Overlooked: The Florida Panhandle….

One of the top linebackers in Florida: Amari Gainer-Lawton Chiles High School

One of the top linebackers in Florida: Amari Gainer-Lawton Chiles High School

The stretch of Florida between Tallahassee and Pensacola always seems to get overlooked when discussing Football talent. There have been some great players which have come from this area. From Derrick Brooks to Emmitt Smith. Recently you have had players like Alabama running back Trent Richardson and Alex Leatherwood. There have been plenty of talented players from this area which always seems to get overlooked. We are going to break down some of the premier players in this area of Florida.

Amari Gainer-Lawton Chiles-LB-6’4-200-(2018) (Committed to Florida State) – Gainer may just end up the number 1 linebacker in Florida for the class of 2018. Physically there may not be a better looking linebacker in Florida. He has the size, speed and athletic ability you look for in a linebacker.

Trey Sanders-IMG Academy-WR-6’1-190 (Committed to Alabama) – Sanders plays at IMG but he started his career at Port St Joe. He made his impact as an 8th grader at Port St Joe and played his freshman season there as well. The gifted receiver has already committed to University of Alabama.

Jacob Copeland -Escambia-WR-6’0-190 (2018) -Copeland has been on the recruiting radar for over two years now. We first saw him at a 7-on-7 event. He has developed into one of the top players in Pensacola over the past two seasons. (Over 20 P5 offers).

Marcus Riley-Rickards-WR-5’10-160 (2018) (Committed to Louisville) – Riley is a versatile athlete who can make plays on both sides of the football. While projected as a receiver it would not surprise us to see him play cornerback in college.

Shannon Carswell-Freeport-DT-6’4-285-Carswell is a massive human being. He stands at 6’4 and weighs over 280 pounds. He looks like Broderick Bunkley who played at Florida State. With so few defensive tackles to recruit ever year it would not shock us to see his P5 offer list grow. (Reported Offers: UF, Southern Miss, Tennessee State, UCF)

Jalen Norwood-North Florida Christian-OLB-6’0-210 (2018)-Norwood is another prospect that has been on the radar since his freshman season. The talented linebacker has also played some safety. He is versatile enough to line up at multiple positions on the field.  (Reported Offers: Louisville, Indiana, Memphis, Midd. Tenn State)

Keyshawn Helton-West Florida Tech-WR-5’9-160 (2018) –One thing Helton brings to the table is SPEED. Here is one of the fastest receivers in the state of Florida. He has a reported 4.38 (40) time at a recent football camp. Helton may not be the biggest but try catching him in the open field. (Reported Offers: Cincy, Kent State)

Keyshawn Green-Wakulla-ILB-6’2-210-(2020) – Last time Wakulla had a gifted linebacker his name was Nigel Bradham. This could be the next great linebacker to come out of the small town South of Tallahassee. Green has the physical tools. Now it is up to him to put it all together.

Kerrick Teamer-Pensacola Catholic-WR-6’4-215-(2019) -More and more teams want big receivers and that is what Teamer is. He has great size (6’4) and a frame which will allow him to gain weight. It would not shock us to see him grow into a tight end. (Reported Offers: Miami)

Trevor Solomon-Wilson-Tallahassee Lincoln-WR-5’10-175-(2019) -Solomon is another fast receiver out of the Panhandle. He can get behind a secondary and make your defense pay. You have to put a body on him or Wilson can make life very difficult for your defense.

Ethan Watson-Pensacola Catholic- OT-6’4-285-(2018) –Watson will be one of the top offensive linemen in the Panhandle this year. He plays tackle but some may project him more as a guard at the next level. (Reported Offers: USF, Cincinnati, FAU, Louisiana Lafayette, Southern Miss, UAB, Troy, South Alabama, UCF, App State and Tulane.) 

Adrian Medley-Pensacola-OT-6’4-290 (2019)-Had the chance to watch him recently at a football camp. Medley will be one of the more sought after lineman in the state of Florida next year. He has the size, length and athletic ability to be a very good tackle in college.

Davonchae Bryant-Pensacola-DE-6’6-250 (2018)- The saying goes, you can’t teach size. Bryant is one of the bigger defensive ends in the state of Florida. He also is a decent athlete. He can come off the edge and give you a pass rush. His size should help him in run support. While raw the physical talent is there for him to be a good player in college.

Daishon Folsom-Escambia-DT-6’3-330 (2018) –Folsom is your typical NG. He is a guy who is going to take on the double team and allow your linebackers to roam free. His strength will be stopping the run.  (Reported Offers: Southern Miss / UCF) 

Jaquez Dunmore-Godby-S-6’0-180 (2018) –Dunmore is a prospect we expect to draw some interest. He has good size and above average speed. The biggest issue is this is the most talented year for defensive backs since we first started in this business over 15 years ago.

Randal Copeland-East Gadsden-(ILB)6’2-225 (2018)-Copeland is your typical, old school, MIKE backer. He is what is called a THUMPER. You put him in the middle and just have him run downhill. He can play the run and that is the strength of his game. (Reported Offers: App State and Southern Miss) 

Cortez Andrews-Godby-S-6’1-190-(2019)-Andrews is already one of the more highly regarded safeties in his class. He has offers from some of the premier programs in the country. We expect him to continue to draw interest through not only the upcoming season but in 2018 as well. (Reported Offers: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Maryland)

Martin Emerson-Pine Forest-S-6’2-190-(2019)-Emerson is not well known but we feel that could change over the next year. He has good size (6’2) and can run. He has the physical tools to be a top rated safety. He just needs some attention drawn his way and we feel that is going to happen.  (Reported Offers: Miss State) 

Juanyeh Thomas-Niceville-CB-6’2-190-(2018)– We first saw him at Florida State camp last year. Thomas gives you a cornerback with both size and length at the position. He is also versatile enough to move inside to safety. We feel that Thomas has not even come close to reaching his potential. (Reported Offers: UF, Auburn, Miss State, Georgia Tech, South Alabama, Southern Miss) 

Kean Thomas-Godby-S-6’1-200 (2018)-Godby has never been short on talent and that will be no different this season. Thomas is part of a secondary that could be very salty this season. (Reported Offers: UCF / Southern Miss) 

 

Names to Remember:

Alexander Joseph-Pensacola Catholic-Ath.-6’0-165 (2019) / Kevin Shuler-Godby-Ath-6’1-165, Trey Fisher-North Florida Christian-QB-5’10-170-(2020), Kamari Morales-TE-6’2-225 (2019), Treon Patrick-Godby-RB-6’0-180 (2018), Elijah Hall-Pensacola-LB-5’11-220-(2020), Kendre Gant-Port St Joe-WR-6’3-190-(2019), Delshun Bradwell-Godby-OG-6’3-330-(2018), Kelvin Dean-Chipley-Ath-5’11-180 (2019)

If you are a football prospect in the Panhandle of Florida be on the look out for ESS. We will be holding a Underclassmen recruiting seminar in August. We will be holding the event at Pensacola High School. We will put out an exact time and date in the near future. If you are a prospect that feels you can play D1, D1AA, D2-NAIA, we recommend you attending the event.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *