Corona Centennial’s Korey Foreman makes a big impression at high school combine

Korey Foreman was supposed to be the baby of the group. He was a beast instead.

At 6 feet 4 and 248 pounds, it’s hard to ever be the little guy, but Foreman was one of five freshman and sophomore defensive linemen to compete in The Opening Los Angeles Regional at Long Beach City College on Sunday. He proved to be the group’s supreme talent. The Corona Centennial sophomore was selected defensive lineman MVP of the camp after showing he was the top athlete and top player at his position.

The Opening regionals feature a combine that measures a player’s athleticism through a variety of tests, including the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle, vertical jump and a kneeling throw of a six-pound medicine ball. Each player is then given an “athletic football rating� that factors in each of the tests along with a player’s size.

Foreman produced the top rating among offensive and defensive linemen, running the 40-yard dash the fastest and having the fourth-best vertical jump of the nearly 50 linemen. He also had one of the 10 best shuttle times. Foreman’s power ball throw was best among linemen and second-best of the more than 800 athletes who participated Sunday in the testing.

Corona Centennial defensive end Korey Foreman looks on during a break at a USC football camp on June 21, 2018.

(Shotgun Spratling / For The Times)

He finished with a 98.76 rating that sets the bar for defensive linemen at the other 14 regional stops The Opening will make this spring. Nationally, 16 defensive linemen produced a rating of 100 or better last year, but only one was an underclassman — Bryan Bresee, a Maryland defensive end who is the No. 2 overall prospect, per the 247Sports composite rankings.

Foreman also dominated the one-on-one pass rush period, routinely blowing by offensive linemen. He used his speed and spin move to get by larger offensive linemen, prompting the offensive coaches to make a switch. During the final repetitions that pit the best against the best, the coaches tried a smaller, quicker blocker against Foreman. It didn’t end well for the offense. Foreman powered straight through the lineman to get into the backfield.

“I think I did pretty good,� Foreman said. “I obviously wanted to show my best abilities. I wanted to meet the attributes of my size and everything else.�

His attributes and potential have made him a hot recruiting commodity even though there are 22 months before he can sign with a college. He has already received scholarship offers from nine schools in the Pac-12, his most recent coming from Oregon State and Colorado on the same day last month.

“A couple years ago I did not know I was going to be in this position,� Foreman said. “It’s been a blessing and I like hearing that other schools are interested in me.�

Foreman has watched the last two years as other Centennial players have gone through the recruiting process. His most notable takeaway has been to find a destination that provides more than just football. He’s looking for a place that has a family environment he can fit into and where he has the chance to play early in his career.

From recruit to recruiter

Santa Ana Mater Dei quarterback Bryce Young pledged his allegiance to USC last July and has not wavered despite the Trojans’ losing season and tumultuous off-season. Young recently met with new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and is excited about the direction the USC offense is headed.

The headliner of USC’s 2020 class, Young now moves into a different role as a recruiter, trying to help convince other top prospects to join him. He said he’s talking to uncommitted prospects about USC as well as some who have committed, including Mater Dei cornerback Elias Ricks, who has said he would attend Louisiana State.

“You know, it’s great to talk to coaches,� Young said. “It’s also great when you have someone as a player that can talk to you about why I want to go to ’SC, so I’ve been trying to take that role on a little bit. Just trying to show them really what USC has to offer.�

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