Vasek Brings Plenty

Austin, Texas – There are a few games in any state that just have to be seen to believed and in Texas it wouldn’t take long to call roll before you got to Austin area superpowers Westlake and Lake Travis. Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Sam Ehlinger, Garrett Wilson, and Baker Mayfield, are among many big-time players who have starred in the heated rivalry.

And the latest edition was not without stars of it’s own as Westlake downed the Cavs, 35-20, for their second straight win. The three biggest names on the field were a pair of high end commitments in Oklahoma defensive end commitment Colton Vasek, Notre Dame pledge Jaden Greathouse who has the ability to excel in a number of roles at the college level, and Texas A&M offensive line commitment T.J. Shanahan.

Vasek, who chose the Sooners over Texas and Oregon amongst a bevy of other offers, was clearly the focus of the Lake Travis offense and early on they did all they could to slow him down. And for some time it worked and Travis jumped out to a 10-7 halftime lead because of it

But with a few adjustments made by Westlake in the second half, along with Vasek simply wearing down his blockers with his dogged pursuit, he took off and began to create real problems for the Cavaliers offense.

By the end of the day Vasek ended up with 10 tackles (nine solo), two sacks, a quarterback hurry, one pass defended, and a forced fumble

Vasek isn’t a player that overwhelms blockers with any one particular trait though he is incredibly good with his hands and how decisive he is with his moves. When Vasek wants to go to the outside shoulder, he does so without a moment’s hesitation and can win at the corner in a variety of ways.

Vasek is still filling out his frame but it’s not hard seeing him being an early contributor.

*As mentioned Vasek isn’t the only elite prospect for the Chaps and though Greathouse was held within reason his six catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns were clearly problematic for Travis in the 35-20 win. Greathouse is so impressively put together it’s hard not to see him moving around and playing in a number of different roles in the college level. It’s not that he can’t be a receiver, it’s just that he brings more versatility than that.

**Shanahan is simply a mauler who got caught up more than a few times in the high-flying emotions of the game where both fans were making noise and involved from the first minute until the game was out of reach for the Cavs. Shanahan plays tackle but will, obviously, move inside in the college game where his ‘phone booth’ style will play well and his length will be a better fit. When he locks onto a defender it’s near impossible to do anything with him. He moves his feet well for such a big guy and again that nasty streak will serve him well.

***The lone Cavalier that really caught the eye is 2024 linebacker Markus Boswell, who already holds a Colorado offer. He was very active all night and has the speed to track from sideline to sideline. He’ll get plenty more attention before his recruitment is over.