Orange and Blue News breaks down the junior film of new commit James Frenchie from St. Louis Trinity Catholic.
On film, Frenchie has all the tools of a typical all-purpose player. Trinity puts the ball in his hands on quick hitters and jet sweeps and gets him in space where he can make defenders miss and run to daylight. He had more carries than receptions last year in the Trinity offense, though he projects as a slot receiver at Illinois.
As a receiver, it's all about yards after the catch for Frenchie. He's extremely productive with the ball in his hands. He's a threat to pick up chunk yards on bubble screens, quick slants, etc. We see him running away from high school defenders once he gets out in the open and kicks in the jets. The best thing Frenchie does is pick up speed down the field. What we don't see on his film is Frenchie being used as a traditional wideout. He'll need coaching on how to run sharp routes, and we want to see how he reacts to the ball in traffic and makes plays in a combative environment. He has good body control and soft hands, so it will just be a matter of gaining experience running routes against college defensive backs.
Trinity also lines up Frenchie in the backfield. He's an open-field guy as a runner, not a back you're going to line up at tailback and pound him off tackle, though he does have a surprising physicality and toughness about him for a kid who weighs 175 pounds. He has really good speed to the corner and excellent cut-back ability. In traffic, he's looking to make tackler miss, not take them on. We don't see the balance and leg power to be an every-down running back, but that's not what he was recruited to do. This is a kid who you want to play in space, and he's an excellent fit as a muli-purpose playmaker in the Illini spread attack.
On film, Frenchie has all the tools of a typical all-purpose player. Trinity puts the ball in his hands on quick hitters and jet sweeps and gets him in space where he can make defenders miss and run to daylight. He had more carries than receptions last year in the Trinity offense, though he projects as a slot receiver at Illinois.
As a receiver, it's all about yards after the catch for Frenchie. He's extremely productive with the ball in his hands. He's a threat to pick up chunk yards on bubble screens, quick slants, etc. We see him running away from high school defenders once he gets out in the open and kicks in the jets. The best thing Frenchie does is pick up speed down the field. What we don't see on his film is Frenchie being used as a traditional wideout. He'll need coaching on how to run sharp routes, and we want to see how he reacts to the ball in traffic and makes plays in a combative environment. He has good body control and soft hands, so it will just be a matter of gaining experience running routes against college defensive backs.
Trinity also lines up Frenchie in the backfield. He's an open-field guy as a runner, not a back you're going to line up at tailback and pound him off tackle, though he does have a surprising physicality and toughness about him for a kid who weighs 175 pounds. He has really good speed to the corner and excellent cut-back ability. In traffic, he's looking to make tackler miss, not take them on. We don't see the balance and leg power to be an every-down running back, but that's not what he was recruited to do. This is a kid who you want to play in space, and he's an excellent fit as a muli-purpose playmaker in the Illini spread attack.
