ArizonaVarsity's Friday Film Session takes a look at football players from around the state that we believe might be under the recruiting radar. Today's subject: American Leadership Academy's Braden Chick.
I'm a little bit surprised, given Braden's individual and team accolades from 2024, that he's even worthy of being considered an under-the-radar prospect. This is a player that earned top-10 OL honors at the ASU Big Man Competition last June, while his team took first place overall. Chick also was named the Flight Club Big Man Competition MVP, while ALA QC took first place overall as a team in that competition as well.
During the 2024 season, Chick and teammates Ondreas Ware, Mackay Jensen, Jacob McCabe, and D3 heavyweight wrestling champion Riggs Anderson helped running backs Bobby Nesbit and Brandon Brown combine for almost 1,700 yards on the ground, and 5.6 yards per carry. ALA QC was also able to put up its best team rushing totals, and first 1,000 yard rushing season (Brown) since 2019!
But perhaps most impressive was what Chick and the Patriots' rushing attack did to secure the team's first-ever Open Division Playoff win after coming into last year's tournament 0-3...
Desert Mountain's run defense came into their game against ALA QC giving up an insanely low 67 rushing yards per game, and didn't give up a 100-yard rushing game to an individual player all season. Braden Chick and the ALA Queen Creek offensive line helped Brandon Brown to rush for 106 yards and 2 TDs in their win.
But what about his film? Let's take a look...
Right off the bat, Braden Chick leads off his junior year highlights with a pancake block from the left guard position, lifting an engaged noseguard off his feet with a nasty double team. The most impressive part of this is that he remains locked into his assignment, and snaps his head around looking for the next defender.
At 0:21 we see him crash down on a defensive end for a pancake block that finishes about 4-5 yards from where the initial impact took place.
If you pause the film at 0:30, you can see that he accelerated into position quickly enough to turn his defender prior to the QB/RB exchange taking place, opening up a hole for a solid gain up the middle.
There's a very interesting highlight at 0:52 where Chick is lined up at left tackle and the defensive end almost perfectly times an inside move as Chick's right leg is elevated- but it doesn't matter- Chick already has his mitts on the defender and uses that player's momentum to plant his right leg, and disrupt the inside move to the point where Chick actually has the inside leverage to pancake his assignment. Fantastic play that shows quickness, discipline, discernment and power.
Very low in his stance at 1:55- leverage doesn't really factor into the block he makes here, but it still shows great flexibility and when you combine his power and acceleration with that kind of low leverage, you can envision extremely effective inside play at the next level.
At the goal line at 2:13, Chick can be seen driving the defender to ultimately become the farthest player from the line of scrimmage. The run wasn't even to his gap and he still was the most aggressive person on the field for this touchdown play.
Another play at left tackle at 3:12 will have you wishing ALA QC hadn't faked the handoff, because Chick drives a 6-3, 220 DE off the line of scrimmage so quickly that it creates a 9-10 yard hole.
At 3:18 it looks like Chick is at an arm length disadvantage, again from the left tackle position, and he so he uses the Queen Creek defensive end's momentum against him to drive him into the turf- very smart play.
Final thoughts:
This is an extremely fundamentally sound and versatile offensive lineman that projects to play on the inside at the next level. If he can play the center position, which I'm told he's been working on since the end of the 2024 season, I'm not sure there's a limit to the level he can eventually effectively compete at. While there are often college coaches that neglect to recruit American Leadership Academy players due to the frequency of those players taking 2-year mission assignments after graduation, I'm also told that Chick isn't going on a mission... meaning there's no excuse for college coaches to not be getting an in-person look at Chick this spring. Because if he's above 6-2, and can maintain a 300-pound frame while retaining his athleticism, there's a potential here for him to be a major asset at the G5 level, or a potential multi-year starter for the right P4 program.
What I like: Film shows great flexibility and acceleration off the line of scrimmage. Even when he doesn't have leverage, he recovers with power and positioning. Not every offensive lineman seeks to turn their defender when it's appropriate- Chick's highlights are full of that. He clearly finishes blocks and capitalizes on defender mistakes, and is as much of a weapon at left tackle at the high school level as he is at guard. I REALLY like that he can sell a tug on an outstretched arm or a slight hold look like it wasn't a hold at all- it shows he's crafty. I also like that he plays through the whistle. My favorite part of his game is the violence at the point of attack, and the fact that he stays locked in after sending a defender flying.
What I'd like to see more of: There's a lot of potential at the center position, and while I don't think ALA QC should take him away from the left side of the line where he's been dominant, I'd like to see some live reps there at some point. I'm also interested to see what he does now that three of his senior teammates are set to graduate, leaving him and talented interior OL Mackay Jensen as the senior leaders headed into 2025.
High End Comp: Dustin Woodard
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