Bucks, Canes among teams on LB

Junior to Watch: Brandon Siler

School: Orlando (Fla.) Evans High School

Position: Linebacker/Tight End

Size and speed: Siler is 6-foot-3, weighs 220 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds. He also boasts a 350 in the bench press and a 450 in the squat.

Statistics: As a junior, he recorded 160 tackles, seven sacks and three forced fumbles on the defensive side of the ball. At tight end, he caught 18 passes for 250 yards and eight touchdowns.

Honors: Was selected honorable mention Class 6A all-state by the FSWA.

Favorite Schools: Miami, Florida, Florida State, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio State, Stanford.

Skinny: Wherever Evans High School coach Max Purcell puts Brandon Siler on the field, the player delivers.

“He’s just a phenomenal athlete,” said Purcell. “He’s known mostly as a linebacker – and he’s a darn good one – but he also had a big impact on our offense at tight end, and we’re really thinking about putting him at tailback this year. We think he can be a dominant runner for us. He’s just a natural athlete. He can play anywhere.”

Most college scouts project him as an outside linebacker due to his quickness and agility.

“He’s a kid who takes good angles and closes real fast,” Purcell said. “And when he gets to the ball, the guy goes down. He’s a hitter.”

Siler is an all-around student-athlete, according to Purcell, sporting a 4.0 weighted GPA and a 1000-plus on his early SAT attempts.

“He’s a coach’s dream. The classy, All-American kid” Purcell said. “You’ll never find anyone say a bad word about him on or off the field.”

Siler reportedly has some early scholarship offers, but the Evans staff says they’ve urged him to keep those under wraps for now. “But he’s getting heavy attention from the entire southeast,” Purcell said. “That should tell you something. He’s had a lot of attention from all the Florida schools, South Carolina, Georgia, Stanford, Ohio State. Those are just a few that we hear from a lot and he talks about.”

Siler will likely attend one of the Nike combines in Florida, but has not decided which one. He’s yet to make summer camp plans.

“I think he’ll want to go take a lot of unofficial visits, too, just to see what the schools are like from an academic standpoint,” Purcell said. “He’s very academically inclined.”