Long way to go, But Football season is never over- Who are the three best teams and three best rebuilding teams?

[SWVAgridiron 1,469]

10 hours ago, tornado99 said:

How good is Radford as a program? It seems they have been consistently good the last several years. They have some advantages with the local economy and the student body close to the school since it’s a city school. Has it been simply a good run of athletes or do they continue to produce talent. They have had exceptional talent at QB and skill positions.

Not sure about what’s coming up. I watched their JV team against Giles. They seem to have a lot of speed but lacked discipline. They were tied 6-6 with Giles at the half but Giles blew them out the second half 50-20. I’m sure they will still be solid but they won’t have another Clark anytime soon 

[Real Sasquatch 1,865]

On 12/6/2023 at 7:52 AM, Vol Hater said:

Union returns 9 on the offensive side, and 7 on the defensive side. Biggest? Who plays qb........if Turner find reys replacement via the portal or goes with Bostic or the soph Hall. Time will tell. According to Ridgeview folks next year is their year and we all know what Bluefield I mean Graham will have.

You mean "the greater Bluefield area", make sure you get it right!!

I think Graham's defense will be flat out nasty next year.  Looking forward to see how Cambell Fix is utilized on offense. Watched him play basketball the other night, that kid is very athletic and fast.

[EH31 2,518]

44 minutes ago, Real Sasquatch said:

You mean "the greater Bluefield area", make sure you get it right!!

I think Graham's defense will be flat out nasty next year.  Looking forward to see how Cambell Fix is utilized on offense. Watched him play basketball the other night, that kid is very athletic and fast.

He was almost unstoppable last year for Princeton Middle.

[Gridiron60 2,555]

1 hour ago, Real Sasquatch said:

You mean "the greater Bluefield area", make sure you get it right!!

I think Graham's defense will be flat out nasty next year.  Looking forward to see how Cambell Fix is utilized on offense. Watched him play basketball the other night, that kid is very athletic and fast.

I think he’ll be a super fun kid to watch develop the next three years. I enjoyed watching him play football this year. 

[MT FAN 91 119]

On 12/5/2023 at 8:01 PM, sixcat said:

I’m pretty sure George Wythe only graduates 4 or 5. If they can successfully replace Smith at QB, they will be loaded for bear. 
 

Galax graduates 4 senior starters. If they can replace Ashworth and Tucker somehow, they should be in the mix again.  
 

I think Fort Chiswell is going to take a step forward too. They return a lot of size and talent. With a solid coach now, they will continue to improve. 
 

Grayson County will take a step or 3 backward unless they can find another crop of homeschool kids somewhere. 

Ashworth and Tucker will definitely be tough to replace but hopefully they will have a some young kids step up and do it with a group effort. The oline should be good next year with only graduating one with that being the center.  As for GW does anyone know if the QB is back or did he graduate? Grayson has a lot to replace as was already stated so I'm curious to see what Stephen James comes up with? Should be interesting next year in region C.

[sixcat 2,919]

40 minutes ago, MT FAN 91 said:

As for GW does anyone know if the QB is back or did he graduate? 

Tandem Smith is a senior. 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

For anyone that hasn't seen Paul Huff in person, he just posted his sophomore highlights. He's not slow, but if he can increase his speed, he'll definitely be getting college offers.

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16614511/656620fad468d904ec49e93a

 

[UnionGuy2017 182]

2 hours ago, Union_Fan said:

For anyone that hasn't seen Paul Huff in person, he just posted his sophomore highlights. He's not slow, but if he can increase his speed, he'll definitely be getting college offers.

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16614511/656620fad468d904ec49e93a

 

Nailed it. Everything is there and he has excellent footwork. His quickness is good too. Just needs some game breaking straight line speed. 

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE 239]

Watched him several times, depending on how he grows could be really special.  He's one of those that can play a lot of positions on both sides and be an impact on special teams.  Gotta account for him at all times.

[SwvaOG 601]

I know most kids like the offensive side but I think his better potential is as a DB (Safety).   He has the ball skills, athleticism and awareness to be a next level safety.  As for WR, he has to overcome a couple of things.  His straight line speed isn't there right now (maybe a 4.7 guy?) and he has to learn to get off press and separate at the top of the route.  Next level DBs are threatened by a WR's ability to take the top off.  If that threat doesn't exist...they will play aggressively in your hip pocket and, generally, their feet are quicker than WRs. The problem is that no one is the region plays press or aggressively at the line with their DBs so he isn't getting the reps/practice.  Look at 3:04 in the film....the DB is playing outside leverage with no-one inside.  If he aligns properly (inside leverage) and doesn't allow an inside release that play doesn't happen....those of the plays that don't happen at the next level.  Another thing that hurts him is there just isn't a good pool of DBs to play against in the region, outside of Graham.  He is getting too much soft zone coverage.  He doesn't lack for confidence though.  

Trust me, all those flashy catches don't catch the recruiter's eyes for too long......they are looking at how crisp those breaks are and how much separation he gets at the top of the route.  And they are very much wanting top end speed (4.5 and below)....at least on the outside.  His strengths are catching in tight coverage/contested catches, uses his body very well to shield defenders and has good hands and good feet in space. 

Edit: I've got a film clip of a really good game rep of a WR (my oldest) and a DB from Mount Airy, NC battling.  If you take it frame by frame it is extremely interesting. Both do an excellent job of countering each other and it is probably the best CB I've seen in high school last several years.  He does a great job of staying in phase and countering jab steps.  It takes a very well thrown ball to get the completion.  I think the kid was being recruited by a few colleges.  It shows you the disadvantage the local WR kids have by not going against well-coached and athletic DBs.  I'll see if I can find the film for you technique junkies