Monday saw another excellent experience for many Ohio football prospects at the Best of the Midwest Combine put on by founder/director Greg Brookey. The event started in 2010 and continues to be one of the best opportunities for prospects to judge the areas they need to work on as they work towards college summer camps.
Out of a large field, nine prospects from Ohio earned MVP Honors following their work on the inside turf field at the Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville, Indiana.
We look at each of those who left with MVP honors.
LINEBACKERS
In our pre-combine preview looking at the linebacker position, we featured both of the event’s MVPs for the position.
Arvell Reese – 2023 Glenville HS – 6-4 / 215
We wrote in our preview that Reese looks like Ohio’s most complete linebacker. However, he left the Best of the Midwest as probably the best overall prospect at the event, no matter the position.
Reese has excellent physical size and tested well, running the forty in 4.65 and the pro-shuttle in 4.31. We always love the Best of the Midwest by taking a player like Reese and having him pop over to the defensive line during one-on-ones. Reese didn’t disappoint, and he dominated the offensive linemen he went against before going back over to the linebackers.
Lanny Ash Jr – 2023 Hamilton HS – 6-2 / 210
Ash caught everyone’s eye during the day with his overall performance. While he didn’t post the forty times you would want to see, we feel it was more from how he ran it than his actual time. In the pro-shuttle, Ash showed his lateral quickness posting a 4.28.
However, his natural movement in positional drills and during the one-on-ones turned even more eyes, earning him an MVP at the linebacker position.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Several Ohio offensive linemen enjoyed solid performances during the day. However, only one earned MVP honors.
Rob Fogler – 2023 St. Xavier HS – 6-7 / 300
As we said in our offensive linemen preview, Fogler turned heads last year at this event. He returned and put on an even better performance during testing and one-on-one drills, where he stepped out, taking several reps from the tackle position and not backing away from the top defensive linemen.
After he left, Buffalo offered the Cincinnati native a scholarship.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Ohio did a great job representing the receiver position at the Best of the Midwest, with three players leaving with MVP honors.
Shawn Thigpen – 2023 Springfield HS – 6-4 / 185
We’ve liked Thigpen since watching him in a live evaluation period against Northmont High School. He’s only getting better and opened some eyes with his receiving talents betting several of the top defensive backs.
Javien Brownlee – 2023 Northmont HS – 5-11 / 170
Brownlee posted a 4.62 forty to go with a 4.18 pro-shuttle during testing and stayed consistent throughout the day.
Jermaine Foster – 2023 Glenville HS – 6-0 / 185
Everything Foster has shown on his highlight film; he showed in action on Monday running a 4.53 forty and 4.31 pro-shuttle to go with tearing up defensive backs during the one-on-one portion of the day.
RUNNING BACK
As we stated in our running back preview, there was one running back to watch from Ohio, and people did as he earned MVP honors.
Sam Williams-Dixon – 2024 West Holmes HS – 6-0 / 194
We said Williams-Dixon was the one to watch out of all the backs at the event. He didn’t disappoint going from a top Ohio prospect to possibly a national prospect running a 4.53 forty and 4.41 pro-shuttle to go with a 9-foot-2 broad jump. Add in his performance in drills and one-on-ones, and it was easy to see why he earned MVP honors with his combination of physical size, cutting ability, and the fact he can also catch the ball out of the backfield. So get ready to see his offer list explode in the next few weeks and months.
DEFENSIVE BACK
There is never a shortage of defensive backs that make their way to this event each year. However, one stepped forward.
Bryce West – 2024 Glenville HS – 6-0 / 175
Over the years, Ten Ginn has seen his share of high-level prospects at all positions on the field at Cleveland Glenville. West is next in line as he posted a 4.54 forty, 4.35 pro-shuttle, and 9-foot-6 broad jump before using his ball-hawking skills, giving receivers fits in the one-on-ones.
TIGHT END
The tight end position has seen some strong showings over the years, with several who earned MVP taking their game to the college level.
Ashton Wilson – 2023 – Dublin Scioto HS – 6-3 / 210
The group was small, and Wilson stood out with a solid day of testing and his work during position drills and one-on-ones. Will need to add more bulk to his frame while keeping his athletic ability, but he showed solid hands and route-running ability.
