Brandon Chatmon, LB Imhotep Charter HS

By, Matt Alkire

 

 

Three years ago at the New Level Athletics 7-on-7 passing tournament tryouts there were over 300 players in Conshohocken, Pa., jockeying for a spot on the prestigious Pennsylvania team. Players from all over Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, Berks, Bucks and Lancaster Counties were in attendance. While I was watching some of the nation’s best perform, young players were standing out to me above the 300. Players like David Williams, Justin Moody and Brandon Chatmon were just babies then, but they made their presence known.

 

By the end of the tryout, I had identified those three as my top players for the future of Philadelphia Football. Williams has since picked up over 40 offers and will make his commitment soon and Moody will also make an FBS selection. Chatmon was electric that day wearing the number 187 on his back. It was quite fitting given that any quarterback that threw near the linebacker had his passes picked off or knocked away. Chatmon showed great coverage awareness, nimble feet and great hands for a defensive player. Fast forward to 2012 however and his recruiting picture is not the same as the other two athletes.

 

Brandon Chatmon had a fine tenure at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., under legendary coach Dan Algeo and continued his ways in the coverage game. When scouting Florida commitment Skyler Mornhinweg at quarterback, I watched Chatmon read and knock down five of the passes he threw in that game alone, only dropping some of them due to wet weather. You see, Chatmon has always been a complete linebacker however at O’Hara he was heralded for his coverage ability. He was new to the middle linebacker position and learning his keys for Coach Dan Algeo against the run having been used to playing on the outside.

 

During his junior season Chatmon was offered a scholarship by the University of Pittsburgh under Head Coach Todd Graham. His stock was rising quickly and the 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker was soon to be on the same path as Justin Moody. However his grades suddenly dropped and Todd Graham left Pittsburgh. Shortly after leaving O’Hara, Chatmon also found out he would not retain his offer to Pitt under the new regime there.

Between the changing of schools, the loss of an offer and a drop in grades – Chatmon was flung from the recruiting slalom that everyone else at his level was riding.

 

 

After careful consideration, his father Kalvin chose to send him to Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia, a school known for discipline, academic excellence and honor.

“Academically at O’Hara I let an offer from Pittsburgh go to my mind to be completely honest,” Chatmon stated. “When I saw my grades it was shocking. It just humbled me and put me back in my place. Looking back I was walking around with this mindset that I had it made and I know now that I was being naïve. Then colleges would come by and want to offer, but flat out told me they couldn’t because of my grades. I put myself in a bad situation.”

 

“The move to Imhotep didn’t really change a lot because my mindset had already gotten put in the right place, but there are a lot of players that are like-minded there and care about their future,” Chatmon said. “My first quarter at Imhotep I was immediately putting up Bs across the boards and the coaches were still on me to get better. We have mandatory study halls two hours before everyone else in school has to be there every single day and the coaches are on me every single day. Don’t get me wrong, Coach (Dan) Algeo did the same thing, but I just wasn’t listening back then. I’ve just grown to understand and appreciate the importance of things now.”

 

For the record, Chatmon now carries a 2.7 core GPA and his SAT score has risen to a 980. By the end of the school year his core GPA could certainly rise above a 3.0 again as it once was.

This was never a matter of a young man not being able to do the work, but one that simply let some early success in recruiting go to his head. Unfortunately, such is the case with schools offering sophomores.

Chatmon did switch from middle linebacker to strong side linebacker at Imhotep as well this season and his game certainly improved. He improved on many things this season including tackling through the ball and reading keys before the play, becoming a more instinctual player off the edge. This was most evident when teams started to quickly run the ball away from him after the first few games of the season for Imhotep.

 

The Panthers had an excellent season as a team, coasting through the Philadelphia Public League like a hot knife through butter. With Chatmon as a team captain, the defense gave up only 43 points in ten regular season games. Most of those games were blowouts, so many of those points were put up against backups as well.

 

“I felt so much better playing on the outside because that’s where I’ve always been taught to play and where my skill set fits,” Chatmon explained. “It gave me the ability to play within the system, read the play and do things like intercept passes, break up passes and play like a safety like everyone always says I play like (writer’s note: that is his reputation). The other thing I did was played the run much better this year and was able to make some plays hitting people. My defensive line was great and I give them a ton of credit. I worked out with Tra Thomas (Philadelphia Eagles) in the offseason a lot and that helped me a lot with my read and react skills as a senior.”

 

Chatmon did make drastic improvement this season and when he gets into college with a solid linebackers’ coach, he really has a ton of upside.

 

As for Imhotep, they made a State Championship run this season which was halted just this past weekend by the Wyomissing Spartans in the Final Four. The season ended at 14-1 for the Panthers, but it was still a great accomplishment as Philadelphia Public League schools do not represent the city in the state playoffs often.

 

“It was just a really exciting season and I’ve never played for anything as big as a state championship in my entire life. We got to go out all over the state and play under lights in big atmospheres and I loved it. I’ll never forget this year for my entire life. Just going out every week with guys like Dave Williams and the rest of my guys on this team was the best time of my life. If I could go back in time and redo training camp and the whole thing over and over again I would. It was awesome.”

 

 

Next up is recruiting for Chatmon where he’s getting interest from both FBS and I-AA schools at this point. It’s a bit of a mix for the young man and this time around he’s more focused on getting it right.

“Right now I’m just looking for a home basically,” Chatmon offered. “Somewhere that I can thrive academically and also form a new family with. I want to find a school where I know I fit in with the people there as well as they do with me. A lot of kids go out looking for that winning football program or top-shelf school and I know wherever I go I’m going to help that team win, so that’s secondary right now. I just want to find a new home. Then I’ll focus on winning football games.”

 

This time around Chatmon will be looking around in the right state of mind and what once could have been Pittsburgh’s gain will be another school’s.

 

As a senior, Chatmon had 73 tackles, 10 pass breakups, six sacks, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown.

 

 

 

Running Up Hill: Tim Foster, LB Pleasant Grove HS Class of 2015

 

 

By, Matt Alkire 

When you first flip on film of Pleasant Grove High School’s defense, Tim Foster is an easy player to spot. The general response from anyone who is familiar with the 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore linebacker would tell me that I’m writing the obvious, but in fact I’m not. As talented and physically imposing as Foster is, Pleasant Grove doesn’t make him easy to find.

Their defensive scheme consists of plenty of different looks. First you’ll see the young player lining up as a MIKE in their 4-3, however he’ll move to SAM as well and rush off the edge. They will also stem a linebacker into the nines for a 5-2 look where Foster is impressive at both MIKE and SAM. When they switch to a 3-4, you can him at five-tech taking up double teams. He’s also a force to be reckoned with off the edge in the four-man front. In other words, finding Foster can be tricky and when you combine that versatility with his talent you have the ingredients to drive the opposing coordinator nightmares.

 

For the Pleasant Grove, Ga., native it has become normal however.

“It was difficult at first to know all of my responsibilities in each scheme, but because I started my freshman year I caught onto everything quickly with the help of some senior leaders on the team,” Foster said. “I really enjoy playing SAM and defensive end the most. Playing at SAM you just get more contact and getting to make plays and at end I thrive with that competition. You go up against those big, talented big boys and I love that. That’s where I feel you’ll see the best come out in me. For example, when I went against the best offensive tackle in the state I had three sacks, two forced turnovers and three pass deflections. I just get up for those games.”

“When you get into those games you have to know what the task ahead of you is and attack it, but at the same time you have to realize it’s a team sport. The task is to take care of your house and have the rest of your team do the same.”

 

As a senior, Foster had 65 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four interceptions, eight forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He was named first-team All-County for his exemplary play for the Spartans. 

Pleasant Grove High School went 7-3 this season and lost in the first round of the playoffs, but Foster certainly didn’t go down without a fight. Going up against Pinson Valley who is a loaded squad the versatile linebacker had an outstanding game.

“They had a wide receiver that is going to Auburn (Earnest Robinson), a linebacker Zach Cunningham (Alabama offer, among many others) and a running back in Nick Gibson who is talking to Nick Saban (and has a Mississippi State offer as a junior),” Foster explained. “I actually made Gibson fumble in the 4^th quarter with five minutes to go which gave us momentum, but our offense couldn’t score. They came back on the field and we stopped them dead at the goal line again. When our offense got the ball back they couldn’t score again. Finally, Earnest got in the end zone and we lost by six points. I ended up with five tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles in the game.”

 

This offseason, Foster plans on really improving certain parts of his game more than others.

“I’ll be working on my speed, opening up my hips and doing a lot of lifting obviously,” Foster stated. “My coach told me I really don’t need to get bigger, but it’s about core strength and becoming a more athletic player over the offseason. I just get out of the house every day and work out on my own too, making sure I get fruit and water in me to stay healthy.”

Frankly after watching his sophomore highlights, I feel Foster is definitely on the right track here.

 

View Tim Foster's Sophomore Highlight Film

Right now his pad level and overall body control – starting at the hips - are areas where he has the most room for improvement. At the linebacker position you have to play low and Foster does tend to come high, therefore on all plays he doesn’t change direction very fluidly. However, when he does come into the backfield with a low center of gravity, he will flip and dip to make really nice plays. Simply put, it’s not a matter of him not having the athleticism but simply repetition and muscle memory. He needs to keep low and work on his explosion.

Foster may not be an extremely instinctual linebacker at this point, but not all linebackers are. He does read and react very well which is simply different. I see sound tackling for the most part, very physical play against linemen and the ability to shed and move on the ball in one motion. Foster is aware of what is happening around him. He is very stout. The added dimension he brings as a pass rusher is also impressive.

What remains to be seen is how much he continues to grow. He could end up as a 3-4 outside ‘backer or defensive end.

The rest of his family wasn’t bad in the area of sport either.

His father, Tim Foster Sr., played baseball for Jackson State University in college. His uncle was also a running back for Tennessee State and spent time in training camp for the Cleveland Browns. He hopes to follow in his uncle’s footsteps for football while his father wants him in baseball.

 

Foster is very set on what he wants to do.

“I’ve always loved football so much more. The first time I held a football it was just special. I had two older brothers that were great at the sport and they worked with me and teach me how to run routes starting at four years old. We were just out in the back yard when I was a little kid, getting taught how to run my post routes the right way. My brothers played wide receiver and running back, but they didn’t want to play in college and pursued higher education exclusively.”

Both his mother and his father have given him sage advice.

“My father has always taught me that football is always going to be there, but it’s the impact that you leave on your life and on football,” Foster told us. “On the other hand, every day before I leave the house my mother tells me that we all make choices but at the end, our choices make us.”

Foster and his older brother have a bit of a training ritual that they do on a regular basis. It was one that seemed quite fitting for what his mother tells him every day.

“My brother takes me to my grandmother’s house where there is a huge hill I run up all the time,” Foster offered. “This thing is huge. I mean it takes literally two or three minutes to get to the top sprinting at full speed, so when you get there, you’re just done. The one thing is, when you get to the top you’re overlooking the entire city and look back and see the bottom of that hill. It’s sweet. You’re on top of the world for a minute and you made it, just like life.”

So, every day Tim Foster follows his mother’s advice making the choice to run up those hills, both literally and figuratively.

 

 

 

Stronger than Yesterday, Weaker than Tomorrow: Dillon Tighe, WR Arundel High School

 

By, Matt Alkire

Like many receivers, Arundel High School product Dillon Tighe has learned that it’s about more than just speed and having good hands. To even continue pushing the envelope and being amongst the best at your position you must not only sacrifice your body, but play and practice with your soul on the line as well. At Arundel, being a starting receiver has become more of a right of passage over the years than a simple changing of the guards as it would be at other schools.

This is most likely why the 6-foot, 185-pounder has lived by the phrase “stronger than yesterday, weaker than tomorrow” throughout his career. Tighe spoke about what those words have meant to him while playing for the Wildcats. 

“It’s a saying me and my buddies Romeo Harris that graduated last year had together,” Tighe said. “Essentially, we understood every day is another chance is to get better than the day before, but at the same time if we didn’t keep working harder the next day we were accomplishing nothing. That’s really the way I’ve approached my career as I’ve always felt like an underrated player that gets overlooked. In a way, I’m always proving to myself and others that I can play at a very high level.”

Tighe is from a high school that demands elite performance. The Wildcat offense pretty much re-writes the record books at will when it comes to passing in the State of Maryland. Alec Lemon – who will enter the NFL Draft this year – still holds the state receiving yards record. R.J. Harris attended New Hampshire and holds the state record in receiving touchdowns. Former Arundel quarterback Billy Cosh (Houston) held the state passing yardage record until it was broken just this year.

 

So playing with a chip on your shoulder isn’t taboo or frowned upon, it’s necessary and encouraged. Arundel is a team of aerial assassins who leave teams decimated in their wake. Tighe is just another outstanding receiver in their stable of college bound athletes.

“When you walk onto the team after players like R.J. and Alec you do have a ton of pressure to put up big numbers, but at the same time we’re all so different in our own way and it is about team success in the end,” Tighe stated. “We definitely put our receivers in positions to be very successful and exploit defenses. I’ve always been the guy to work the slot and outside and really find holes to move the chains and make plays with the ball in my hands. My teammate Tyler Young is our speed guy on the outside that we go to for big plays. Everyone has their job in our offense and that’s what it’s all about.”

When you watch Tighe in action, you can see a lot of positives in his game. Perhaps the most impressive thing about him is his hands. Tighe catches the ball away from his body, can handle high velocity passes and also corrals passes one-handed when needed. Arundel uses him mostly in the slot to create mismatches and he is a complete mismatch for opponents both in man and zone coverage. He does a very good job of reading a zone and hitting soft spots and sells his routes well, breaking off his stem late and forcing corners to flip their hips so he can simply whisk by them. When he gets the ball in his hands he also does a nice job of making people miss in the open field, however because he is such a good route runner right now he doesn’t need to do that too much at this point.

 

View Dillon Tighe's Senior Highlight Film - Click Here

 

As for things to work on, Tighe could use a college training regiment. He needs to add muscle mass – especially in the lower body. That will help him become more explosive off the line and increase his top end speed. He could play inside or outside at the next level, but either way I’d like to see him become a more sudden athlete in every way.

After watching Ryan Burbrink work the slot at DeMatha High School years ago and go to Bowling Green where he’s been successful, Tighe is different, but offers the same type of weapon. 

Upper Hand asked him what he thinks his best qualities are as a receiver. At the same time, we looked for him to be critical of himself in what he could work on.

“I think I’m a very good route-runner that has great hands,” Tighe offered. “I’ve worked on my route-running for years and also take pride in my football intelligence in terms of reading what’s out there in coverage and reading where I might find a soft spot to sit. Another thing I do think I do a pretty good job at is making people miss with the ball in my hands after the catch with my ability to change directions quickly.”

“One thing I could definitely work on is trying not to make too much out of a play when I get the ball in my hands in the open field. I have a tendency to try and do too much at times. Getting in and out of my routes quicker and off the line with more burst is something that I want to work on as well. I’ve never been in a position to have to go up and get the ball before, so I definitely need to work on jump ball situations as well too.”

Frankly, not far off of our assessment as far as this young man is concerned.

 

 

Tighe has had a number of schools check in on him so far. He camped at Massachusetts, Penn State, Maryland and James Madison – among others. He has been receiving a good amount of attention from schools at the Division I-A and I-AA levels with quite a bit coming from the Patriot League because of his outstanding grades (4.19 core GPA, 1450 SAT).

He’s pretty specific in what he’s looking to do when he gets to school.

“While I’m undecided, I guess I am decided as I’d like to go into either Kinesiology or Political Science,” Tighe explained. “If I went the path of Kinesiology I’d like to be a trainer at the college level and with Political Science it leaves me so many paths in terms of both public and private sector work that I could do. Government really fascinates me.”

“In terms of the type of school, I’m not particular but I guess it would be nice to be closer to home. I’m not picky about weather or smaller things like that. It’s just about finding an atmosphere that feels like a second family to me really. I look for the type of coaches that can be somewhat of a father figure and that will talk to you and care about things other than just football.”

The prolific pass catcher has a pretty simple wish list actually – he broke it down for us.

“I just want an opportunity to prove myself at the next level. It really goes back to being felt a little overlooked, so I have that drive to get to the college level and keep driving every day to get better and prove myself every day by helping my future teammates.”

As a senior, Tighe hauled in 51 passes for 680 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also averaged 37.5 yards per kick return.

Mayhem Off The Edge: Tristin Freeman, LB Valley Forge Military Academy

By, Matt Alkire

Tristin Freeman was always a player that stood out in high school, but he absolutely exploded onto the scene on the biggest stage during his junior season – the state championship game. West Catholic was playing South Fayette led by highly touted signal caller and future Division I player Christian Brumbaugh and Freeman played a game for the ages.

Ask anyone who watched the 2010 Class AA showdown between West Catholic and South Fayette and simply mention No. 49 on the blue squad. Words like relentless, terrorizing and unstoppable will be thrown around. Freeman may as well have been a Greek God for those four quarters. He absolutely abused Fayette’s line, he pancaked their backs in pass protection and he sent Brumbaugh running for his life and forced so many errant throws that you started to feel sorry for the boys in green and white. It was truly one of the most dominant one man performances you’ll ever see in a high school game and while the Burrs rolled 50-14 to a championship, Freeman burnt his name into every recruiter’s brain that got that film or was at the game.

The hybrid pass rusher also brought home West’s first state championship ever.

 

“Words can’t even describe it because ever since I touched a football that was one of my goals,” Freeman mentioned. “I remember sitting there at the end of the game being on my knees crying I was so happy. It was just surreal. One of the biggest reasons I went to West was because I saw them play in the 2008 State Championship game and to get done what they fell a little bit short of felt great.”

Freeman ended his prolific high school career with offers from Army, Navy, Buffalo and VMI. His plan was to sign a letter of intent with the Naval Academy in February of 2011, but late in the game he found that his grades were not high enough. The 3.1 GPA he had been proud of only translated to a 2.5 core and his SAT was too low.

At that point, he scrambled to find a prep school.

“I didn’t know that I needed a 900 on my SAT to get into Navy until too late coming up to signing day, so I was unable to attend the academy,” Freeman said. “I obviously started to panic at that point and was just looking for a place to go so I could get my scores up because I realized that was the most important part of the process at that point.”

Freeman ended up at Valley Forge Military Academy, a program that has undergone many coaching changes over the past three years.

“When they approached me they had hired a coach who quit two weeks later, then hired another who just didn’t show up and finally the defensive coordinator Josh Sands was given the position,” Freeman explained. “I didn’t really worry about it because I had a school to go to and the coach isn’t why you go there, but obviously building a relationship with someone I didn’t know was new.”

Playing in a new scheme was also different. West Catholic mostly ran a 3-4 with Freeman mostly playing inside linebacker or a hybrid outside ‘backer/defensive end. In their 4-3 set, he always had his hand on the ground. At Valley Forge, the Trojans ran a complicated 3-5-3. Then toward the middle of the season, they switched to a 4-3 with stand-up defensive ends, showing more of a 2-5 look.

 

This is where Freeman really had to adjust, study the playbook and remain effective. He did just that, finishing his season with 85 tackles, seven sacks, eight pass deflections and a fumble recovery on defense while playing outside linebacker.

“It was definitely challenging at first, but I picked up on the concepts quicker than most, so I was able to help my teammates pretty quickly and help the unit get up to speed,” Freeman stated. “The rush linebacker position really put me back where I was in high school which is very natural for me, so I thought I fit best there.”

 

View Tristin Freeman's Highlight Film

That is one thing about Freeman, while his 5-foot-11, 235-pound frame scare some coaches away period, he is a deceivingly good pass rusher off the edge, especially in a 3-4 as an outside linebacker. He also keeps a very low base, levels off well and is a terror off the tackles. As ridiculous as it is to compare a high school player to an NFL talent, his skill set isn’t far off from that of Elvis Dumerville. We’re obviously not comparing the two players, but Freeman certainly could put on an extra 20 pounds of muscle and that has been the first name that has come to mind – especially from having scouted him from his days playing for Louisville alongside Amobi Okoye and Montavious Stanley. He is short, but could definitely put his hand on the ground at the collegiate level and play defensive end for teams looking for a fierce pass rusher.

The North Philadelphia native also got a chance on offense at running back this season where he put up an impressive 520 yards and four touchdowns on only 95 carries, showing some extra athleticism. While he won’t play offense in college, putting up that production at a pretty elite prep school level is impressive in itself.

Freeman did talk about what he is looking for in a school this time around. He also now has an SAT score of 860 and is awaiting results of his third attempt which he thinks will improve on that.

“I want to go somewhere that I know I fit into, get a very solid education and that has great coaches,” Freeman offered. “Obviously I want to be put in a position to be very successful and help my team win games immediately as well.”

“Sports Management is a major I’d like to pursue, so an institution that offers that is definitely what I’m looking for,” Freeman added. “I have so many things that intrigue me for life after college and they just all come back to the game I love, so if that means being a scout, an agent or coming back to coaching that’s fine.”

Over his final two seasons for the West Catholic Burrs, Freeman registered 145 tackles, 60 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, 13 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and intercepted two passes. He also returned one of the fumbles for a touchdown.