Brayden Rouse started the season on the right foot after helping his team to a 29-15 victory in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic when high school football began in the Peach State.
A few days before the start of the season, he explained his goals to me:
“On defense, I definitely want to show my physicality. Charge down the hill at full speed and just knock somebody out. I feel like when people see me, they see me more as a DB type linebacker. I want to show them I can hit and go down the field too,” Rouse said. “Make some fumbles and get some sacks off the side. On offense, I’m showing my versatility by scoring touchdowns and getting yards after the catch by blocking at the line of scrimmage and outside. On offense, I’m aiming for 8-9 touchdowns and my goal is about 130 tackles on defense. I’m going to try to do whatever I can to help the team win.”
I wrote an article last week about how Rouse could be primed for a breakout performance. He definitely lived up to expectations in the season opener against North Atlanta. Rouse led his team in tackles and was visible in every way around the football. He finished the game with six tackles, one interception, one pass defense, and one fumble recovery. Rouse was all over the field last night. His performance earned him the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic team’s choice as the game’s Defensive Player of the Game. He talked about the interception and his ball play.
“I knew they were going to test me at least once. When I first saw the ball go up in the air, I had some space, so I teased him a little bit. When he threw it up, I knew I was going to catch it. I went up and caught it,” Rouse said.
On offense, he had 3 catches for 21 yards and a big catch from the flat where he outran a safety. I asked Rouse if the game lived up to his expectations.
“Yes, sir, it definitely did. I felt like I could have done a little more on offense, but defensively, it was pretty good. My favorite play was the slip that I caught. On the catch that I had, I liked running him a little bit and talking a little bit. That was definitely my favorite play,” Rouse said.
Another crucial part of the game was two crucial defensive stops by Kell in the red zone that forced him to lose the ball.
“The whole time we thought we needed a stop. I feel like we just came together as a team and worked hard. We did a lot of film prep, so I think most of the time we knew what was coming, so we were in the right place,” Rouse said.
After this performance, he has a message for this season.
“I’m coming,” said Rouse.
Rouse will continue to be a name to keep an eye on. He has several significant offers from South Carolina, Duke, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and many others. Another interesting note for Georgia Tech fans is that Rouse wore Georgia Tech gloves during the game. He also spoke very positively about the program when I interviewed him about a week ago. If Wednesday night was a taste of how Rouse will perform this season, then it will be a stellar year for him and the Kell Longhorns program.
Full interview:
