After a week off the scouting trail due to a work scheduling issue, the Heel Tough Blog returned to the trail in a big way on Friday night, as we headed to Rockingham for the most anticipated game of the entire state playoffs where Richmond Senior High School was hosting Myers Park for the 4AA state quarterfinals. Richmond would advance to the state semifinals with a thrilling 35-32 victory, but the game provided a good look at 2020 4✮ S Cameron Roseman-Sinclair and 2021 3✮ DUAL Caleb Hood.
Let’s start with one of the Tar Heels six 4✮ commits in the 2020 class. Roseman-Sinclair played a great game from his hybrid linebacker spot, racking up nine total tackles and a pass deflection in his efforts. Roseman-Sinclair continued to build off of what we’ve seen from him in our prior looks at him. He is a strong open-field tackler, which will be helpful no matter where he plays at the college level. Roseman-Sinclair has good closing speed that allows him to go sideline-to-sideline with ease and cover enough space in coverage to thrive in a zone scheme. Roseman-Sinclair has the talent and skills necessary to make an early impact, something he told us after the game he plans on doing when he arrives to campus as he prepares to be an early enrollee.
Roseman-Sinclair’s prep career has come to an end, though, at the hands of Hood, who put this Richmond team on his back to will them to the huge win. Hood wasted no time getting the Raiders on the board, as he took his first carry of the night 74 yards for a touchdown to give them the early 7-0 advantage. He would have a quiet finish to the first half, in large part because of some drops from a usually sure-handed wide receiving corps, but would lead the Raiders on a drive just before halftime that would cut the Mustangs lead to eight. Hood and his receivers would come alive, though, in the second half. The Raiders put together three huge scoring drives in the second half, including two in the fourth quarter that led to the victory. All three of those second half touchdown drives were finished off by a Hood rushing touchdowns on quarterback power runs. Hood finished the night 12-26 for 206 yards and added 110 yards and four touchdowns on the ground on just ten carries. He showed some real potential at quarterback on Friday night, doing most of his damage through the short and intermediate passing game. The key to success with the short and intermediate passing games are to put the ball in a spot where receivers can make things happen after the catch and that’s exactly what happened in this game, as six of Hood’s twelve completions were for 20 yards or more. Hood makes a living of the RPO and his legs make him even harder to contain in those situations. Hood is definitely still a raw prospect at quarterback, but there is definitely talent there and a reason to be excited about his future.
These two Division I-bound players weren’t the only ones to put together big performances on Friday night. It should come as no surprise that Drake Maye had another nice night in this game, despite being sacked four times. Maye still made some great throws, showing off that talented arm that has the 2021 5✮ PRO as one of the top quarterbacks in the junior class. His primary targets, Texas A&M commit Muhsin Muhammad III and NC State commit Porter Rooks, were kept in check most of the night, but slot receiver Jordan Bly stepped up to have a big night. His reliable hands and track speed make him an intriguing prospect, especially next year with all that the Mustangs will lose at wide receiver. Other who shined for the Mustangs included running back Tim Newman, who ran hard the entire night, and cornerback Jordan Brown.
As for the Raiders, wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin was the star, as he hauled in five passes for 122 yards. He has good size and can cause problems with his speed after the catch, something he’ll be able to build on next year. Cornerback D’marcus Harrington was all over the field on Friday night, leading the Raiders in tackles and helping to shut down the tandem of Muhammad and Rooks for most of the night. Linebacker Gavin Russell and running back Jaheim Covington also has big nights for the Raiders.
The Heel Tough Blog will return to the Charlotte area for the state semifinals, as we will head back to Charlotte Catholic High School to see them face Kings Mountain High School with a chance to go to the 3A state finals on the line.