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The Opening Dallas Regional 2016

A few VTM staffers attended The Opening this past weekend, what did they see?

By Drew Borsellino and RSmith1

This past weekend The Opening regional tour made its stop in the DFW area at Coppell High School. Ryan and myself were able to attend the event and catch the action from a firsthand experience. There were over 500 recruits in attendance so of course we weren't able to check out every single recruit. As many know, these events are usually geared towards offensive recruits so I'll breakdown the wide receivers I saw and Ryan will let you know what he saw in the quarterbacks and linemen. There was one quarterback in particular who stood out that a lot of programs may not know about yet but they will soon.

The Wide Receivers

Tyrell Shavers | 6'6", 200 lbs | Wide Receiver

Lewisville High School (Lewisville, TX)

24/7  | Rivals | Scout 

Shavers had one of the best days out of any recruit, scoring 138.00 in his testing. He started the day off with a 4.38 40-yard dash (see race below) and continued to shine throughout the camp. Texas Tech offered Shavers back in December so hopefully that'll carry some weight because he's about to blow up. After the camp, Shavers received 3 offers from Miami, Georgia and Texas A&M so any time someone says these camps don't matter they're lying. His Scout rating also bumped up to a 4-star as well. He's not a one trick pony either, Shavers runs routes well and has some great hands. I expect Texas Tech to pursue him pretty aggressively because he'd be great on the outside.

Cartrell Thomas | 5'10", 165 lbs | Wide Receiver

Lancaster High School (Lancaster, TX)

24/7  | Rivals NR | Scout 

Besides Shavers, Thomas was my other favorite Texas Tech target to see in action. The Red Raiders offered Thomas March 2nd and as of right now Texas Tech and Colorado are his two Power 5 offers. I didn't see Thomas drop a ball all day and as you can see below, he catches the ball at its highest point. Right now everyone knows of Omar Manning being the stud wideout at Lancaster but Thomas' skills are right up their with Manning's. Thomas in the slot would be an ideal situation for the Red Raiders.

Jaylon Jackson | 5'10", 165 lbs | Wide Receiver

Cedar Hill High School (Cedar Hill, TX)

24/7  | Rivals | Scout 

I did a write up on Jackson previously but I got to catch him in action this weekend. Let me tell you, he did not disappoint. You would have no idea that he tore his ACL last spring. He's very fluid in his route running and cutting. The Red Raiders offered Jackson way back in December 2014 and was his first FBS offer. When I first wrote about him, Jackson had 4 offers and now he's up to 8 so you can see he's trending up rather quickly. He put together a great camp and it wouldn't surprise me if he gets up to 20+ offers by this summer.

Charleston Rambo | 6'2", 165 lbs | Wide Receiver

Cedar Hill High School (Cedar Hill, TX)

24/7  | Rivals | Scout 

Rambo is another receiver I've gone over before but I got to see him in person this weekend. Rambo is now a 4-star across the board (previously a 3-star by 24/7) and according to 24/7 Oklahoma is his leader followed by Notre Dame, Miami, and Texas Tech. Rambo is a fluid route runner and like the guys mentioned above, I never saw him drop a pass when I was able to check him out. In the video below, you can see him adjusting to the under thrown ball in stride and putting himself in the right spot. One thing Texas Tech receivers need is the ability to adjust to the ball in air since the Red Raiders air it out.

The Quarterbacks

Cam Roane | 6'2", 195 lbs | Quarterback

Heritage High School (Colleyville, TX)

24/7  | Rivals | Scout 

One throw. That's how long it took for Cam to quietly show he was one of, if not the best QB prospect at The Opening. It was a rollout drill and his first of the QB skill portion. Being a lefty, and rolling to his right, this is a particularly difficult throw that requires his mechanics to be near perfect. As he rolled, he hit the right depth, started working towards the line of scrimmage and got his hips turned and his upper body in position and delivered a strike to the receiver.

It may sound difficult, but the degree of difficulty for this throw is up there and many of his fellow participants struggled with this drill. But not only did Cam flourish in this drill, but every drill after that. The ball comes out of his hand clean and throws a tight spiral consistently and on target. Throw after throw, he turned into must watch every time he stepped up.

He has fantastic feel to his arm side on crossing routes and has fantastic feel for fade and back shoulder routes. During "One on Ones", he consistently made the correct check downs when needed. The only fault in his game I could find is he doesn't always get behind his deep throws on vertical routes. He has the touch on fades going away from a defender, but the ball tended to hang and seem under thrown allowing the DB to catch up. And I have to say, that's being nitpicky. He's 17. He only has two offers right now, but he's going to be the steal of NSD 2017 and my hope is he's wearing the Scarlet and Black.

Not only did he catch my eye early, but he also made friends with Texas Tech newcomer, Jett Duffey as they could be seen hanging out and playing catch during down time. Future teammates? All I can say is this is a Dual-Threat QB who would light it up in Kingsbury's system. Coach Kingsbury and Coach Morris... you're on notice. This guy is legit.

Cam Roane2

Soon after, Twitter blew up and soon so will his phone with offers.

Chris Robison | 6'2", 185 lbs | Quarterback

Horn Hill High School (Mesquite, TX)

24/7  | Rivals | Scout 

Chris OU


Chris is already committed to Oklahoma and the inside joke between Drew and I is that he's Baker 2.0. Not going to get into that, but that characterization is really unfair. Let's be honest for a minute... Chris is better than Baker. Now, when I make a statement like that, I'm not talking intangibles or being a gamer or any of the stuff that can't be measured during a showcase. I'm talking about straight up talent. He's faster than Baker in a straight line and he has better arm strength. Chris has an absolute cannon, but his arm angle is in the three quarters arm slot which does make his ball knuckle from time to time. I'm sure Lincoln Riley will clean it up... it's not a big deal.

Chris won the MVP for The Opening, which I thought should have gone to Cam, but looking at his skill set, it's not a stretch by any means. It was also good to see Chris, Cam and others, supporting and showing love for one another even though they were competing and trying to one up each other.

Others that caught my eye:

Casey Thompson | Southmoore HS '18 (Moore, OK)... HUGE Cannon. Can make any throw, but consistency may be a factor
Jarrett Doege | Cooper HS '17 (Lubbock, TX)... He reminds me a lot of Seth. Arm strength is decent, but release is back in the zone causing the ball to float at times.

Avery Davis | Cedar Hill HS '17 (Cedar Hill, TX)... Looked good. Can see why Tech likes him. Good arm. Good speed. Quick release.

Avery

The Linemen

Of course, Jack Anderson. The guy is legit from what I can see during one on ones. I was concerned because when it comes to lineman in HS, he may be overwhelming inferior opposition, which he should, but it's not a great qualifier of how he'll translate to college. After seeing him in person... he should be a good one. He got slighted not winning best OL, but he did get an invite to The Opening Finals.

Others that caught my eye:

Hyrin White | DeSoto HS (DeSoto, TX)

Hyrin White is a 6-6, 275-pound Offensive Tackle from DeSoto, TX.

Good size, strong base and solid footwork

Will Sherman | Allen HS (Allen, TX)

Good size, immovable.

These three would look great on an O-Line somewhere. Glad we have Jack.

Besides running into Jett Duffey, we also ran into one that got away this past year. Zack Farrar, who went to OU. Great kid with a bright future. Wish him the best of luck this next year. Except 10/22.

All in all, The Opening was a great experience for VTM. We look forward to attending similar events in the future so we can get our viewers the inside scoop!

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