Greg Dempsey saw something in Braden Awls when the Central Catholic safety was a sophomore.
Larry McDaniel noticed Awls on film. There was something different about the 6-foot defensive back.
“You can always tell Division I guys,” said McDaniel, the head coach at St. John’s Jesuit. “They just move differently. They play at a different level. They break on the ball faster. The intuition that they have is visible on film. It’s tough to describe. You just know it when you see it. He’s one of those guys when you see him on tape where you say, ‘OK, he’s as good as they say he is.’”
The Titans found out the hard way. In a playoff rematch last season, Awls had two pick-sixes in Central’s 54-0 victory over St. John’s.
“His speed and his range are what killed us,” McDaniel said. “He had two picks on what were traditionally quick throws. There were so many times we were able to make those throws, and he was able to eliminate them. And he can cover 1-on-1. He really has all the tools that you need to be successful at the next level.”
McDaniel has seen it firsthand with Dallas Gant, Brady Lichtenberg, and Thomas Zsiros, players who jumped off the tape and required game planning. Awls creates the same mismatches that disrupt what the opponent is trying to do.
On June 8, he became the ninth member of Toledo’s 2023 recruiting class, picking the hometown school over Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Harvard, and Princeton. Ultimately, Toledo felt like home to Awls, not the location but because of a connection with the coaching staff.
Head coach Jason Candle, defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, and safeties coach Ross Watson served as the primary recruiters.
“I just thought it was time for me to make my decision, and I went with what felt best for me and my family,” said Awls, who projects as a safety in college. “The moment I met some of the coaches, I felt like I bonded with them pretty well. I guess our personalities mixed together well. Most of the staff has been at Toledo for a while, so I felt a sense of stability there. Going to junior days and spring practice, I like the way they’re coached. It feels like how it is at Central.”
The commitment was two years in the making for Dempsey, the long-time Central head coach, who noticed first-class athleticism from Awls as a sophomore. He just needed to get bigger to obtain the measurables that would attract Division I offers.
The three-star prospect sealed his status in 2021 with 29 tackles, five interceptions, five pass breakups, and a forced fumble. He was a member of the All-Blade team, first-team All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference, and Division II all-district.
“He has a great football IQ,” Dempsey said. “Picking up a lot of information will be easy for him.”
It was his IQ off the field that got the attention of several Ivy League schools. Awls, who’s undecided on his major but leaning toward something business-centric, grappled with his decision on Harvard and Princeton.
An elite education is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but so too is playing FBS football. Awls bet on himself and chose a better football-playing option.
“My big thing was, [Harvard and Princeton] are far from home and they don’t give out athletic scholarships,” he said. “I feel that the school isn’t going to make me. If I’m going to have a successful career [after football], I feel that I can do that at any school. I understand it does definitely help, but I think I can create the future for myself, no matter what school it is.”
The same could be said about his football future. You don’t have to be a five-star recruit and play at a blue blood Power Five program to advance beyond college football. Toledo has churned out considerable NFL talent in recent years, with another hometown safety being the most recent example.
“You attack your college like you did in high school and develop as a player to potentially become [a pro prospect], just like Tycen Anderson did,” Dempsey said. “Four years ago, no one would have said Tycen Anderson would have been that guy.”
First Published June 22, 2022, 12:30 p.m.
