Coach | 2022 LB Gabe Powers Is A Problem For Opponents

Gabe Powers‍ is a handful for high school opponents and Marysville High School head coach Brent Johnson and his staff try to maximize the 2022 Ohio linebacker’s ability.

“He is really long and athletic,” Johnson says of the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Powers. “He’s got a lot of body to grow into, so there’s a lot of upside to him that way. He has the ability to play off the ball or walk up and create mismatches at the line of scrimmage.

“It’s huge for us. We do that with him. He will play off the ball, walk up. From a speed perspective, that’s a mismatch with an offensive tackle. When you put him in space, it’s hard for a high school kid.”

But Powers’ talents extend beyond just his physical gifts.

“The other part of Gabe is he’s very intelligent from a classroom and football perspective,” says Johnson. “He’s really easy to coach. You tell him once and he gets it. We use him many different ways within our defense and even offensively to create mismatches.”

Many top college programs believe he can create similar mismatches on the next level and Powers currently has scholarship offers from schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Florida State, Kentucky and Tennessee among several others.

Johnson had a good idea of what he was getting when Powers arrived at Marysville a couple of years ago.

“He’s always been kind of on the radar,” the coach says. “He was a really good basketball player too. He played on a pretty highly-touted AAU team. He traveled the nation as a middle-schooler.

“He looked different on the field in middle school and as he came up through our program his freshman year. I didn’t really know he was going to attract this much attention this early. He’s probably been my biggest recruit obviously as a head coach. He’s gathered a lot of attention. College coaches like his length. College coaches like his versatility and all of the tangibles as far as speed and vertical and all of that.”

Johnson also says Powers is a great leader.

“He keeps his circle very tight and he is huge on loyalty,” the coach says. “That’s probably his biggest thing. As soon as he trusts you, he’ll run through a wall for you. Him and I have a great relationship and the staff has a great relationship with him. He will run through a wall for us. In this process, I know that is at the top of his list. He wants to trust the guys he plays for. He wants to love the guys he plays with and the staff he plays for.

“Grade-wise, he holds a 3.6. He’s very focused on what he wants to do. He does what’s right. He’s not afraid to make unpopular decisions amongst his peers if it’s the right decision. As a head football coach, you appreciate that.”

Powers also comes from a tight-knit, football family.’

“His older brother plays down at West Virginia,” says Johnson. “He’s got a younger brother who will be a sophomore this year. He has great parents. His dad was an All-American at Findlay College back in the day. It’s a very good football family.”

Powers was “real excited about the Notre Dame offer,” according to Johnson, but is also keeping his options open for now.

“The dead period ends here in a week and we’ll see where that takes us,” the coach says. “He’s going to narrow it down from there. He’s a very humble kid. He hates interviews. He just wants to play football.

“Being an Ohio kid, I know he was excited about the Ohio State one. Notre Dame is a big-time school that is nationally recognized obviously. I know he was excited about that one. Penn State was in and offered. There are some schools out there that are intriguing to him from a worker’s perspective as well.

“I can’t give you a ranking because I haven’t asked that. I know he’s pretty humble in this. We’re going to pick some days to go to some colleges to see some practices and I’m pretty sure Notre Dame is on that list.”