The Roadies: Southern California
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A switch turns on when the season comes around because Pittman is much more
dominant during the season than in camps or 7-on-7 and he has the ability to take
over games on the outside. On the first play of the game, Pittman had a 58-yard
reception on a double reverse pass. Later, he out-jumped the cornerback and
caught a 42-yard pass for a touchdown. In the second half, Pittman had a 51-yard
catch and a 17-yard touchdown reception. The four-star USC commit has excellent
hands and has no problem getting open. He is also a major contributor on
defense.
Easy Target
TE Colby Parkinson (2017) | Westlake
Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian
Parkinson is all of 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds but he's a smooth route runner, very
comfortable with his size and he has superb hands. The 2017 four-star prospect
caught a short pass, turned and outran the entire defense to go 76 yards for a
score. Later in the game, Parkinson had a 59-yard catch down the sidelines. On
the TD reception, no one could catch him or even come close so that proves
Parkinson has nice speed in the open field. He's big but Parkinson is not a
lumbering tight end at all. The junior also plays defensive end but it looks
like tight end is a more natural position.
Raised Stock
CB Camryn Bynum | Corona (Calif.)
Centennial
One of the biggest surprises all weekend was Bynum, who has developed
physically, plays receivers tough all the way through their routes and still has
tremendous instincts. The three-star California commit has worked incredibly hard this
offseason and it's paying off because Bynum is playing with more confidence and
really has no problems battling receivers from a physical standpoint. He had an
outstanding game at corner.
Underclassman Achievement
LB Merlin Robertson (2018) | Gardena
(Calif.) Serra
Robertson has the potential to be special in the coming years and he's already a
big-time contributor on offense and defense for Serra. The 2018 prospect is
extremely active and aggressive at linebacker, unafraid to stick his helmet in
there to make a play. His future is on defense but because of his size and
superb athletic ability, Serra also uses him as a slot receiver who can use his
size to his advantage.
Mighty Mouse
RB J.J. Taylor | Corona (Calif.)
Centennial
Taylor is one of the more exciting players to watch in Southern California
because he's so shifty and so difficult to tackle. His speed is impressive, he
cuts on a dime and because he's undersized it's actually to his advantage
because it's hard to get a grasp of him to bring down. The Arizona commit scored
two touchdowns and while he didn't have huge breakaway runs like usual he did
score twice and helped lead Centennial's offense down the field all night.
Best Arm
QB Matt Corral (2018) | Westlake
Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian
Corral is just starting his sophomore season but he's advanced past his years
and he runs the Oaks Christian offense with precision. It doesn't hurt that he
has an impressively strong arm and he puts it right on the money to his
receivers on a regular basis. Corral spins it well, it pops off his hand and his
accuracy is impressive. The 2018 prospect also throws well on the run and he
doesn't get flustered with pressure coming at him.
Raised Stock II
OL Daniel Juarez | Corona (Calif.)
Centennial
Juarez has excellent size at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds and did an excellent job
both at tackle and guard on Saturday night. Like many Corona Centennial linemen
before him, the Cal commit is super physical, not afraid to mix it up and Juarez
opens up huge holes for Centennial's speedy running backs. All game long, Juarez
keeps pounding away at the defensive linemen and by the fourth quarter many of
them are worn down.
Shut'em Down
CB Chris Gaston | La Puente (Calif.)
Bishop Amat
Gaston has still not picked up any offers but he will have some outstanding
highlight tape to show college coaches. The Amat defensive back returned an
interception for a touchdown in Week 1 and he almost had another one against
Anaheim (Calif.) Servite but he dropped the ball after beautifully stepping in
front of a pass. He also broke up a bunch of passes using his length to his
advantage. Lastly, Gaston also wisely picked up a botched punt return which
could have turned the game.
Hot Flashes
ATH Brandon Burton | Gardena (Calif.)
Serra
Like always, Burton played both ways and had a nice performance. At wide
receiver, he took a short pass, beat the cornerback and went 75 yards down the
sideline for a touchdown - one of the few successes Serra had on the night. He
has speed and is a hard route runner and broke open a few times only to have the
ball thrown over his head. At safety, Burton isn't afraid to come up and be
physical. He didn't make a lot of big hits since Corona Centennial was so
successful running the ball but Burton didn't get beaten much, either.
Rising Star
CB Max Williams (2019) | Gardena
(Calif.) Serra
Williams is only a freshman but as the game went on the 2019 prospect got more
comfortable and started making more plays. There is a good amount of hype around
Williams and he definitely backed it up, aggressively coming up and knocking the
ball away from receivers and staying with receivers through their routes.
Williams is athletic and really plays with tremendous instincts. As he continues
to grow into his position, Williams could be something special.
Physical Specimen
DE Wole Betiku | Gardena (Calif.)
Serra
Betiku had a sack and was involved in a handful of tackles mainly relying on his
outstanding physical ability and speed to make plays. The four-star defensive
end is still learning how to play the game (this is only his second year of
playing the sport) and struggled a little bit when he moved inside and off the
edge. Betiku is a tremendous worker, continues to get better and there is still
so much potential to be realized.
Hello, World
WR Delon Hurt (2018) | Anaheim
(Calif.) Servite
Hurt did not put up tremendous stats in Servite's loss to Bishop Amat but
it's clear the 2018 wide receiver has a ton of ability and is going to be an FBS prospect. He has tremendous speed and breakaway ability and what stands out
even more is he can make the tough catch. A few times the ball was thrown behind
him and Hurt adjusted his body to make the grab even with the cornerback draped
over him.
Adam Gorney
National Recruiting Analyst
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