Board and watching HUDL’s, thought i would share how I like to watch them (insert joke here) and what I look for. Gotten these pointers ranging from my days of film watching at O’Dea, up to discussing with the homie, @Dennis_BDTW. Here goes...

Assume before watching the hudl that the player is a 5 star and work from there. Make the player meet a high threshold. This one was key for me from Dennis. Very eye opening and helps to get out bias of wanting to like a player because your team is recruiting him. 1/2

Look for rare traits! Size + movement for size. Speed. Power. Physicality. If something jumps out at you that is what you want to see. If you are questioning, go watch the number one player at the position and be honest about the player you are watching in comparison 2/2

NEVER watch the competition, they have nothing to do with the player. All HS football sucks to a degree. Don’t worry about competition watch the PLAYER only. The jump from bad HS football to great HS football is TINY compared to great HS football to the P5 level.

For all players:

Look for change of direction moments and what their feet do at that moment. If it’s multiple long steps to change direction, no bueno. If they chop their feet and move out quickly, yay!

For running backs:

Look for body positioning when being hit or in instances when they should be hit. If guys just kinda awkwardly miss or roll off the ball carrier you like to see that. 1/2

Subtle movements are big too, HS film for running backs can be tough because even average HS backs can look good on film. Subtle movements that leave defenders broken are a big one for me.

Wide receivers:

One of the weird things I look at is off the snap of the ball, when not jammed, how far out are they getting in the first ten yards compared to the other WRs on the field. Gives you a good gauge of their initial burst. 1/2

How do they do against defenders with angles? Watch Rome Odunze hudl as an example of what you like to see.

Goes back to the point of all players I mentioned earlier, but what do their feet do at breaking points in routes? (See earlier tweet)

Offensive lineman:

One of the hardest to figure, even at the highest levels of the NFL draft. I think many scouting services miss on OL because they forget the simplicity of looking for rarity. As @Dennis_BDTW told me, look for errors in physics when they hit ppl or are hit 1/3

This is especially helpful for OL that are not at size yet. Tells you they have some rare, weird power. Look for more errors in physics with how well they move (remember these are MASSIVE teenagers, they shouldn’t move easily). 2/3

I’m sure you’ve heard this one, but how flexible are they in their stance. I don’t think it’s that crucial but I look for it still. Do their heels touch the ground when they are in a three point stance? Again, just weird things I look at.

TE:

Combination of WR/OL thoughts. I tend to really be enamored by stride length for some reason. Probably a bias because I like 6’5+ TE’s. I think because of their needed size, looking for missed angles with those long strides is helpful in projecting. (Watch Mark Redman hudl)

QB:

Very difficult because we don’t have access to their thought processes. Natural ability is obviously easy to see with QBs, but so much is beyond that. One thing I love is seeing multiple “touches” on throws. 1/2

If a QB is always throwing a fastball, or his long throws are on a line, I’m not a fan of that. If he is showing touch on a 25 yard seam route and a 55 yard go route, you have Sam Huard. Again, so much is beyond the field though.

DEFENSIVE LINE:

For me, the easiest position to critique. Anything that is rare, this is one where the “assume the player is a 5 star” is helpful. For edge, do they bend when rounding the edge, how natural does it look? If it looks like they just ran a circle easily, YAY! 1/3

This might be more helpful on combine tight shots, but their outside leg when they get to the point of rounding the OL, how tight of an angle is it to the ground? Ankle flexibility at that point is key, and would likely be natural at that stage of development. 2/3

Interior DL... Do not want to see them giving ground on blocks. How big is their base () when in their stance? Errors in physics (Like OL) do players randomly go flying when they get hands on someone or someone hits them. I LOVE DL THAT PLAY RB.

Linebacker (safety, too, with how they play now):

Closing speed in last 2-3 steps to the ball carrier. You want it to seem like you blinked and then the ball carrier was hit. Tracking, are they controlled while moving to the runner, no false steps. This shows good instincts. 1/3

At the point of contact does the runner go down easy? I like to imagine it is like a lion hitting a gazelle, just engulfing the ball carrier. 2/3

Cutting through traffic to make TFL or short gain tackle, this should seem like you need to rewind to see what happened because it was so quick (go watch Asa Turner’s hudl for examples). You should question how they got through the traffic untouched. Like a sniper got the runner.

Corner:

How controlled are they in breaks with the receiver. If their feet are all over the place (see initial comment in thread) it’s not good. If they just seamlessly move with the WR, YAY! It should seem like their hips are just the lever between their legs and torso. 1/2

Corner is one spot where I have trouble at times. Can’t figure out why. One more thing is how quick do they go forward out of a retreat. If they get that foot down, plant, and go right into a sprint forward, that is what you want to see. If it’s jumpy, not good.

I am no expert at this stuff, but I love it. Just thought I would share with you all during my boredom. FIN.