Shaq Attack?  Call it likely to be coming from ND, as the insiders are guessing that he’ll pick ND over USC this Friday (here’s hoping they’re right - I learned long ago not to trust internet chatter, but yet, that’s the chatter).

You probably know a lot about Shaquelle already (4/5 star type guy, WR, great measurables, etc.) so I won’t dig into all that.  Rather, I’ll give you my own quick scouting report, as I headed down to watch Shaq play at his home field at Inglewood High School here in the LA area the other day.

As you can tell from the picture, Shaquelle is a SERIOUS athlete.  Everything about him on the field made him look about 3 years older than everyone else on the field.  His swagger, his size, his stride, his SPEED (good. lord. his. speed.), were just at another level.

Any time Shaq had the ball thrown his way (which, shockingly, wasn’t all that much), the stadium held its breath in anticipation.  Because one quick touch, and Shaquelle was gone.  It happened a few times in the game - one second he had the ball 5 yards downfield and then BOOOOOM, fast as lightning, Shaq was off for a 30/50/70 yard gain for a TD.  He looked like a man among boys out there, he’s just THAT good of an athlete.

In the first pass thrown his way, Shaquelle bobbled it a little, but was able to adjust and pull it back in.  He then beat the CB and BOOOOOM, gone.  45 yard TD the first time he touched the ball.  I mean, he TORCHED the defense.  It was a thing of beauty.   In the second half, he took a 9 yard pass 70 yards for a TD, beating the entire defensive secondary after catching the ball.  It was called back by a holding penalty away from the play, but it was still ridiculous.  This happened several times in the game, and you could feel the crowd waiting for it again. There’s no doubt about it, Shaq is extremely dynamic, and able to break a play wide open from anywhere.  (At the least, against a HS defense.)

On one punt return, he caught the ball literally with a defender in his face.  A split second later, that guy was juked, his sad little jock lying on the ground.  Then Shaquelle beat 4 more guys in succession, making them all miss with quick misdirection moves and blinding speed before he was gang-tackled by 4-5 defenders at once.

What’s clear is that Shaquelle’s upside is huge.  His coach didn’t get the ball to him in many ways, and frankly he didn’t get the ball thrown his way all that much in the game at all.  And when the coach did try to do so, it’s obvious why it doesn’t happen more - Shaquelle is operating without much of a quarterback.  So all the great numbers you see, all the production, is within an offense that gets him the ball 5-10 times a game, and from a QB that can’t really get it there well - meaning he’s often operating after making an adjustment, catching the ball off his route, or outside his blocker, etc.  (If I’m that coach, I get him in on end-arounds, screens, quick outs, direct snaps - ANYTHING to get the ball in his hands 25-30+ times a game. I found their inability to get him the ball very confusing.)

It’s obvious why Evans is such a highly sought recruit - great athlete, raw/natural talent, and a perfect frame to be a big time College WR.  But while Shaquelle has a lot of upside, he’s not quite there in terms of being able to step right in (in my opinion) in the college environment.  He won’t come into ND (we hope!) with the sophisticated route-running ability of a Michael Floyd.   He just hasn’t had time in a system that allows for that, and hasn’t had the coaching.  Once he learns how to run crisp routes, and how he fits into an offensive scheme?  Watch. Out.  I’d say he probably has more upside than Floyd, just from his God-given natural ability.

But for now, Shaquelle is largely rare, raw talent - pure, powerful and fluid speed.  And he’ll thrive under a coach like Charlie, who can really help him learn the in’s and out’s of being a top flight WR. 

As for the rest of the game, it was a pretty exciting matchup, featuring a sweet Halloween special from the Inglewood High band (who absolutely ruled - they put the ND band to shame, seriously).  They busted out some dry ice for smoke effects, every member rocked some kind of costume, and they finished up half time with a bad rendition of MJ’s Thriller, complete with jerry-curled MJ impersonator in the front, leading the entire team in the dance from the video.  Awesome.

Shaquelle will have a lot of work to do to get those routes down, and to learn the intricacies of playing receiver at a higher level wherever he ends up.  Here’s to hoping it’s with the Irish.

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