Reece Jesse, Jr. from Hopkinsville High School made both the KPGFootball So. All-State team at WR and was Honorably Mentioned on the AP’s All-State Football team. He’s 6-3 and still going. He’s 175 pounds and still thickening. He bench presses 235, power-cleans 235, incline-presses 215, vertical’s 38-inches, broad-jumps 118-inches, and has a 77-inch wing-span. The video of him performing a 360-degree, two-handed slam-dunk has been killing it over on Twitter.
The 360-dunk-video will impress more than just fans of dunking and/or basketball. College football coaches will be equally impressed with what it will tell them about Jesse. You see, it tells them Reece Jesse, Jr. isn’t just a frame; he’s an elite athlete.
Now at KPGFootball we are impressed with this 2021 WR/Safety prospect as all of our reporting on him certainly supports. After all, it was we who selected him to our Sophomore All-State team and it was we who nominated him for the AP’s team. Although his 360 dunk played no part in our opinion of him as a football player, it is meaningful to what kind of prospect and athlete he is. The reason…Vertical Explosion!
There is a system called VertiMax training which is being utilized in both the NBA and NFL as well as Division I colleges and hundreds of high schools across the nation. The entire premise is centered around increasing one’s vertical jump and first-step quickness. It is said to increase mobility to the highest of levels.
Colleges and other advanced levels of football have known for quite some time now that straight-line speed alone doesn’t make someone athletic. This is true even where a player possessing straight-line speed may be one Hell of an athlete. Straight-line drills and tests, like 40-yard dashes, measure linear-speed. Athletes are more identified by their possessing change-of-direction, body-control, and the ability to match skills against equal or greater skill-sets while still accomplishing the task assigned them.
The NFL combine is on-going as we publish this article and the 40-yard sprint still gathers the crowds. However, pay attention to the short-shuttle speed (5-10-5) which many scouts today believe paints a more accurate picture of a player’s ability to play football.
That brings us back to what is so impressive about Class of 2021, Reece Jesse, Jr. Reece is an upper-level, elite athlete, particularly for his age and stage of development. We see it in his verticality, body-control, change of direction, and quick-burst off the line. These are all key components of his athleticism which he demonstrates through his vertical explosion and body control. His vertical explosion and body control are on full display in Reece Jesse’s 360-two-handed-slam dunk video.
So watch the video. Enjoy the athletic grace. Enjoy the verticality on full display. Just know, it is telling the well-informed way more about this prospect than he can dunk a basketball while turning a full rotation.
Reporting for KPGFootball, this is F.W. Long, reminding all of you ballers out there to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE.
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