When I sat down in front of my computer and looked at MLB Ellis Brooks [6-2, 235] 2016 Hudl highlight video for the first time early this afternoon, I'll admit to you I was totally surprised with what I saw.
I was expecting to see a physical MLB prospect who physically dominated at the point of attack at the line of scrimmage, and Brooks's Hudl highlight video didn't disappointment me at all in that area. Brooks is perfect fit to play the MLB [Mike] in Penn State's 4-3 defensive scheme with its front seven on defense. He does a terrific job of shedding blocks with his physical style of play. Brooks performs well in traffic, reads his keys perfectly at the line of scrimmage, has excellent tackling technique and takes superb angles down the line of scrimmage to the ball carrier.
It shouldn't surprise anyone at all Brooks has totaled more than 200 tackles in the past three years at Benedictine and that he's been a 2-tme all-area selection on defense at his MLB position. In many ways his play at MLB reminded me of former Penn State LB Brandon Short's high school highlight tape. Brooks is definitely a physical MLB prospect.
What caught me completely off guard on his 2016 Hudl highlight video was his athleticism. Brooks has exciting athletic ability for a MLB with a 235- to 240-pound frame. For the past two seasons at Benedictine Brooks has started on both offense and defense. He's been an All-Richmond area performer at MLB the past two years, but I didn't know that he's played and started at running back for Benedictine both his junior and senior years.
What really caught my attention on his senior Hudl highlight video was the way Benedictine's coaching staff utilized Brooks when they ran their offense out of the "Wildcat" formation. Honestly I never was expecting to see Brooks carry the football from the "Wildcat" formation. But after watching him do that on his highlight tape I'll readily admit to our Lions Den members, Brooks is a far better pure athlete than I ever expected him to to be.
Brooks showed the ability from his running back position on offense to effectively run the football between the tackles as well as outside the tackle box. He appears to have 4.7 40-yard speed with a pretty explosive first step. I'm not saying he is a prospect to play at the running back position at Penn State, but he showed on film that he is a far better athlete than I anticipated he was. There is now no question in my mind that Brooks is fully capable of playing both "box" LB positions in Penn State's basic 4-3 defensive scheme with its front seven on defense.
With both Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith graduating following the upcoming 2017 season, it was essential that Penn State recruited the type of physical and athletic MLB Brooks will be able to be over the next four years at Penn State.
An added bonus with Brooks verbal commitment is the fact Brooks is such a quality student/athlete. He maintains a solid 3.3 GPA and fits perfectly into the type of student/athlete Penn State loves to recruit into its program. Brooks took official visits and selected Penn State over Maryland, LSU, Northwestern and Oregon and also had offers from Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, UCLA, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
You'll definitely see why I was impressed by his athleticism in the video below:
CLICK HERE
I was expecting to see a physical MLB prospect who physically dominated at the point of attack at the line of scrimmage, and Brooks's Hudl highlight video didn't disappointment me at all in that area. Brooks is perfect fit to play the MLB [Mike] in Penn State's 4-3 defensive scheme with its front seven on defense. He does a terrific job of shedding blocks with his physical style of play. Brooks performs well in traffic, reads his keys perfectly at the line of scrimmage, has excellent tackling technique and takes superb angles down the line of scrimmage to the ball carrier.
It shouldn't surprise anyone at all Brooks has totaled more than 200 tackles in the past three years at Benedictine and that he's been a 2-tme all-area selection on defense at his MLB position. In many ways his play at MLB reminded me of former Penn State LB Brandon Short's high school highlight tape. Brooks is definitely a physical MLB prospect.
What caught me completely off guard on his 2016 Hudl highlight video was his athleticism. Brooks has exciting athletic ability for a MLB with a 235- to 240-pound frame. For the past two seasons at Benedictine Brooks has started on both offense and defense. He's been an All-Richmond area performer at MLB the past two years, but I didn't know that he's played and started at running back for Benedictine both his junior and senior years.
What really caught my attention on his senior Hudl highlight video was the way Benedictine's coaching staff utilized Brooks when they ran their offense out of the "Wildcat" formation. Honestly I never was expecting to see Brooks carry the football from the "Wildcat" formation. But after watching him do that on his highlight tape I'll readily admit to our Lions Den members, Brooks is a far better pure athlete than I ever expected him to to be.
Brooks showed the ability from his running back position on offense to effectively run the football between the tackles as well as outside the tackle box. He appears to have 4.7 40-yard speed with a pretty explosive first step. I'm not saying he is a prospect to play at the running back position at Penn State, but he showed on film that he is a far better athlete than I anticipated he was. There is now no question in my mind that Brooks is fully capable of playing both "box" LB positions in Penn State's basic 4-3 defensive scheme with its front seven on defense.
With both Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith graduating following the upcoming 2017 season, it was essential that Penn State recruited the type of physical and athletic MLB Brooks will be able to be over the next four years at Penn State.
An added bonus with Brooks verbal commitment is the fact Brooks is such a quality student/athlete. He maintains a solid 3.3 GPA and fits perfectly into the type of student/athlete Penn State loves to recruit into its program. Brooks took official visits and selected Penn State over Maryland, LSU, Northwestern and Oregon and also had offers from Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, UCLA, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
You'll definitely see why I was impressed by his athleticism in the video below:
CLICK HERE
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