247Sports: YAA Saturday Report, a Loud Day in the Trenches

Talent was all over the field today in North Carolina as we attended the You Are Athlete Combine in Charlotte. Some of the loudest action was taking place in the trenches where some big guys caught our eye.

Full article on 247Sports.com

Reed Paolucci is one player who we are familiar with already. He is a 2027 interior offensive lineman from Blythewood High School, S.C., who holds multiple power four offers as a junior. Paolucci is 6-foot-3, 280-pounds and someone we project is going to be a center at the college level. He holds it down when he is in pass protection in the middle of the line, making all the right steps. You will not see him making a mistake many centers do when they take a step back on the pass rush. His polish showed because he did not make many mistakes today against quality competition. Our own judgement is Paolucci is a division one prospect who is going to play on the power four level.

Alex Johnson is defender from Catawba Ridge High School also in South Carolina who was impressive today. Johnson is a 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge player who is quick off his release. Johnson has the length that college coaches are interested in. We did notice he needs some work on getting his hands active and to get them moving faster when he releases. Johnson does show some good bend around the edge. You are also going to see him out there constantly wanting to learn and compete with the best of the best players. 

Kareem El-Boulaki was a mean young man out there today. He is not the kind of blocker many defensive linemen wanted to go up against on this stage. El-Boulaki plays for Broughton High School (NC) and is a 2027 prospect. His 6-foot-3, 300-pound body is solid and so is his will to get the job done, which makes him very hard to get around. He was holding it down at the tackle position today. However, he has the body build of an interior offensive lineman and knows how to extend his hands to keep players from getting all up in his business. This kid is fierce. We really want our guys in the trenches to be nasty the way that he was out there today. His confidence shows that he would do a really good job in short space. We think that he is a kid who needs to be talked about more.

Micah Crenshaw is another player who really stood out on the line of scrimmage. Crenshaw is also in the class of 2027, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound interior offensive lineman from Metrolina Christian Academy (NC) who was unbeaten today. He wanted all of the competition that he could face and we did not see any fear while he was facing the best defensive linemen. He is another kid who really has a chance of seeing his stock rise. Crenshaw is a division one prospect with a lot of potential. 

Full Article: 247sports.com/college/mississippi-state/article/2026-college-football-recruiting-mississippi-state-football-263939954/