general, rave about Patterson's talent, with some even claiming that he is one of the better athletes to come out of York County in recent memory (called "a dunking machine" in basketball and also ran track).

Patterson has been just as impressive this season at Hutchinson and through four games has 18 catches for 334 yards (18.5 yard average) and four touchdowns and three kickoff returns for 137 yards and one touchdown. 

Last January, I came across some clips of Patterson in action his senior year of high school and made this brief highlight video.


Not to get ahead of myself, but doesn't he kind of look like a Vikings-era Randy Moss with the number 84 purple and gold jersey and long stride? All hyperbolic comparisons aside, as you can see above, he's pretty talented.  To add to his high level of overall athleticism, he's long, rangy, explosive (reportedly runs in the 4.3 range), and has great ball skills (particularly tracking the ball in the air).  And he's still raw as a wide receiver. There's really not much to dislike here. 

Given his post-graduate year, I'm not sure where Patterson stands academically as far as when he'll be eligible to enroll at a four-year school. Regardless, I'd rank him as the top JUCO wide receiver prospect regardless of class. If he ends up as a class of 2012 prospect, I'd expect for him to make a strong case for the top JUCO prospect in that cycle.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Byrnes at Myrtle Beach Prospect Thoughts

Byrnes

Shakeem Wharton, RB (2012)- Coming into this game, I along with many others, expected Wharton to be the focal point of the Byrnes offense. While he did end up with a solid number of carries (21 for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns of 2 and 8 yards) it was evident from the first drive that this wasn't the same overly conservative Byrnes offense that so many saw on ESPN a week earlier. Wharton went about a drive and a half into the game without a touch and then toted the ball 6-7 straight times, resulting in his first touchdown and the bulk of his yards. After that drive, Wharton wasn't as effective as I expected him to be and had limited running room for the remainder of the night. This game didn't do too much to change my initial impression of Wharton's game...he's a compact runner who runs hard and has good vision and feet through the hole. My biggest question about Wharton remains to be his open-field running ability and ability to break off long runs. In his defense, he has played two teams.

Greg McHam, WR (2014)- With Byrnes missing tight end Craig Weick and receivers Tony Hillman and Akia Booker, McHam, only a freshman, became Blair's go-to target. McHam was impressive, especially when you consider that this was only the second game of his career. Byrnes stuck with a quick passing attack for most of the game and McHam played a big role in the plan's relative success, hauling in 10 passes for 62 yards. From what I saw Friday night, McHam has a promising future in Byrnes's offense. I expect he and Booker (once he returns) to continue to jell with Blair as the season progresses.

Zach Blair, QB- Blair would be my pick for the game's MVP (considering his stats and game-winning TD pass). In only the second start of his career, Blair took several steps in the right direction, following a spotty performance vs. Hoover in week 1. In an attempt to increase production after the program's first scoreless outing in a decade, Byrnes opened up the offense considerably. Blair threw a bunch of passes and found most of his success in the short passing game. Blair was 27-40 for 301 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He was at his best on he game winning drive, hitting several short passes as the clock wound down, before hitting Evan Suddeth on a 36 yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left on the clock. Blair's a guy with good size and arm strength that just needs more game reps and added confidence. He should continue to improve throughout the regular season and have Byrnes primed for a deep run into the Big 16 playoffs.

Myrtle Beach

Everett Golson, QB- The game's top prospect, Golson performed as I expected he would and looked much better than he did against Byrnes last season. Golson opened the game with an outstanding 45 yard touchdown run on an option keeper that was ultimately called back on a holding penalty. The play showed an explosive side of Golson's game that you don't see very much, as he looks to pass first nearly all of the time. It's easy to forget he's an elite athlete. Despite all this, the big story of the night was a foot/ankle injury that Golson sustained after being tackled awkwardly with seconds remaining in the first half. He was out for the remainder of the game and will miss a number of regular season games.

Tyler Knox, DE (2012)- Knox had the best game of his young career and led a Myrtle Beach defensive line unit that gave the Byrnes front trouble for most of the night. Knox had two drive-ending sacks on consecutive Byrnes third downs with the first pushing the Rebels out of plausible field goal range (attempt was well short). Knox has a nice first step and good speed off the edge. I look for him to continue to improve as the season moves forward.

Daiquone Ford RB- If Blair was the game's MVP, Ford was the obvious pick for MOP (most outstanding player). Playing healthy for the first time since his sophomore year, Ford had the best game of his career (considering the competition). Ford rushed 15 times for 124 yards (8.3 yards a carry) and had one reception for 16 yards. Ford's best moment came on one of the top three plays of the night (with Blair's game-winning TD pass and Golson's run being the two others) when Ford, with five minutes remaining, took a pitch to the outside and hurdled a Byrnes defender on the way to a 16 yard, game-tying touchdown run. Ford isn't a guy that's going to wow anyone off the hoof (listed at 5'8, 165 but probably shorter), but he's cat-quick, runs hard, and is very difficult to tackle. He's primed to be Myrtle Beach's first 1,000 yard rusher in over 5 seasons and the first since the Seahawks have switched to a spread offense. He'd be an absolute steal for the right FCS program.

Alex Holoman, S- Holoman had a busy night from his safety spot and was the most productive defensive player, on either side, by a pretty good margin. Holoman had 2 interceptions (64 INT return yards), 7 solo tackles, and a fumble recovery. Holoman's presence in the secondary limited Byrnes's success in the vertical passing game and his drive-killing turnovers kept Myrtle Beach in the game. Holoman will see increased recruiting attention should he continue this high level of play.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Northwestern (SC)-South Pointe (SC) Prospect Thoughts

South Pointe (Rock Hill, SC)  v. Northwestern (Rock Hill, SC)

South Pointe

Jadeveon Clowney- Clowney's mere presence dominated the flow of the game in the first half, as Northwestern made it a point to find Clowney pre-snap and adjust the play in an effort to avoid him. Despite this, Clowney still made some big plays, including a few sacks and a huge stop in the backfield on fourth and short. In an apparent (and mostly successful) effort to create confusion, South Pointe played him all over the field, including both end spots, inside on several run situations, and at the "Jack" OLB position. At the high school level, Clowney is going to be successful at nearly any spot, but it was evident Saturday that he's most effective rushing the passer with his hand on the ground. There's no need for smoke and mirrors with his physical tools. It's not a coincidence that Northwestern scored on a deep touchdown pass when Clowney dropped back in coverage.

Tay Hicklin (2012)- It was rough day for Hicklin. With Hicklin running the new flexbone triple option, South Pointe really struggled to move the ball consistently and had a number of costly turnovers. Despite these inefficiencies, it's not like the game was an indictment on Hicklin's talent. Even though he struggled, I thought Hicklin flashed solid athleticism at times. Was he a dynamic playmaker Saturday? No, but it shouldn't be lost that Hicklin projects as a defensive back. Additionally, I think you'll see South Pointe's offense improve drastically as the season progresses.

Corey Neely (2012)- Neely had a very good first half, making a number of plays, including a big interception. The second half was a different story for South Pointe's entire secondary, as Northwestern made some adjustments and really took advantage of some advantageous scenarios. Over the past few years, I've noticed that South Pointe has probably the most aggressive secondary I've seen at the high school level, in terms of running to the ball, gambling on passes, etc. There's a good and bad to this. Most of the time, particularly vs. lesser competition, this works in South Pointe's favor due to their hellacious pass rush. In this particular game, Northwestern noticed that South Pointe was bringing up the secondary to stop short passes and as a result, started running vertical passing plays. South Pointe didn't have an answer for this and their secondary, Neely included, was a mess in the second half. At this point in his career Neely's a very solid player, but the game highlighted a few things he can improve upon (man coverage and adding overall bulk).

Gerald Dixon- With Northwestern devoting a ton of attention to Clowney, Dixon had an opportunity to make some plays and did so by making a few stops behind the line of scrimmage and recovering a fumble and nearly scoring. While Dixon's performance didn't do too much to hurt him, he didn't do a whole lot to stand out in a game with several other BCS-level prospects. I may have overestimated Dixon's overall athleticism given his size in my previous evaluation (seen here). As far as state rankings go, after Saturday, he seems more like a fringe top 30 prospect rather than number 23, where I originally ranked him.

Northwestern

Justin Worley- It was the tale of two halves for Worley. Early on, he battled constant pressure, threw a few bad interceptions (one was a bad throw, the other a bad decision), and just looked uncomfortable. He caught fire in the second half and was 12-12 for 240 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter alone. This fits in with my earlier assertion that Worley is a rhythm passer with a lot of intangibles. It's been said many times before that Worley's mobility is a concern. While he's by no means a threat to run, Worley did a very good job of side-stepping the rush and showed nice ability to recognize pressure.  Conversely, it was apparent that he needs to really improve his footwork (as well as tweak his release). There were several points in the game where these inefficiencies resulted in the ball not coming out cleanly or coming up short. After re-watching film on Worley, I found that even on his highlights, he doesn't step into his throws and has a tendency to rely solely on his arm. Worley's arm strength/velocity should improve if/when he corrects these issues.

Gerald Dixon, Jr.- Dixon's stock has been on the rise for me throughout the back end of the summer and his performance Saturday went a long way to cementing his status as a top 20 recruit in-state after he took a step back from his sophomore to junior seasons. Dixon played a key role in stymieing South Pointe's option attack and did so by blowing up the fullback gives and making high-level plays sideline-to-sideline. It's rare to find big defensive tackles that can move, and Dixon fits the bill.

Roderick Byers- Byers's game was somewhat like Worley's but on a smaller scale. I almost forgot Byers was on the field in the first half and didn't hear his name called until well into the third quarter. In his defense, South Pointe's offense doesn't necessarily provide defensive ends with a lot of opportunities to make plays. However, once South Pointe fell behind and was forced to open things up, flashed his potential by making a couple of nice plays behind the nine of scrimmage.

Josh Shelton (2012)- Shelton had the most consistent performance of the 2012 prospects. Although he wasn't tested a bunch through the air, Shelton was active and physical in run support and looked impressive throughout the course of the game.