The D Zone and Athletic Preparation Combine / Showcase Breakdown

The D Zone and Athletic Preparation teamed up to provide a combine and 7 on 7 showcase to just over 30 participants on Tuesday night at Evolution Sportsplex which is where Ath Prep is based out of. The event provided electronic timing of the 40-yard dash and vertical jump so players can identify what they need to improve on before camp season. The second part of the event was 7 on 7 scrimmages which served as a tryout to fill up a few spots for The D Zone 7 on 7 which will compete in the Great Lakes Tournament at the Legacy Center in March.

Invites for the team will be sent later in the day Wednesday.

CAMP MVP:

Walled Lake Western 2018 WR Justin Thomas - The WL Western product is flying under the radar and really putting himself in a good position with an increase in weight and polish of skills from this time last year to now. A lot of schools like Thomas' abilities and his play as a Senior will be eye grabbing. The closest comparison is Brother Rice's Grant Perry a few years ago, except Thomas seems to be 1-step better, which is a scary realization. Thomas gets downfield so well and with great ball skills he doesn't need the best throw in the world from a QB to haul in a reception.

Offensive MVP:

Fordson 2019 Slot/DB "ATH" Abraham Jaafar - Jaafar will go from unknown in the WWAC and region to a pretty well-known player as a Junior. We moved Jaafar all over the place and he just made plays. He plays with fluidity and hips open up which allows him to quickly change direction on routes as a Slot or break on balls as a DB. On a team loaded with playmakers, Jaafar also being one of the youngest quickly rose to the top.

Defensive MVP:

Royal Oak 2018 FS/RB Patrick Tesho - Tesho had a big Sophomore season in 2015 with over 100 tackles and 20 broken passes, but playing in the OAA Blue and a team that lacks exposure has kept his name quiet, even after a 90+ tackles, 15+ pbu's, and 5 interception season. What Tesho displays is natural field IQ and moves well, anytime he made minor mistakes he quickly made up for it with long strides and ballhawk mentality. We counted at least 2 interceptions from Tesho and a few other good plays he made in coverage.

Best Electronic 40 Time:

1. Redford Thurston 2018 RB/WR Demetrius Dowd - 4.67

2. Rochester 2019 WR/CB Drake Reid - 4.7

3. Royal Oak 2018 FS/RB Patrick Tesho - 4.77

4. Romeo 2018 WR/DB Nate Goralski - 4.79

5 tied. Clarkston 2018 CB/WR Mike Fluegel - 4.81

5 tied. Wayne Memorial 2018 QB Gjerdonte Williams - 4.81

Best Electronic Vertical Time:

1. Country Day 2018 RB/CB Isaiah Johnson - 31.2

2. Royal Oak 2018 FS/RB Patrick Tesho - 30.6

3. Troy 2020 WR/FS Corey Pischel - 28.8

4. Romeo 2019 MLB Brocke Horne - 28.2

5. Redford Thurston 2018 RB/WR Demetrius Dowd - 28.1

Best Broad Jump:

1. Walled Lake Western 2018 WR Justin Thomas - 10'5"

2. Detroit King 2018 WR/DB "ATH" Erik Gibson - 10'2"

3. Redford Thurston 2018 RB/WR Demetrius Dowd - 9'8"

4. Royal Oak 2018 FS/RB Patrick Tesho - 9'7"

5. Clarkston 2018 CB/WR Mike Fluegel - 9'5"

QB's:

Bloomfield Hills 2018 QB John Paddock - Extremely in sync with receivers with little chemistry in terms of reps. He works well with anyone and is very smart so identifies his routes and timing. Unfortunately in terms of his recruitment, is the worst kept secret in the state.

Hemlock 2018 QB Kade Peters - Long and lengthy QB who sees the entire field. Beginning to trust his abilities more and more, as he begins to develop better chemistry with his receivers.

Cranbrook-Kingswood 2018 Trevor McConnell - Filled in at QB while injury struck last year and has a confident ability. McConnell is smart with identifying the field and putting the ball in the right spot. Will definitely be getting a lot of looks at camps this summer.

Wayne Memorial 2018 QB Gjerdonte Williams - The Zebras dual-threat QB is definitely one to watch as a game changer. Has good athletic tools as he lined out wide and moves well. As a QB he has a nice and compact release.

Oak Park 2019 Corey Graham - Continues to grow both in height and skill which spells bad news for OAA White opponents. Graham has a quiet confidence in him and focus/awareness of field was evident. We'll definitely be watching the Knights QB these next 2 years closely.

Offensive Skill Positions:

CAMP MVP:

Walled Lake Western 2018 WR Justin Thomas - The WL Western product is flying under the radar and really putting himself in a good position with an increase in weight and polish of skills from this time last year to now. A lot of schools like Thomas' abilities and his play as a Senior will be eye grabbing. The closest comparison is Brother Rice's Grant Perry a few years ago, except Thomas seems to be 1-step better, which is a scary realization. Thomas gets downfield so well and with great ball skills doesn't need the best throw in the world from a QB to haul in a reception.

Offensive MVP:

Fordson 2019 Slot/DB "ATH" Abraham Jaafar - Jaafar will go from unknown in the WWAC and region to a pretty well-known player as a Junior. We moved Jaafar all over the place and he just made plays. He plays with fluidity and hips open up which allows him to quickly change direction on routes as a Slot or break on balls as a DB. On a team loaded with playmaker, Jaafar also being one of the youngest quickly rose to the top.

Wyandotte Roosevelt 2018 WR Kendrick Stanley - We're continuously impressed by what Stanley does as he's a standout possession and vertical receiver. If he had a few more inches, a big play TE would not be out of the question. As of now, he's a balanced receiver who does everything at a high level. Has no problem beating press or catching a pass with contact.

Romeo 2018 WR/DB Nate Goralski - An ultra-competitive player who is technically sound so where he lacks is height and elite speed, but makes it up for constantly getting open, creating space, making contested receptions, and we learned during the season and our previous tournament will make a clutch play or more.

Detroit King 2018 WR/DB "ATH" Erik Gibson - The Crusader is very versatile and has good size to compliment his speed. Gibson is another who could be plugged anywhere on offense and make plays.

Fraser 2018 WR/CB Kenneath Redd Jr. - A long and lengthy receiver with good size who moves well. Has some physical tools to make the tougher catches. His speed and hands make him a nice threat.

Rochester 2019 WR/CB Drake Reid - Fluid and sharp once he breaks out his stance. Opens hips up good which makes him lethal in the slot and we can tell with more coaching at any given position would fit anywhere.

Redford Thurston 2018 RB/WR Demetrius Dowd - Earned the fastest 40-yard dash time with a 4.67 electronic and it showed once 7 on 7 started. Dowd mostly ran routes of the backfield to perfection. He made a few plays, but you'll see his name in the Fall a lot more this year.

Fraser 2018 WR/SS Juan Simmons - A nice sized receiver who has a good body build and speed to compliment his size. Has a good blend of possession receiver traits and vertical traits, so can be dangerous at any given time.

Fraser 2018 WR/CB Matthew Bradford - Athletic receiver with good size. Bradford played both sides of the ball on Tuesday and performed well at both. Has good natural instincts and good awareness of locating the ball.

Walled Lake Western 2021 WR Justin Gabriel - The soon to be Warrior is on a totally different level than all his classmates and a lot of times than kids 1-3 years older than him. Gabriel is a fluid route runner and has good ball skills.

Fraser 2018 RB Chris Brown - Quick and shifty RB who can catch the ball well. Brown has good balance so when catching the ball, is ready to cut straight up the field and not be flat-footed.

Secondary:

Defensive MVP:

Royal Oak 2018 FS/RB Patrick Tesho - Tesho had a big Sophomore season in 2015 with over 100 tackles and 20 broken passes, but playing in the OAA Blue and a team that lacks exposure has kept his name quiet, even after a 90+ tackles, 15+ pbus, and 5 interception seasons. What Tesho displays is natural field IQ and moves well, anytime he made minor mistakes he quickly made up for it with long strides and ballhawk mentality. We counted at least 2 interceptions from Tesho and a few other good plays he made in coverage.

Clarkston 2018 CB/WR Mike Fluegel - Fluegel has made a major impact for his Clarkston team since being a sophomore. This was our first time getting a good look at him at DB and our entire staff came away very impressed. Was one of the finalists for defensive MVP with his great coverage skills, instincts were glaring, and has a very deceptive football speed and athleticism - broke extremely well on balls and receivers. We also mixed in Fluegel as a receiver to close camp and his success continued.

Country Day 2018 RB/CB Isaiah Johnson - Johnson is a very athletic and somewhat still raw freak in the secondary. His length points to a safety, but at the same time looks aren't everything and seeing Isaiah at CB is just as lethal. Johnson has the athletic and physical tools to be a big time impact player regardless of position in the defense.

Romeo 2018 CB/WR Ronnie Wood - Wood looked pretty good last time we seen him in the Midnight Madness tournament, but has gained more confidence in his abilities and with things slowed down a bit on Tuesday, was more dialed in and made more plays. Wood moves deceptively well and his hands are active.

Seaholm 2018 WR/S Nick Lang - Physical player who moves pretty good. He got a taste of both offense and defense. Offensively he matches up physically with linebackers to break their press coverage and can make the tough catch. Defensively he is somewhere in the mix as a Safety / Linebacker depending on where he grows - certainly one who isn't afraid to show his physical traits.

White Lake Lakeland 2019 RB/SS Robbie Tracy - Tracy definitely is there physically and has a bit of deceptive athleticism as he moves well in coverage and has good ball skills. Was definitely out of his element Tuesday, but he adapted well and turned in a good performance.

Troy 2020 WR/FS Corey Pischel - A young, tall, and lengthy player who also moves pretty well. At a young age has a few nice intangibles that can be built around. We mostly placed him at Safety to utilize his length and stride. Pischel located the ball well and broke well on several routes.

Saint Mary's 2019 RB/CB Josh McCarty - Young and physical player who adjusted well to the speed around him. McCarty has his frame filled up pretty nicely and with 2 years left could grow into a OLB/S hybrid type player. Still very early to tell what his future holds, but look forward to seeing his progression.

Sterling Heights Stevenson 2020 WR/DB Nick Wingfield - A young and athletic player who moves pretty well and had no problem moving around to DB. Wingfield had a nice natural fluidity and moves well in coverage and good possesses good ball skills. He'll grow a ton these next 3 years.

Cousino 2019 SS Brendan Wolgast - A tall, lengthy ballhawk type DB who with more experience and filling up his frame could be a major impact player for Cousino the next 2 years. Wolgast moves pretty good, but has a frame that could fill up that OLB is not out of the question over time. For now, though, he's a nice player who can track the ball and knock passes down.

Cousino 2019 FS Jeff Roumpz - A young player who heads to Varsity this year from JV had a good day in coverage. Roumpz definitely has good physical tools and showed good ability to identify and react to what the offense was doing.

Linebackers:

Romeo 2019 MLB Brocke Horne - Big, strong, physical LB which is strikingly obvious in the Fall. During the off-season, you see how well he moves for his size and with his physical presence can disrupt the offense. Horne's biggest plus might be how well he identifies what the offense is doing and reacts immediately.

Southfield A&T 2018 OLB Christian Rush - Rush holds an early offer from Concordia and it's tough to see why they wouldn't as he looks the part and reads/reacts well. He's not the quickest but reacts and closes in strong. The physical tools are there and he passes the eye test certainly.

Clarkston 2018 LB/TE Zach Scott - Outside Linebacker who is deceptively fast and physical with opponents. Scott moves well with who he is covering, but first makes their tasks difficult with his physical tools. Scott is definitely a versatile athlete with great balance.