How to Get Ranked in Hawaii High School football
KJ Macatiag comes to Scout Trout Elite from Kahuku High School in the historically tough football state of Hawaii. KJ initially graded out a 3-Star prospect in our S.T.E.P ratings grading system and has since jumped to a 4-star prospect, as I was able to locate recent combine footage and then nominated KJ Macatiag, as a Scout Trout All-American. His score was able to jump from a (6.871) 3-Star ATH, to a 7.171 and a 4-Star ATH. His intangibles, academics and combine athletics were graded out highly, as he possesses all of the natural ability of an elite defensive back at the college football level. We placed KJ in the Athlete category because of his footage and ability as an offensive football player, as he shows a diverse skill set on both sides of the football. KJ maintains a high level of character, faith and leadership on and off the field, and we our extremely pleased to add him to our Elite All-American roster. Macatiag shows a very keen style of running and is able to use his outstanding agility to slide past defenders, while maintaining a downhill style of running that moves the chains. KJ shows an uncanny ability in finding the cut-back lane and shows great overall football instincts in the way he progresses rapidly downfield, using his blocks precisely to maneuver through immense traffic. KJ loves playing in all three phases of the game and excels on special teams, as he is always willing to make the big block to spring his brother for a big play and/or fly downfield to make a tackle on kickoff. KJ shows more of his agility and acceleration on film at the University of Hawaii, where you can witness at 1:38, a magical Barry Sanders like spin move, after showing outstanding initial acceleration once again through the hole. KJ is able to also show off his power on this play, as he is able to break through tackles, while bedazzling us with his superior athletics. Around 2:48, you can witness KJ and some of his vertical ability, as he keenly is able to hurdle a defender, using extremely quick reflexes and knowledge of when is it applicable to leave the ground to make a non-existent running lane appear. I went and found stats from last year, as KJ was able to intercept three passes and accumulate around twenty tackles, while being able to move the ball with his outstanding overall athletics and determination for the Kahuku Red Raiders. KJ's life and athletics are all heading in the right direction, as he is quoted below as a leader in his community. KJ will gain "recruiting stock" points and his "Media Points" will rise even more, as we S.T.E.P our games up going into the 2018/2019 seasons. I also believe KJ will improve in all aspects of his game and exhibits a brilliant upside that needs to be displayed heavily at the collegiate level.
I am active in my LDS church youth service projects, aimed to assisting community members. It takes a village to raise a child and this is how I pay back my respects to the Elders in my community.
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OFFICIAL TOP 250 S.T.E.P Ratings will be released very soon!How to Get Stars in High School FootballThis article does not pertain to every college football coach or program in America. It is just a reflection and opinion from the best college football analyst in America. I have been coaching and examining the recruiting/scouting system for a little over 2 years now, and I have been asked thousands of times, "how do I get stars or become a ranked player?" I normally gave a cliché coaching response in an effort to boost the athlete's or parent's morale, as they've watched many players receive offers. I made the effort of figuring it all out and decided to rank players along the way using my own methods. First, let's dive into what it takes to be a 5-star recruit in today's society.
All findings were discovered through intensive online, in person coaching of top and "sleeper recruits" and opinions formed by collegiate coaches (current and former). Kyle Benedict 5'10,165LB WR Class of 2019 CArrollwood Day HS (fl) - NATION'S toP RATED rECEIVER5/20/2018 
Kyle Benedict is a flat-out brilliant receiver who was able to garner so many accolades this past season that he scored a 10 out of 10 in our S.T.E.P ratings category. Kyle has accepted his Scout Trout All-American nomination and we are extremely elated to bring this extremely diverse talent to our already star-studded roster for Class of 2019. Kyle has moved up our player ratings at the Wide Receiver position to the #1 overall prospect heading into June and deserves the top spot, as his body of work is 2nd to none in all of America. Below is a list of all of his accomplishments, stats and honors that he received last season, which have warranted his 10-point rating in our "STATS" category.
As you can see, Kyle had one of the most prolific seasons ever at the 2A level in the state of Florida, and his exhilarating play speaks volumes to his talents as a top college football recruit. Kyle was able to achieve a 15.4 S.T.E.P rating in his combine activities, as his overall athletics resemble that of a big time NFL slot receiver, which can be seen below.
These ratings are produced by the best performer in each position and as you can see, Kyle is very consistent across the board and was able to achieve a 10 out of 10 in Academics. This really helped Kyle create S.T.E.P-eration as he has an astounding 4.47 GPA and is a member of the National Honors Society. Combine that with his 1270 SAT and you have a student-athlete who could possibly teach a class on his own at your university. Kyle has mastered both academia and his performance on this gridiron, as he was able to amass 983 yards receiving on 50 receptions. This whopping 19.66 yards per catch is among the best I have seen in the country for a highly targeted receiver, and in addition to his 603 returning yards, you can begin to justify his 8.39 S.T.E.P rating. Kyle was named to every all-star team under the sun in the great football state of Florida, and we our thrilled he will be competing at our 2019 Scout Trout All-American Bowl.
If you have not seen Kyle's film and are speculating why a 5'10, 165LB has graded out so highly, then you're not really paying attention to what it takes to succeed at an extremely high level in modern day football and have no right commenting on the subject. That being said, Kyle is one of the fastest young men we have seen off of the line of scrimmage and uses his hands very well to disengage from press coverage. Being able to create separation is what playing receiver and the recruiting process--along with mostly anything that is worthwhile--is all about and this young man exceeds expectations day in and day out. The first play of Kyle's highlights, he shows off his vertical presence, as he is able to adjust to the football perfectly while in the air, while leaping over the top of the inferior defender to make a brilliant snag. The balance Benedict is able to show after making the catch is magnificent, as he shows extraordinary "Body Control", throughout his entire film. Benedict can be seen on the next play making a swift break to the inside on the slant route, only to find himself in what appears to be a place of confinement. Kyle shows he is unafraid to make the catches with defenders closing in and somehow is able to elude all three tacklers, while showing off more supreme agility and speed. In my opinion, the best play Kyle makes comes at 1:05 into his highlights, as he runs a perfect route and is able to make a very quick witted adjustment on the football to make another mind-boggling reception. At 1:30 into his top rated S.T.E.P receiver highlights, Kyle takes advantage of a sitting duck out at defensive back, as he is inching back before the ball is snapped to avoid the inevitable. Kyle is able to extremely keenly hit the sitting duck with one of the most beautiful "stop and go" routes, as he is a master at deceiving his defender in the direction he is heading. Kyle uses short and precise cuts, along with a beautiful change of speeds that are able to leave defenders wondering why they wanted to match up against this 5'10,165 LB receiver, who plays a lot like former All-Pro New York Jets legend Wayne Chrebet! The similarities are remarkable and like it says below, if Mr. Chrebet did not suffer so many concussions, he would have racked up record amounts of yardage during his career. The main thing both of these players possess, who are generations apart, is the mentality they bring to a football team or field. Both players are extremely cunning in their decision making and run crisp routes. Not to mention, they both perform remarkable acrobatic big plays downfield. Both receivers can line up at any of the receiving positions and come with enough tenacity and grit to handle their assignment when asked to block. Both receivers show a remarkable ability in their "set up" approach to the game and are able to shred defenders with tactful footwork that only the true legends of this game possess.
All-Pro Comparison
Team(s): New York Jets
Years played: 1995-2005 Career stats: 580 receptions, 7365 receiving yards, 41 TDs If not for his checkered concussion history, who knows how much more effective Wayne Chrebet could've been for the New York Jets? As is, Chrebet's story is the quintessential underdog tale. The former NCAA I-AA athlete went from a walk-on to a legitimate star in New York, serving as the Jets' first or second option for numerous seasons throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Along with that, Chrebet was solid on third down, with 379 of his 580 career receptions coming on third-down conversions. "It's hard to find fault in a guy who could move the chains like that." - (Gus Turner, Complex) 
 Nathan Roy had one of the best weeks of practice at our 2018 Scout Trout All-American Bowl week, as he came in on Monday and took full advantage of our college style playbook implementation practice sessions. Nathan Roy threw one of the best deep balls I have seen on tape and was nothing short of spectacular in our Class of 2018 All-American Bowl, as Class of 2019 players in West Virginia were allowed to participate in our event. Nathan Roy proved to me more in one half of football than any QB has thus far, in terms of mental toughness and preparedness as a Pro-Style college passing Quarterback. Both defensive units were stout on both sides of the football and Nathan Roy took shot after shot from the likes of Scout Trout's #1 rated overall JUCO prospect in Celik Curtis. With hell on earth unleashed directly in his face, Nathan was able to very collectively move the football down the field and very keenly utilized his H-BACK/TE, Chase Owen to gain large chunks of yards for Team South. As you will see in the video above, Nathan is a master at avoiding pressure in the pocket and knows how to step up and deliver the ball downfield, even in treacherous conditions. Roy shows a outstanding Football IQ and will be a All-American at whatever collegiate level he winds up playing at. West Virginia is a highly under recruited state, but it does always prove to have some diamonds in the rough from coal country that exemplify the word "TOUGH". Nathan is a gritty QB with stellar intangibles and he will continue to move up our ratings, as he is mentally prepared for the next level.
Watching Jonah Carnell perform on the football field is like watching a ball of electricity take the gridiron, as he has off-the-charts athletics for his class and demonstrates superior play in the talent-heavy state of California. Separated by just 8 minutes from one of the best running dual-threat Quarterbacks and athletes we have witnessed for the Class of 2021 in Branden Alvarez. Jonah and Branden will be be competing for national attention for the next three years. I have yet to witness two stand-out athletes at this age attending school in such a close proximity in over 20 years of being involved with football at a high level. Our initial rankings for the Class of 2021 are going to be separated using our S.T.E.P ratings system, as these initial rankings are not reflective of where these young man could be ranked come time for their class' initial S.T.E.P ratings. If I were one of these two outstanding athletes, I would certainly attempt to compete daily to create separation at a national level. Competition will breed greatness and start to mold you for the next level at a much quicker rate. For now, let's talk specifically about Jonah Carnell and what he brings to the table as an exceptional college football recruit.
On the very first play of Jonah's exhilarating Class of 2021 nationally ranked highlights, you can witness the translation of his verified 4.6 speed as he "STEMS" his defender inside, making a beautiful adjustment to the football. After completing the catch, he visibly is able to create separation and pull away from the pack for a touchdown. Carnell exhibits very keen awareness at the safety position and, as you will see on the very next play, likes to bring CARNAGE in a literal sense to his opponents. Carnell is seen reading the QB precisely and gets a beautiful jump on the "seam" route, as he is able to arrive with supreme authority and dislodge the football with tenacity. I am still trying to find what "key", Carnell was reading on his third play, as he obviously studied his opponents' tendencies remarkably and very visibly gets a huge jump on the WR screen pass. Jonah knifes about 15-20 yards from the free safety position and is able to completely kill the play in the backfield with his intense yet tactful tackling form. Back at the receiver position, Carnell is able to make adjustments to the deep ball in the air very well and is a downright scary runner to tackle for any defense with the explosive athletics that he possesses. Once again as a DB, Carnell can be seen making two more perfect reads in a row and demonstrates superior footwork, as he is able to put himself in perfect positioning to make the interceptions. Carnell flips his hips extremely well and executes yet another interception back for a touchdown, at the 1:20 mark. Carnell's catch at 1:52 should spark interest in the highest levels of college football, as once again he is able to track down an under-thrown football and make a remarkable catch, while exhibiting supreme body control. Jonah is a beast in the screen game and is also seen lining up as a ball carrier. At 2:38, while making a game-changing fumble recovery for Norco, he is able to abstract the football from the ball carrier with his great football instincts. The play at 3:11, that is called incomplete, looks to me as if it should have made onto ESPN's Top Plays, as he appears to be able to drag a toe or two behind him on his spectacular defended pass. Carnell uses great agility and precise "in and out" movements in his return game, as seen on his 75-yard punt return for a touchdown at 3:20 into his stellar tape. The rest of his highlights continually demonstrate Carnell's outstanding body control and play at wide receiver, along with his extraordinary play at the safety position. All in all, both of these prospects are among the nation's elite when it comes to sheer athletics, academics, football play and the early intangibles these two nationally ranked prospects display. It is going to be a fun three years watching them compete, and I am sure they will find a way to make each-other and their teammates better overall, as they both appear to possess numerable leadership qualities that will benefit not only their respective ball clubs, but their future Universities. Thank you, Mr. Carnell for enrolling Jonah in the Scout Trout Elite Pipeline program and may you both "Hold the Rope" for the Class of 2021 student-athletes in the historically talented football state of California.
ArchivesJune 2018  We take these ratings very seriously and do our due diligence in analyzing each individual prospect. As many prospects from our first initial rankings release have received D1 FBS offers, a few like Spencer Brasch, were able to obtain 14 after reevaluating his S.T.E.P rating. More info on how to move up or down in our ratings, which will be placed next to each recruits name on our rankings pages, along with more cool add-ons like Twitter links, found below. Best of luck to all of those who aspire to play college football and may you choose your path to greatness wisely, as EVERYTHING you do matter! Below is the quarterback STEP Rating results, including a breakdown of the position-specific criteria.
Combine Numbers The value of a quarterbacks's athleticism in respect to their overall STEP Rating is primarily based off of the respective numerical values of their 40-Yard Dash, shuttle, weight room, vertical and broad jump. football skill Football IQ - The numerical value of a QB's football IQ is measured by how well they demonstrate their strategic knowledge, attention to detail and their ability to analyze their opponent on film and in interviews; this is likely the most crucial measurement of a college-ready prospect. Versatility - This numerical score is determined by number of positions and abilities a prospect brings to the field.
Position-Specific Technique/Skills - Each skill/technique has a respective numerical value that can positively or negatively affect a prospects' score for this sub-category based on how well the prospect performs said skill/technique on film.
Motor - A QB's motor is measured by their intensity on the field; this also reflects their team leadership skills
Awareness - The numerical value of a prospect's cognitive awareness is measured by how well they recognize and act upon game activity.
stats
Recruiting stock 
 Half of these players are not on the major recruiting networks and graded out as overall better prospects, even without large amounts of offers which is all their computer generated "algorithm" goes by. Our former #1 player overall Daimarqua Foster (pre-S.T.E.P ratings), was offered 5 FBS scholarships within days of the rankings being released of our first Top 100 Class of 2019 recruits. We plan on adding more to this model, as it already in our professional opinions is the best model ever created for analyzing student-athlete college football prospects. Report changes in any of the above categories if your are a STEP rated prospect to merfdigg@aol.com or merf@scouttrout.com. We will be finishing up all positions and releasing the Top 250 this coming week and then we will start Class of 2020. The question is, are you ready to S.T.E.P your game up? Academics will help S.T.E.P-erate JUCO prospects, as we will grade them later in the recruiting process. 
Branden Alvarez is a very popular athlete, as his initial report had many retweets that were stating the many positions that Branden excelled at on the football field. His film below shows him playing at the QB position in more of a "Wild-Cat" type scheme, as the game-plan appeared to be to keep the ball in the best athletes hands at all times, and Alvarez delivered nearly every time with a brilliant display of overall athletics. The film above is Branden's prior 8th grade season and he once again proves to be one of the most agile players in his class. His flourishing play has caught the eye of one of the best coaching staffs I know, as Coach Edwards and Coach Likens lead Arizona State into a new era of PAC-12 championship caliber play. Branden fits the mold of a high energy Coach Likens wide receiver recruit, as Coach Likens is arguably the best in the game at teaching the game of football for the position. At Around :48 seconds, Branden is somehow able to squeeze his way through multiple defenders after beautifully bouncing his run to the outside. He shows outstanding ability once again in the return game and is able to find all cut-back lanes while moving the ball downfield. Alvarez can even be seen coming off the edge as a defensive end or outside linebacker and shows more of why he has been deemed an all-around athlete on the gridiron. Centennial's mascot is also a Husky, which are known as "escape artists" and Alvarez shows he fits the mold of an elite Siberian Husky. Much like another husky I know (Daimarqua Foster), Alvarez shows supreme intangibles on the football field, along with stellar academics. They both also can line up in multiple positions on the football field and possess outstanding combine athletics. The cunning husky-like escape that Alvarez is able to demonstrate at around 3:52 into yet another magnificent highlight, will leave you gasping for air and possibly a new collateral knee ligament. Branden is able to vivaciously elude an array of defenders, as he uses a very keen change of speeds in his eclectic style of running. At 4:57 into his footage, Alvarez is able to hurdle over the defender, imitating top running back of Class of 2017 Najee Harris, who signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Branden shows more remarkable play in the air at the receiver position to end his 8th grade season and has one of the brightest outlooks, as far as overall potential our concerned for a Class of 2021 Student-Athlete. Branden and his counterpart Jonah Carnell will be creating "S.T.E.P-eration" daily from their peers, as they develop into Scout Trout Diamonds in Rough.
Class of 2021 phenom Branden Alvarez is a tremendous student-athlete who hails from Norco, CA and has been added to Scout Trout's 2021 National Rankings list and Elite Scouting database, as an ATH. Branden possesses uncanny 4.6 speed for his age and his bedazzling play can be witnessed in his Class of 2021 highlights featured above. Playing as a Dual Threat QB, Branden can be seen running a beautiful zone-read option attack extremely efficiently for massive amounts of yardage. Alvarez rides out his zone-read fakes very well and you will witness the defensive end at :24 seconds into his tape, have no clue where the football is and Alvarez is able to swiftly take the ball around the edge to show off Russell-Wilson-like agility down the sideline. His next run is simply off the charts when it comes to athletics at this age, as Alvarez is able to once again make multiple defenders miss with his keen and swift change of direction. This shifty ball carrier is very good at setting defenders up with his in and out cuts (jukes) and then breaking back to the opening with outstanding acceleration. Even thou Branden is fantastic at making defenders miss, he also demonstrates immense power and grit in his running style, as he is seen breaking tackle after tackle in his extremely successful freshmen season highlights above. Branden has all of the tools to be extremely successful the next three years of his young but stellar high school career and also brings an extremely high grade in his "intangibles" S.T.E.P rating category, as he possesses outstanding character, work ethic, leadership skills and is extremely coach-able from multiple sources. I am extremely pleased to welcome Branden Alvarez to the Scout Trout Elite ATH database and also for making our Top Class of 2021 National Rankings list! With your body of work and work ethic, you will be moving up the board with NO DOUBT!
  The following tables are a visual representation of how prospects' scores are calibrated. All of the information used to determine the value of each prospect's combine results, overall skill, upside, stats, awards, recruiting stock, exposure, intangibles, and academics are collected from our own prospect database (30,000 Plus athletes), as well as a myriad of online sources such as Hudl, Youtube, 247 Sports, Twitter, Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN, Nike Football, MaxPreps , Vol Recruiting Reports and various scouting reports/articles , college football recruiting blogs, including SEC Country, Tomahawk, Dawgsports, FullCTPress.net and many many more networks, while also using insider knowledge of each teams class of recruits/needs. 𝒇(R) = [Combine (c) + fb skill (b) + Upside (u) + achievements (H) + recruit stock (s) + exposure (e) + intangibles (i) + academics (a)] / 10
A deeper look into THe 28 (Sub) factors graded for your 8 factors that determine "STEP" Rating All categories below can increase or decrease off of .05 tenths of a measurement or by a "rating" point. Whether it be a award, stat increase, technique improvement, weight room improvement, ANY combine improvement (filmed or at event), mini-camp or 7 on 7 footage to show increase in football skill, sending coaching/teacher references for intangibles, any changes in GPA or test score, along with any new media sources that are featuring you in any capacity. combine Athletics (c) |
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5/11/2018
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