American Heritage Practice: Recruiting Notes and Photos
Enjoyed the opportunity to watch the American Heritage practice yesterday. It’s a young and talented Patriots team led by head coach Mike Smith. Wanted to discuss some of the talent that’s coming up the ranks within this article.
Before diving into the players at practice, a few notes. First, the offense was focused upon during the first half of practice, for the most part. Then, of course…the thunder and lightning came so practice was delayed. Didn’t stay after that. Thus, not much on the defense to report.
Overall, this team has a lot of young athletes many people do not know about yet but soon will. That does not just mean skill players were making plays either. In the trenches, there were several talented players as well, and there’s size.
Last note, the focus was primarily on scouting the underclassmen. It’s not like AH doesn’t have a bunch of Power 5 seniors as well. Just wanted to get eyes on the new batch of talented players that will be important players for the Patriots.
No particular order to the following list of players and position groups.
Omar Thornton, Linebacker, Senior
Before matriculating to the offensive skill players, stopped to see the linebackers get work. Liked the way Thornton carried himself during drills. Good looking athlete that showed a bounce in his step. His junior highlights can be found here.
Dia Bell, Quarterback, Sophomore
Natural athlete that made several touch passes look easy. In fact, Bell probably threw corner routes just as well as some of the shorter passes and sometimes even better.
The upside has been and continues to be high. Just needs to be more consistent like 99.99% of young signal callers. Bell already earned offers from programs like Florida, BYU, Miami, West Virginia and Penn State.
Byron Louis, Running Back, Junior
After seeing Louis perform last year, not much of an evaluation was needed. He stood out as a mere sophomore. Louis added a bit of good weight, looked comfortable running or catching the football, and was dialed in.
Dia Bell to Byron Louis at American Heritage practice pic.twitter.com/IFt6nuGXkq
— Brian Smith (@fbscout_florida) August 14, 2023
Most notably, Louis’s frame has reached the level of “every down running back” status. Sometimes recruits gain too much weight for their own good, but Louis looked chiseled.
National recruit with offers from Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, Southern California, Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn, and Penn State among many others.
Deandre Desinor, Running Back, Junior
This young man’s speed was obvious on film, and now having seen him make cuts and accelerate in person, no doubt he’s one of the most explosive kids these eyes have seen this year regardless of whether it’s an Under Armour camp, seven-on-seven event, etc.
Desinor deserved to be called an all-around player that can be used as a traditional runner or catching passes; not many running backs have shown to possess his elite-level skills when the football was in the air, or even during one-on-one situations of any kind. Teams attempting to slow down Louis also must contend with Desinor. It will be interesting to watch how the two running backs work together.
Like Louis, Desinor earned numerous offers to date, such as Miami, Florida State, Florida, UCF, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, and Georgia Tech among others.
Malachi Toney, Wide Receiver, Sophomore
Natural playmaker based on his freshman season. Toney’s ability to snag over-the-shoulder throws was obvious in 2022 (the corner touchdown versus Los Alamitos!) and he’s already picked up from there and just kept getting better.
He can be moved around because of his natural athleticism and hands, so again, it will be interesting to see how AH’s coaching staff utilizes this young man’s talents.
Toney was already offered by numerous Power 5 programs including the usual suspects like Miami, Florida State, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Should end up with 40 or more offers. Not many young prospects possessed the skill and attitude that Toney has already shown, and that’s why his offer list will climb.
What’s interesting would be the number of wide receivers that American Heritage possessed that can flat out go! Toney was special, but he had company, too. Here are a couple of the young wide receivers and it's not even a complete list. The speed at Heritage was incredible.
Brandon Bennett, Wide Receiver, Sophomore
Fluid and twitchy, Bennett has been a track standout and continues to build his football skills as well. He’s a long way from being a finished product, but as Bennett continues to learn the AH offense and build a relationship with Bell, he’s going to produce some big numbers in the future.
Need to see him play in a live game to truly assess what Bennett’s future holds, but he’s already someone that’s started the process of being a big-play receiver. Now it’s about him learning the little aspects of how and when to break down during a cut, and why, to keep defenders off balance. The speed and athleticism were blatantly obvious.
Zamarii Sanders, Wide Receiver, Sophomore
Another burner from the sophomore class, Sanders was yet another weapon that had playmaking ability. Similar to Bennett, need to see him versus live action to better understand where he’s at with actual football acumen, but the speed and physical gifts were not questioned.
Even with limited experience, Sanders already earned offers from Miami, Wisconsin, Texas A&M and West Virginia. With a 10.27 100 meter time to his credit, look for many more offers to head his way.
Only had a few glimpses of recent 2024 Wisconsin cornerback commitment Xavier Lucas, but excited to see him perform this fall. Same with underclassman defensive back Greg Thomas.
Here are a few photos from practice as well.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.