New Manchester’s offense has been humming this season averaging 28.2 points per game at the halfway point of the season. One big reason has been ‘The Lethal Weapon 3″ of Malik Laurent, Horatio Fields and Teondre Carter. The senior trio has been downright explosive, and last Friday it was Malik Laurent’s turn to go ka-boom!

Catching a quick screen out to the left from New Manchester’s own 35 yard line, Laurent got up field quickly as 4 defenders closed in on the speedy senior. Quicker than a pod racer going thru Beggar’s Canyon, Laurent knifed through a small alley way that led the closing defenders empty-handed. Now at the 50-yard line, and with the majority of the defense in his rear-view mirror, Laurent sprinted the rest of the way into the endzone.

According to Recruiting Analytics, Laurent hit a max-speed of 19.2 MPH, and maybe even more impressive was the 0-15 MPH acceleration that he hit to sprint through the closing defenders. Analytics aside, it was an impressive play from the senior, enough to make our weekly top plays and eventually earning the #1 spot for Week 7.

Laurent is a player that we identified as a D1 recruit going back to last season, and over the last year he has been working hard despite the hardships that Covid-19 has imposed.

“During the off season while we were battling with Covid-19, we weren’t having practices, and we couldn’t go to the weight room, so I would go to the field every morning, and workout. Doing things from simply running around the track and flipping tires, to doing ladder work and perfecting my routes. The main thing I feel like I improved on is my speed and getting in and out of my routes. Speed has been a big factor for my recruiting process and I’ve heard it from multiple coaches so that’s one of the things that I’ve made a priority to get better at,” he said.

Well, last week’s exciting 65-yard touchdown isn’t the only long one that Laurent has ripped off, and he does appear to be hitting his top speed even quicker. Looking back at our old scouting report, and improving his top end acceleration was something we noted, so it’s good to see the 2021 prospect identify and improve in that area.

One aspect of Laurent’s game that we liked a lot was his route running and elusiveness after the catch. The senior shares some of the same thoughts.

“I feel like my hands and my ability to find open grass is what separates me from others at the wide receiver position. I may not be the fastest, the tallest, or the strongest, but I will do anything to make sure that ball is mine when it’s in the air. I can find soft spots in the zone and I can make people miss after the catch.”

At 6′ and 175 lbs., Laurent has a solid frame and shows the versatility to play multiple receiver spots at the next level. We like his body composition, and though he needs to make improvements in the weight room, we think he has the athletic profile to make serious weight lifting gains in college.

Personally, we have always thought Laurent has good top end speed once he strides out, and over the last few years he has burned defenses for long plays. No doubt he is a consistent football player, much like the athlete he models his game after.

“I model my game after Michael Thomas, not only because he plays for the Saints, and I am from New Orleans, but he is a great route runner, humble, and catches everything thrown his way.”

As mentioned earlier, it’s the halfway mark in the season for New Manchester. With that in mind, we asked how Laurent would like to finish off his senior season.

“My goals for the remainder of the season is to win the region, make my teammates better, and have over 1,000 yards in the 2020 football season.”

Right now, Laurent has 335 yards receiving on the year, and New Manchester has 5 games up ahead against Jackson-Atlanta, Grady, North Springs, Villa Rica and Chapel Hill. In our opinion, all those games should go in favor of New Manchester, and that will certainly provide more opportunities to rack up yardage for Laurent.

On the recruiting front, Laurent has offers from Austin Peay, Murray State, Bryant University and Mars Hill. He is also hearing from Chadron State, Robert Morris and Western Carolina. That’s a wide range of schools at the moment interested in the 2021 recruit, and of course a strong finish to the 2020 campaign could obviously attract additional collegiate suitors, so stay tuned to @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter to hear the latest on Laurent and the rest of the athletes across the state of Georgia.

Interested in recruiting Malik Laurent? Click HERE to visit his Recruit Georgia Profile.

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