All-Underrated Team 2010

To help pass the summer doldrums SoFLAfootball has put together 22-man roster of underrated prospects from Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties. Look for several of these prospects to land some nice offers before signing day in February. A loosely followed set of guidelines were used when choosing the team.

First, each prospect must have very few if any offers and no offers from a school in a major conference. Second, the prospect has to be getting overlooked to some degree by the media and local fans. Third, each player had to fit together to make a strong team on the field. Below is SoFLAfootball’s Summer All-Underrated Team.

************DEFENSE************

CB Normondo Harris 6′0″ 175 Monsignor Pace: Harris has perfect size to be a physical cornerback and the farther away from wrestling season he gets, the quicker and more fluid he becomes. Harris cut weight to wrestle at the 160 lbs weight class this past winter.

S Johnnie Simon 6′0″ 180 Palm Beach Lakes: Simon does not get much of an opportunity to display his coverage skills for Lakes, since he spends most of his time at OLB, but he can stick with receivers if needed. Not only does Simon cover, but as you may have suspected with him spending a lot of time at OLB, will lay the lumber on anyone that crosses his face.

S Teandric Slocum 6′1″ 180 Carol City: Slocum is the other half of our hard-hitting safety crew. Simon can pack a punch, but Slocum takes it to another level. He showed he belonged against one of the state’s best, Miami Northwestern in the spring game.

CB Tavares Crawford 5′10″ 170 Glades Central: Crawford was a member of the 4×100 relay team for the Raiders so there is no questioning his speed. He is good in coverage and more than held his own against Miami Central’s Josh Reese and Charles Gaines Jr. in the spring game.

LB Daniel Holland 6′2″ 211 Miami Norland: Holland has the size and speed (4.6/40) you look for when choosing a linebacker. He does a bit of everything at Norland, rarely coming off the field.

LB Martin Maycock 5′11″ 215 Monsignor Pace: Maycock is overlooked due to the fact he lacks ideal height and he does not have eye popping speed you would like out of an undersized linebacker. He does make plays on the field though and he will do just fine manning the middle of the defense.

LB Jonathan James 5′11″ 210 Blanche Ely: James spends his time at safety for Ely, but the bulk he has on his frame a move closer to the line of scrimmage will be made for this team. He runs very well and is aggressive on the field, two things you like to see in a linebacker.

DE Djwany Mera 6′4″ 230 South Broward: Mera is on the team now, but do not count on that lasting long with offers from power conferences universities sure to come in the future. He moves extremely well for a prospect his size, and he is only getting bigger. He does a great job shedding blocks, getting penetration, and making plays.

DT Ricky Joseph 6′1″ 295 Miami Northwestern: Joseph will be the space eater in the middle, but he has showed the ability to get penetration as well. He also has a great motor and fights on every snap.

DT Roney Lozano 6′2″ 260 American: Lozano is a fairly quick defensive tackle that is able to get penetration and cause havoc in the backfield. His best attribute is the ability to stand up would be blockers and shed them to make tackles in the run game.

DE Ken Shaw 6′3″ 220 Dwyer: Shaw can do a variety of things on the field, such as flipping over to offense and playing some tight end. For this team his athleticism will be utilized the most rushing the passer off the edge. Shaw added close to 20-pounds of muscle this off-season.

************OFFENSE************

QB Leron Thomas 6′1″ 180 Glades Central: Thomas has a strong arm, and while his mechanics are a bit awkward, he throws a nice deep ball. He also has surprising speed and keeps plenty of plays alive with his feet.

RB Audrey Woodson 5′9″ 180 Northeast: Woodson is a shifty back with good speed and his elusiveness causes defenses fits. Woodson spent last season as a quarterback, but this fall will move back to his natural running back position.

RB Will Powers 5′9 185 Jupiter Christian: Powers is another kid that can do a lot on the field. On this team, he will be used more as Thunder back to the Lightning in Woodson. He is a good downhill runner that gets positive yards and will surprise defenses with his speed.

WR LaVaughn Whigham 6′1″ 180 Southridge: Some like Whigham as a safety, but his talents on the offensive side of the ball are too good to be over looked. Whigham has good speed, but his combination of size and strength impress the most. He fights through jams and can go over defensive backs for the ball.

WR Jayvon Wrentz 6′0″ 175 Booker T. Washington: Wrentz is another athletic receiver on the outside that can go up and get the ball. He came on strong to end last season and carried his stellar play through the spring.

WR Bryan Thomas 5′9″ 165 Blanche Ely: Thomas is a prototypical slot man with the speed to stretch the defense and the shiftiness to make people miss in space. His quickness will compliment the other receivers well.

OT Doug Almendares 6′3″ 285 North Miami: Almendares spent some time on the defensive line and he brings that nasty attitude to the offensive side as well. He mauls defensive linemen run blocking and gets a good initial punch in on pass protection.

OG Donald Senat 6′1″ 250 Miami Northwestern: Senat is a couple inches short of being highly recruited prospect. He does a good job opening up holes in the middle and stymies pass rushers in the middle.

C Shawn Brown 6′2″ 290 Miami Central: Brown is very mobile for being such a large prospect. His leadership and knowledge make him a perfect fit at center.

OG Willis Bowles 6′3″ 280 Pahokee: Bowles is a big body to have on the interior of the line. He is another lineman that gets after it running blocking.

OT Zach Soto 6′6″ 255 Monsignor Pace: Soto has good technique and moves his feet well. His narrow shoulders raise questions if he can add the weight needed to play at the next level. That said Soto handles speed rushers off the edge fairly well.