Last Friday I was a Chandler/Chaparral, and then hopped a plane to Houston after the game so I didn't have time to post this. Here are a few notes from the game.
Chase Lucas has a noticeable limp in his knee brace. I'd think there's no way he gets back for Chandler in the next 3 weeks. Look or him to be available for the 4 sectional games vs Basha, Perry, Brophy and Hamilton.
N'Keal Harry continues to look a little bit lost and restless in Chandler's read-option spread offense. He's mainly used on bubbles where he drags the comparatively tiny defensive backs along with him for first downs until a safety and linebacker can get there to help drag him to the ground. I'd like to see him used out of the slot a bit more, forcing linebackers to try and stop him from running a seam down the middle of the field, which might open up the running game, or opportunities on the outside. He was an effective blocker in this game, even if the refs did mistake his dominance for holding.
Kolby Taylor's game looks more and more polished an refined each time I see him. He does the little things right. He's a great guy to have in the return game- good vision/decision making.
Chaparral's Brandon Jamison and Christian Skeptaris both have D1 size, but neither made a noteworthy impact on the game. Both are committed to UC Davis, and Jamison held an ASU offer when he was committed. I was hoping to see a bit more from either of them. I will say that Skeptaris ran decent routes, and I don't really blame him for not gettign the ball thrown his way. Grayson Barry struggled with accuracy and was under duress all night because of Chandler's Hamilcar Rashed Jr (who looks more and more like a legit Pac-12 prospect every time I see him). ASU has been pursuing the nation's most elite TE prospects, and while Skeptaris reminds me a bit of Kody Kohl as a senior, I'm not sure ASU is recruiting players of Kohl's high school caliber any more, so I wouldn't anticipate the Sun Devils joining in on Skeptaris' recruitment.
The two players I actually wanted to see most were Kurt Shughart (2016) and Parker Walton (2017). Both are a tad small and look like LB/SS hybrids, but both have a reputation as playmakers, so I wanted to see how they looked against a defending champion's offense. Parker Walton didn't blow me away, but I can see why he's got so much buzz around him. Chaparral's defense gives the offense so much to worry about, and Walton's strength is using all that distraction to his advantage. He's almost always in the right place at the right time.
Shughart is something else. The 5'11, 210-pound safety might be the most consistently hard-hitting player in the state. He had 9 solo tackles on Friday, and each one came with that CRACK or CRUNCH followed byt the crowd's "oooooooooooooh" that makes Friday night football so much fun. He plays close to the line of scrimmage, and his coverage skills are adequate, but he's most effective when he gets a head of steam and drives through the ball carrier. The thing that stands out most about Shughart is that he only needs 1-2 steps to have full power behind his hits.
The surprise of the night was Chandler DB Isiah Swann, who I believe has a Navy offer. The 5'11, 17 senior was in the right place in the right time for an interception against Pinnacle, which he returned for a TD. He had a ball land in his hands on Friday against Chaparral as well, and he displayed fantastic control and agility to return the pick for a TD. Swann had a second interception nullified by a referee that said he didn't have one foot in bounds... and technically, the ref was right, since the replay showed that Swann got two feet down. Swann has a 4.1 GPA, and if he keeps putting together positive film he might see some Mountain West love, but I don't see him being on ASU's radar.
Chase Lucas has a noticeable limp in his knee brace. I'd think there's no way he gets back for Chandler in the next 3 weeks. Look or him to be available for the 4 sectional games vs Basha, Perry, Brophy and Hamilton.
N'Keal Harry continues to look a little bit lost and restless in Chandler's read-option spread offense. He's mainly used on bubbles where he drags the comparatively tiny defensive backs along with him for first downs until a safety and linebacker can get there to help drag him to the ground. I'd like to see him used out of the slot a bit more, forcing linebackers to try and stop him from running a seam down the middle of the field, which might open up the running game, or opportunities on the outside. He was an effective blocker in this game, even if the refs did mistake his dominance for holding.
Kolby Taylor's game looks more and more polished an refined each time I see him. He does the little things right. He's a great guy to have in the return game- good vision/decision making.
Chaparral's Brandon Jamison and Christian Skeptaris both have D1 size, but neither made a noteworthy impact on the game. Both are committed to UC Davis, and Jamison held an ASU offer when he was committed. I was hoping to see a bit more from either of them. I will say that Skeptaris ran decent routes, and I don't really blame him for not gettign the ball thrown his way. Grayson Barry struggled with accuracy and was under duress all night because of Chandler's Hamilcar Rashed Jr (who looks more and more like a legit Pac-12 prospect every time I see him). ASU has been pursuing the nation's most elite TE prospects, and while Skeptaris reminds me a bit of Kody Kohl as a senior, I'm not sure ASU is recruiting players of Kohl's high school caliber any more, so I wouldn't anticipate the Sun Devils joining in on Skeptaris' recruitment.
The two players I actually wanted to see most were Kurt Shughart (2016) and Parker Walton (2017). Both are a tad small and look like LB/SS hybrids, but both have a reputation as playmakers, so I wanted to see how they looked against a defending champion's offense. Parker Walton didn't blow me away, but I can see why he's got so much buzz around him. Chaparral's defense gives the offense so much to worry about, and Walton's strength is using all that distraction to his advantage. He's almost always in the right place at the right time.
Shughart is something else. The 5'11, 210-pound safety might be the most consistently hard-hitting player in the state. He had 9 solo tackles on Friday, and each one came with that CRACK or CRUNCH followed byt the crowd's "oooooooooooooh" that makes Friday night football so much fun. He plays close to the line of scrimmage, and his coverage skills are adequate, but he's most effective when he gets a head of steam and drives through the ball carrier. The thing that stands out most about Shughart is that he only needs 1-2 steps to have full power behind his hits.
The surprise of the night was Chandler DB Isiah Swann, who I believe has a Navy offer. The 5'11, 17 senior was in the right place in the right time for an interception against Pinnacle, which he returned for a TD. He had a ball land in his hands on Friday against Chaparral as well, and he displayed fantastic control and agility to return the pick for a TD. Swann had a second interception nullified by a referee that said he didn't have one foot in bounds... and technically, the ref was right, since the replay showed that Swann got two feet down. Swann has a 4.1 GPA, and if he keeps putting together positive film he might see some Mountain West love, but I don't see him being on ASU's radar.
