Garden State shows out at NextGen
The State of New Jersey has a rich history of producing great college football
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players and, based on the results from the athletes who performed at last
weekend's NextGen All-America Showcase, that tradition of producing top-level
talent will continue.
New Jersey was the second stop on NextGen's 12-city search for the top middle
school football players in the country.
"I knew there was talent in the state, but I have to admit I was surprised by
the speed," said former NFL standout Brent Williams, the
Founder of the NextGen All America Showcase. "There were 18 athletes that ran
under 5-flat at the event. That's impressive."
Williams also took notice of how the New Jersey athletes handled the process.
"It was really obvious that these kids had been through combine-like events
before," he said. "The comfort level with showcase events allowed for better
performances."
The combine performances were highlighted by a 4.69 40-yard dash turned in by
2019 wide receiver prospect Nyquee Hawkins, a 5-foot-11 athlete who
could also play safety. Sharmar Edward's 20-yard split of 2.60
was the best of the day while Anthony Corbin's 4.20 pro-shuttle
time topped all competitors. Hawkins followed up his impressive 40-yard dash
with top performances in the 3-cone and broad jump (116 inches) while finishing
in the top five in all of the day's running and jumping events.
It's not often that linemen at this age are highlighted in the combine phase of
our events. However, 6-foot-3, 225-pound Antonio Alfano, a 2019
defensive line prospect, posted great numbers for his size in the 40-yard dash
(5.28), pro shuttle (4.50) and then shocked the evaluators with a 108-inch
standing broad jump, impressive for any sized athlete. Kenneth Cross, a
6-foot, 300-pounds 2019 defensive line prospect, posted an amazing 5.21 40-yard
dash.
"To see a kid that big, run that fast was exciting," said current Chicago Bear
Al Louis-Jean, who served as a coach and evaluator for the
event.
Not to be outdone by the class of 2019, the 6th and 7th grade athletes posted
some great numbers in the combine portion of the showcase as well. Sixth grader
Mark Anthony Scott ran a 4.89 40-yard dash while 7th grader
Kolbe Burrell's 4.77 40-yard dash was amongst the best of all
performers. Seventh grade running back Jordan Morant placed
first in his class (2020) and third overall in the standing broad jump by
logging a distance of 110 inches.
NextGen purposely splits their events into four segments -- combine, individual
position evaluation, controlled one-on-one's and "The Battle."
"We realize that not every young athlete will do well in a combine-like
setting," Williams said. "So we provide other areas to give them the chance to
impress the coaches and evaluators."
After the combine athletes are evaluated by position that portion is then
followed by controlled one-on-ones within each age group.
"And then we take the gloves off," Williams said with a huge grin. "One of our
lead sponsors, Battle Sports Science, wanted us to develop a platform where
athletes could compete based only on ability. So we created 'The Battle,' our
showcase one-on-ones which is the highlight competition of the day. The best
Battle of the day featured 2020 (4-foot-10, 106 pound) running back
Bilal Muhammad repeatedly beating all comers in one-on-one pass routes
against older and much larger linebackers."
Unlike a lot of multi-platformed showcase events where athletes excel in only
one facet of the competition, the athletes who shined in the New Jersey combine
also performed well in the other segments.
There will be 10 New Jersey Showcase athletes that will have profiles added to
the Rivals.com recruiting database.
Six-foot, 257-pound 2020 offensive lineman Bryan Felter was by far the
best of the group. He played with great leverage and used his hands extremely
well for a young linemen.
In addition to putting up solid numbers in the combine, 2019 running back Douglas Harrison III is a prototypical fullback. At 5-foot-8
and nearly 200 pounds he displayed rare explosiveness with a sub 4.8 40-yard
dash and posted an impressive 4.6 pro shuttle. But it was his route-running and
soft hands that impressed the evaluators, as he constantly made tough catches
look routine.
Defensive Lineman R.J. Oben and Cross displayed remarkable pass rushing
skills using outside speed rushes (Oben) and power (Cross). Oben, the son of
former New York Giant offensive lineman Roman Oben, is a long,
rangy athletic defensive end while Cross is a strong powerful defensive tackle.
Clearly the most impressive group of the day was the wide receivers. Tajimier Jones and Muhammed Toure will certainly be names to watch in the
class of 2019. Both 6-foot-1 targets were impressive during combine testing and
were uncoverable during one-on-ones. Jones clocked a 4.74 40-yard dash and
weighed in at nearly 180 pounds. Toure's long arms make him a huge target and
nearly impossible to cover.
Eighth grader Jaden Dottin traveled from Boston to display his
receiving talents. At nearly 6-foot, he showed incredible change of direction
and clocked a 4.27 pro shuttle. Dottin has big hands and runs good routes.
Shuayb Brinkley, a 2020 athlete, was everywhere. He competed at wideout,
running back and defensive back. Linebackers couldn't cover him as a running
back, defensive backs struggled to keep up with him at wideout and he was the
best defensive back at the showcase. Brinkley has great hands as a receiver, and
just the right amount of confidence to play corner.
There seems to be an early trend at the NextGen Showcases where two athletes
clearly separate themselves from the pack. In Boston, linebacker Bryce Gallagher and tight end
Eddie Duggan Jr. rose above the
rest. New Jersey also had two that will be fun to watch over the next few years.
Alfano and Hawkins stood out from the New Jersey group. Both excelled in the
combine, with the latter finishing at or (near) the top of five of the six
combine events.
"This is the reason I created this showcase series, (was) to find kids like
this," Williams said. "These kids are freaks, you just don't see athletes
perform the way these two performed at such an early age. As impressive as they
were in all phases of the event, the thing that impressed our evaluators the
most was their attitudes and the humbleness. Quite frankly, sometimes kids who
are (this) gifted can be jerks. Not these two. They hustled to every drill, they
competed, and showed great respect and sportsmanship the entire day. This is a
testament to both their families and their coaches."
When asked what he has learned from the first two cities in #TheSearch, Williams
said, "There are some extremely talented middle school players in this country,
even more than I imagined when I developed NextGen."
What advice would you offer for athletes looking to attend upcoming events?
"Position, position, position," Williams said. "We have had two events, and I
see so many kids choose the wrong position. Quarterbacks that should be running
backs or wide receivers and linebackers that should defensive linemen or
defensive backs. Pick the position that will give you the best chance to
showcase your skills. The best example of that was the Duggan kid in Boston. He
chose to play receiver instead of quarterback and was unstoppable. He stood out
at receiver and I don't know if he would have at QB."
Of the 140 kids that registered for the New Jersey showcase, there were 40
quarterbacks. There were some pretty good athletes that may have fared better at
another position.
NextGen is now preparing for its biggest month during the month of April they
will evaluate more than 1,000 athletes. Starting in Georgia on April 11, then
off to Virginia on April 19 and Texas on April 26.