Friday Night Recaps Week 8: Michigan commits on ESPNU

Last week’s game action was high profile for a pair of Michigan commits who had their games aired on ESPNU during the week.

On Thursday night, 2019 4-star offensive lineman Trente Jones and Grayson finished on top of foe Archer (phrasing!), beating them easily, 41-14. The next night, 2019 3-star safety Quinten Johnson and St. John’s College defeated Good Counsel 31-10 in a talent-laden matchup.

But we’re not going to talk about either of those this week, as there were some impressive individual performances this week.

2019 4-star QB Cade McNamara

McNamara’s team, Damonte Ranch, has been dominating their competition with a high-octane offense averaging 49 points a game. This week was no different, as they beat Carson 70-7, their third straight week putting up at least 60 points. McNamara threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns, while only playing in the first half.

On the season, McNamara has completed just under 60 percent of his passes, for 1,643 yards and a 21:5 touchdown to interception ratio.

His midseason highlight film shows a gunslinger who doesn’t have the best mechanics (low arm slot), but has great footwork in the pocket, is cool when pressured and throws a nice-looking ball. He maintains his accuracy and strength while throwing on the run and can pick up yards downfield.

We all saw how Michigan is using their quarterbacks in the run game against Wisconsin, and McNamara can definitely keep that going.

Damonte Ranch has two more regular season games before the postseason, which they should be playing deep into.

2019 4-star DT Mazi Smith

Smith has helped lead the talented East Kentwood Falcons to a 7-1 record and six wins in a row with one week left in their regular season. Moving positions slightly has contributed to his team’s success this season, according to Smith’s head coach.

Shifting down from defensive tackle to nose guard has done wonders for the East Kentwood defense, who gave up 92 points in the first two games of the season. After the switch, they’ve only given up 72 points over six games. Smith has racked up 42 tackles and 11 tackles for loss, which doesn’t include this latest game, a 48-3 victory over Hudsonville.

Michigan has one of the best defensive line classes in the country, and with two tackles graduating next season, there will be an opening for Smith to step in and contribute as soon as he gets on campus.

2020 TE Nick Patterson

San Antonio Christian has gotten off to a rough start this season, putting up a 1-4-1 record. But that is not the fault of Nick Patterson, who has put up big plays every week to help his team.

Last week, the Lions were up 16-0 in part to a Patterson touchdown catch in double coverage, which you can see in this recap. However, they ended up losing 36-26.

For the season, Patterson has caught 20 passes for just under 300 yards and three touchdowns. Last week, he broke another big play, a 71-yard catch and run that you can catch in this highlight video.

Patterson may have first received attention because of his brother, but he is performing well in his own right for a team with few stars.

Play of the Week

2019 cornerback DJ Turner has a knack for flair, while playing for national powerhouse IMG Academy. Earlier this season, he returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown.

This time, Turner scored on a fumble recovery he caused. Turner violently undercut a receiver who just made a catch, knocking the ball loose. Turner picked it up and ran 80-some yards for the touchdown. Watch here for yourself.

In Turner’s words, crib him.

Chart

2019 4-star running back Zach Charbonnet did not suit up again this week, but Oaks Christian still didn’t need him, posting another shutout win.

There were two weird scores this week. 2019 4-star defensive end David Ojabo’s Blair Academy won 2-0, which is the default score as a result of a forfeit.

The second was a 5-3 loss suffered by 2019 4-star defensive end Mike Morris and American Heritage Delray. That game must have been ugly.

(Click to enlarge the chart below)