While the The Opening regional in Dallas featured several talented interior offensive lineman such as Jack Anderson, Dawson Deaton, Xavier Newman and Edward Ingram, the Houston regional featured several talented offensive tackles and also the country’s top defensive tackle in Marvin Wilson.
Once again there was no shortage of talent in attendance, and that included several 2016 now-signed recruits such as Jeff McCulloch, Dontavious Jackson, Ed Oliver, and Deontay Anderson. With over 500 attendees, the city of Houston and the state of Texas did not disappoint over the weekend.
Here are some of the guys like caught my eye this weekend.
Offensive Line
Stephan Zabié- Austin Westlake
One of the offensive line coaches working the camp said it best about the Philadelphia native on Sunday: “son you have great feet, but you’re raw as sh**!†That pretty much sums up Zabié in a nutshell. Something I found out about Zabié that I wasn’t aware of previously was that last year was his first full year of playing football. So when I laid eyes on him in the season opener against Southlake Carroll, that was his first football game to ever play in. My opinion has changed quite a bit on this young man after getting to see him up close, and if I was Texas I would put an offer on the table.
Grayson Reed- Cy-Creek
First time I saw Reed in person at the Army All-American combine earlier this year, the thing that stood out was his sturdy foundation. He has thick legs, the high ass; he just looks like an offensive lineman. Reed had himself a solid day on Sunday, though I did catch a rep of him getting beat with speed when he missed with his hands and couldn’t slow his man down. That will be something for the talented Reed to improve on. He made the final group of offensive linemen that included several elite players and took some reps at guard as well as tackle before the day was over. I asked him how it felt for him to kick inside after being on the island as offensive tackle, and we both agreed it’s a bit of a different feel, but something he is clearly capable of handling. I’m thinking right tackle or guard for Reed and it seems some college offensive line coaches are thinking the same thing.
Austin Deculus- Cy-Fair
The stud offensive tackle from my neck of the woods didn’t do anything to hurt himself on Sunday, outside of his couple reps at guard in the final grouping against Marvin Wilson. I think that says more about Wilson than Deculus, who otherwise was rock solid in 1 on 1s and absolutely looks the part of an offensive tackle. He still has some things to clean up with his footwork in pass protection, but think that comes from him being in a run heavy offense. That’s all coachable. The word on him seems to be that he wants to play his college ball out of state and LSU appears to be the popular choice at this time. Deculus earned himself an invite to Oregon for his performance at The Opening on Sunday.
Walker Little- Bellaire Episcopal
While Deculus had a solid day, I don’t think there was any question that Walker Little was the best offensive lineman in attendance as he earned himself another camp MVP and invite to The Opening. Little is the prototype you look for when hunting for offensive tackles. He’s every bit of 6’7, 295 pounds, he has long arms, good functional strength, he bends wells, he’s athletic and moves good, and he looked damn good in every 1 on 1 matchup I saw him take. My favorite moment from him was when a defensive end tried to redirect and come inside on him and Little got both of his hands on him and send him flying in the opposite direction. We offensive lineman like to call that “getting thrown out of the club.†After seeing them in person and re-watching film, I am on the Walker Little bandwagon after having Deculus higher initially. Little will be in Austin for the Texas spring game.
Watch Little’s Kneeling Powerball Toss:
Defensive Lineman
Marvin Wilson- Bellaire Episcopal
It was hard to miss the nation’s top defensive tackle when he arrived on Sunday and he lived up to the hype, earning himself an invite to Oregon. Nobody was more dominant in 1 on 1s on the defensive side of the ball than Wilson, and that included two dominant reps against Austin Deculus in the final five showdown towards the end of the camp. The thing that stood out to me about Wilson was how he was always breaking in line to get more reps and was always eager to take coaching from the Nike coaches there. Here you have arguably the nation’s top recruit and he is taking 10-15 reps like he has something to prove. I developed even more respect for this kid after Sunday’s performance.
Kobie Whiteside- Alief Taylor
The nose tackle from Alief was a guy I had written down to monitor this fall after checking out his junior tape this spring and he stood out with some solid reps this Sunday. One thing is for sure, Whiteside possesses some good functional strength that was overwhelming at times for interior offensive lineman. I recall vividly watching Whiteside chuck an offensive lineman with one hand as he made his way to the cone disguised as a quarterback. He currently has offers from Colorado State, Illinois, Texas State and ULM on the table.
Keondre Coburn- Westfield
Coburn is a 2018 defensive tackle that hails from the home of stud defensive tackle Ed Oliver (who I got to chat with a bit on Sunday). Like Whiteside, he is on the shorter side for a defensive tackle and took most of his reps at nose and flashed good quickness off the ball and good functional strength that overwhelmed some of his opponents. He’s a guy I have jotted down to make sure I get eyes on his film here soon.
Rashuad Powell- George Bush (TX)
Here’s another guy who made a name for himself on Sunday. Powell earned himself the defensive line MVP award for his camp performance and was getting some tips from Willie McGinest down the home stretch of the camp. I wasn’t familiar with Powell coming into the camp, but I have no choice but to do some homework after he had a strong day. In 2015 he had 60 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and one interception on his way to All-District honors.
Miscellaneous (Moses, Dobbins, etc.)
I got a chance to watch the running backs and linebackers some and these are some of the things I took away from the drills.'”
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[*]Dylan Moses is legit. He was dominant in everything I saw him do and he shut down every running back he went against in 1 on 1s. That includes an emphatic victory over Langham Creek running back Toneil Carter, who didn’t stand a chance against Moses. This kid looks like a million bucks and he certainly was impressive on Sunday.
[*]Plano East LB Mohamed Sanogo had himself another strong showing in Houston after earning linebacker MVP honors at the Dallas regional. He looked great in every rep I saw him in and he shutdown Calvin Tyler during one on ones, who is a smaller, elusive back. I’m not sure how he only has a couple offers at this point, but something tells me more will come in time.
[*]Westfield running back Daniel Young is another name to keep an eye going forward. He enjoyed himself a very nice day on Sunday and was named MVP for the running back group that included Toneil Carter and JK Dobbins. He currently holds offers from Boise State, Houston, and Tulsa.
[*]He didn’t make the cut of the top running backs chosen by the coaches during 1 on 1s, but JK Dobbins ripped off a 4.44 in the 40 and looked good in drills on Sunday. He stewed a bit about his shuttle time, but in the end he earned himself an invite to Oregon.
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