Prospect Review: Wayne County at Ware County

By Barry Every
SouthernPigskin.com

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Barry Every breaks down the top prospects from last week’s matchup between Wayne and Ware County.

Waycross, Georgia – What was supposed to be a tightly contested battle for the Region 2-AAAAA Title, ended up a one sided affair with outcome determined by halftime. Jesup (Ga.) Wayne County struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball, gaining just one first down while turning the ball over twice resulting in a 34-7 deficit.

On the flip side Waycross (Ga) Ware County super sophomore Thomas Castellanos put on a show accounting for 220 yards and four touchdowns. He was aided by a rotating door of quality backs that helped the Gators rack up 239 yards rushing and six touchdowns on their way to a convincing 48-14 victory.

Wayne County (7-2/3-1) is now a #2-Seed and will host Stockbridge (Ga.) (8-2/5-2) in the first round of the GHSA Playoffs. With their first Region Title since 2016 Ware County (7-4/4-0) claimed the #1-Seed which guarantees two home playoff dates if the Gators take care of first round opponent McDonough (Ga.) Ola (7-3/4-3).

Below are my top performers from each squad based on their performance and athletic potential. Though only five players were chosen, more than ten players from this contest were included in the weekly XOS Digital Prospect Report. This report is distributed to over 200 DI through DIII colleges.

Wayne County Yellowjackets

Logan Pritchard, 6-0/230, DE/ILB (2020)

Offers: (1) Lenoir-Rhyne
Comments: One of the few bright spots in the first half for Wayne County was Pritchard, who racked up five solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Unfortunately he was injured just before the half and unable to play in the second half. Though he plays defensive end he looks physically like a thick inside backer.  Pritchard has tremendous lower body structure and showed excellent lateral movement.  But what was most impressive was his ability to be seemingly out of the play yet agile enough to regain his balance and pounce on ball carrier. Every tackle he made was within a couple yards of the line of scrimmage.  His lone offer is Lenoir-Rhyne, a high end Division II program. Pritchard should pick up more recruiting steam since he is already an NCAA qualifier.

Tavoris Wilkins, 6-0/200, OLB (2022)

Offers: None
Comments: Another impressive looking defender for the Yellowjackets is sophomore Tavoris Wilkins. On the night he recorded two solo tackles and five assisted tackles. Wilkins has tremendous overall body structure and is athletic enough to make plays in the open field. He also shows some serious power in his strikes, as he will wrap up ball carriers and WWE body slam them to the ground. It will be interesting to see if he stays at linebacker or is moved to running back next season, a position he played in spots this year.  Wilkins is a name all recruiters need to get on their board and in their camp next spring.

Ware County Gators

Thomas Castellanos, QB/ATH, 5-11/190 (2022)

Offers: (1) Kansas
Comments: One defensive coach for Wayne County mentioned prior the contest how Castellanos reminded him of current Michigan linebacker and former Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes star Michael Barrett. Castellanos put on a show for the Gator faithful completing eight of 11 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown while rushing the ball 15 times for 76 yards and three scores. He is very light on his feet and near impossible to track down in the open field. He runs with great balance and has the arm strength to make most throws. Right now I would definitely say he could be a quarterback in a heavy RPO attack or triple option in college. Castellanos athleticism and thickness will also allow him to project as a possible running back or safety at the next level.

Rodney Davis, 6-0/170, OLB (2021)

Offers: None
Comments: Davis may be a new name for some on the recruiting trail. Last Friday night he wreaked havoc in the Wayne County backfield. On the night he recorded four tackles, two TFL’s, one sack and one FF. He was able to catch a trick play from behind for no gain, displaying excellent closing speed.  Davis then missed a sack, got back up off the ground and completed the task while forcing a fumble. The forced fumble led directly to a scoring run for the Gators on the very next play. He should be considered a hybrid OLB/S with plenty of quick twitch muscle fiber.

Kevin Weatherspoon, 6-0/190, SS (2020)

Offers: None
Comments: Weatherspoon wins the hit-stick award for his performance versus Wayne County. On the evening he recorded five solo tackles, two assisted tackles and was credited with two BIG HITS by the Ware County coaching staff. He also returned a punt 36 yards giving the Gators excellent starting field position. Up close in person one will notice his thick muscular lower body, lean waist and long arms. Weatherspoon will come down hill and simply explode like a ball of fury on his unsuspecting opponents. With his affinity for contact and ball skills he could project at either safety position or possible corner at the next level. I’m still really shocked that this young man has no official offers at this time; he could end up being a late steal for someone.