Rivals Recap: Calabasas vs. La Canada St. Francis
CALABASAS, Calif. -- The Calabasas football team is off to a
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6-0 start after a 34-point shutout of La Canada (Calif.) St. Francis on Friday
night. Here is a look at some of the top performances and plenty of recruiting
notes in this game recap.
I was impressed with...
Nebraska is getting a talented player in four-star
who had been committed to California early in the recruiting process
but picked the Huskers in June.
On offense, Dismuke took a short pass early in the game, slipped by multiple
defenders, made a bunch of cutbacks and scampered 54 yards for a touchdown.
Nebraska recruited Dismuke to play safety -- his more natural position -- and
the four-star was also good there. He breaks on the ball well, can turn and run
in coverage and Dismuke can also come up and make the big hit.
Tristan Gebbia is rated as the fourth-best pro-style quarterback in the
2017 class and he backed it up with another strong performance.
The Calabasas quarterback had some errant passes and he needs to be able to step
up in the pocket and throw but there is a lot to like in Gebbia's game. He has a
major arm, can make all the throws and once he settled in and got into rhythm,
the 2017 prospect moved the offense up and down the field with ease.
Keyshawn Johnson Jr. did not have any touchdowns Friday
night but he had a bunch of catches to keep drives alive. The 2017 four-star
receiver showed off sure hands and the ability to run great routes and pop open
for Gebbia to hit especially across the middle.
I was surprised by...
Brian Hightower could be a big-time receiver on the national level. The
2018 prospect already with four offers caught the game's first score, a 19-yard
lob from Gebbia and then continued to beat St. Francis defenders later in the
game.
During one drive in the second half, Hightower had receptions of 15, 38 and 20
yards that led to another Calabasas touchdown. At 6 feet 3, Hightower has
excellent size on the outside and showed off tremendous hands all night.
Jermani Brown is staking his claim as one of the best cornerbacks in
the 2017 class after another strong performance at cornerback. The four-star
from Calabasas absolutely shut down his side of the field and was excellent in
deep coverage as well.
Brown is so smooth, he sticks to receivers throughout their routes and then if
the ball is thrown to his side he covers the WR up and knocks the ball away. He
also came up and popped the ball out on a short pass, which showed off Brown's
instincts.
Other thoughts...
Nebraska
is hosting at least Holmes, Johnson and Gebbia next weekend when the Huskers
play Wisconsin and there is a chance Hightower and Dismuke join them as
well in Lincoln. That could be another huge step forward for the Big Ten team
because obviously the Calabasas top recruits are not just paying them lip
service. All of those prospects have been there before and getting back to game
Darnay HolmesClick day will be important.Here to view this Link., a five-star prospect in the 2017 class, is planning the trip to
Nebraska, two visits to Stanford in the coming weeks and he's also
looking to go to Ohio State soon. Those three programs do stand out but
Holmes said it's still way to early to name any clear leaders in his
recruitment.
Brown,
who wore an Arizona State arm sleeve Friday night, said he had an
awesome experience in Tempe last weekend and that he's highly interested in the
Sun Devils early in his recruitment. Originally from St. Louis, Brown is taking
a trip to Michigan State in a couple weeks and that will be big because
he's not opposed at all to returning to the Midwest.
Hightower
could visit Nebraska next weekend and he also really wants to get to
Tennessee this season, still a work in progress. The Volunteers have
already offered and he's watched them growing up so a trip to Knoxville could be
sending mail.
Gebbia
has already visited Arizona State and Alabama this season and he's
planning trips to West Virginia and Washington State coming
up. The four-star quarterback said he's not dead set on a certain kind of system
(pro-style vs. spread) and is mainly looking for an opportunity that best fits
him. The atmosphere at Alabama blew him away and he liked ASU as well.
Oklahoma State, Washington and Oklahoma have reached out and
shown new interest.
