Spring Practice Tour: Lakeland Dreadnaughts
LAKELAND, Fla. - With spring practice kicking off in Florida and the Deep South, Inside The Knights will be on the move once again. The first stop is in Polk County.
Tradition, pride, belief, and a lot of talent, that’s Lakeland Football. The Dreadnaughts, led by legendary Head Coach Bill Castle, will be a formidable foe once again in 2022.
First Look
Without digging into the names of the prospects, there’s a lot of long and lean athletes at wide receiver and in the secondary. As for up front, several players over 260-pounds can really move. It’s an impressive overall looking group for the Dreadnaughts.
Next Level
He’s that dude. Bursting onto the scene in 2021, wide receiver Tyler Williams ran by defenders all season long. Now a 6’4”, 195-pound prospect, Williams has over 40 offers and continues to compete like his job depends on it. Few, if any, top-notch prospects in Florida are capable of handling their business on the gridiron the way that Williams does. This is the young man that takes each rep seriously on the practice field and is taking two math classes because he wants to. That’s rare.
It’s also a predominant reason that he’s going to continue to improve and has a great shot to one day play in the National Football League. Think maturity. That matters. It also shows in the following video with his concentration for this one-handed snag:
Each rep, each snap, this young man gets after it. Relatively quiet and shy, Williams does his talking with his feet and hands, and then gives the football to the referee in the end zone. That's the bottom line for the game of football no matter how much or how little one talks trash. Hats off to the young Mr. Williams.
Position to Watch
Defensive line. No question. There’s size, athleticism, and some nastiness with the temperament of this group. That’s par for the course to play in the trenches, and some of these young men really get after it.
Larry Jones (DE), Guerlens Milfort (DE/DT), and Chevaughn Hibbert (DT) are three future college football players that will place their hands in the dirt for the Dreadnaughts. Each of them has a chance to change games this fall, too.
Few teams will be able to handle the mass of Milfort and Hibbert, and that does not even take into account that Jones is coming off the edge. Good luck. There’s still more.
The player that may possess the most upside still might be Lavaughn Brown, the rising junior is the prototypical size to play weak side defensive end at 6’4” and 215-pounds. Let’s see if the light comes on for him because he’s been blessed with the athleticism and length that cannot be taught. There are still other defensive lineman that can play, too. Overall, the defensive line should be a strength for Lakeland. Now, onto the skill players.
Skill Talent
How many do you want? Multiple running backs will be college football players like rising junior D’Marius Rucker among others. Rucker is currently a little banged up but Lakeland is certainly very talented at running back nonetheless. Inside or outside running, Lakeland has a really good shot to be very good. At quarterback, there’s a new guy to watch with Zach Pleuss from Ridge Community.
Under the watchful eye of Coach Castle, Pleuss lets it fly.
He has a solid command of his mechanics and he possesses the arm strength to throw the deep out. Hooking up with Williams, plus Daidren Zipperer and other speedy skill players makes Pleuss even more impactful.
Daidren Zipperer will see a lot of one-on-one coverage this fall with Williams on the other side of the formation. That's a chance for Zipperer to really do damage.
Up Front
The offensive line is far more difficult to grade, especially during the first day of spring, but it’s still quite large and one that has the ability to create holes for future college skill players. Check back on this group in the fall after they have seen enough reps to know and understand one another.
Watch Out For…
If you have not heard the name Michael Singleton, you probably are not alone. He’s a transplant at cornerback after playing quarterback last season. Ironically, that’s how Williams began his Lakeland career before suddenly moving to receiver last fall.
Singleton is very tall and long like Williams. From first glance, 6’2” to 6’3” and playing cornerback, there’s some potential with this young man. He had a really nice pass breakup where he used his speed to come underneath the receiver during an over route.
Height and length are a net-positive for cornerback Michael Singleton.
Overall Impressions
Despite it being day one of the Florida high school football spring season, the Dreadnaughts did not disappoint. They were really really fired up to get out on the hot field turf inside
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