Recruit Profile: Trae Waynes, S, Bradford

A player like the NFL's Brian Dawkins is tough to come by. Kenosha Bradford has lucked out with one of their star players, Trae Waynes.

The Junior Safety was one of many players who performed well this past year. Although Bradford's drive to State was cut short by eventual champion Marquette, they have a lot to look forward to.

The Red Devils' Safety moves quickly and carries quite a hit when a pass comes downfield. Waynes explained, "You always have to have the attitude that you're going to be the person making the plays and no one is going to break your tackles and you're going to do anything you can to keep them from scoring." He added, "my speed helps me run down people and if they get past me I can use my speed to catch back up and make plays."

Waynes went on to tell us about the areas he could improve. "I need to work on not being too aggressive and taking myself out of the plays by over-running or over-reacting before I see what is going on in the play." He also noted that he wants to improve his hands, his ability to take the ball away from his opponents. "I need to catch the ball when I have a chance at an interception. I also need to work on my technique. Coaches have said that I am too stiff in my back-peddle."

The similarities to professional player Brian Dawkins are very evident to Waynes. In fact, Dawkins is one of this favorite players and is the one he looks up to the most. "I like his attitude on the field and his mentality of hitting anybody. I also like that he is a different person off of the field. He is a humble person and he is a soft spoken guy. That's kind of how I see myself. I love to hit people on the field, but off the field I am soft-spoken as well."

Waynes went into more detail about himself off the field "Most people do not know that I am a shy person especially around adults and people I don't know." He explained how his parents taught him about hanging out with the right crowds of people and respecting people around him. "I agree with what they say because they both competed at the college level and never got in trouble because they made smart decisions and I plan on doing the same."

Senior year will be an exciting one for Waynes. He has already impressed a lot of scouts at various combines, but it started at the Schuman NUC combine in Chicago. "I received the Fastest Man award and the Combine King award. As a result of my performance, I was invited to the Midwest Rivals.com Ultimate 100 camp in Indianapolis. I received the fastest man award there as well running a 4.33, 40 on an indoor track. From there I was invited to the Rivals.com National Top Prospect camp held at the University of Oklahoma. I also attended the University of Wisconsin camp and the UW-River Falls camp." He noted, "when I was at the River Falls camp, one of the coaches asked if I was a senior because he wanted me to come play for him."

Waynes is getting mail from several other schools right now, including Big Ten schools Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, and Northwestern. Big 12 schools Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma. Syracuse is also keeping in touch with Waynes.

"I received game invites and attended games at Iowa State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Syracuse and Indiana. I was invited to attend games at Michigan and Northwestern, but I was unable to attend. I was also invited to attend a Northwestern Bowl practice in which I was able to attend."

When you hear the Division 1 predictions, don't be shocked when you hear Kenosha Bradford being mentioned, and be sure to know that Waynes is definitely one of the names to watch next season.