St. John Bosco's Chris Steele Keeps It Spectacularly Quiet

St. John Bosco cornerback Chris Steele is one of the nation's best defensive backs.

Sep 19, 2017 by Kolby Paxton

St. John Bosco's Chris Steele Keeps It Spectacularly Quiet

The following preview was provided by high school football expert Will Helms of Palmetto Preps.

When No. 7 St. John Bosco (CA) travels to face No. 12 St. John's (DC) on Saturday, all eyes will be on a highly anticipated quarterback-cornerback showdown.

Senior quarterback Kevin Doyle of St. John's isn't usually hesitant to air it out, but he might want to think twice before challenging St. John Bosco's shutdown cornerback Chris Steele.

Watch St. John Bosco (CA) at St. John's (DC) LIVE on FloFootball!

Just a junior, Steele has already received over 25 scholarship offers from Power Five universities, and his recruitment doesn't like it will slow down anytime soon. The highly touted cornerback holds offers from numerous national contenders including Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama, and USC.

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Steele is ranked No. 35 overall in the class of 2019 and is widely considered one of the premier junior defensive backs in the country. He doesn't fly under the radar, but that doesn't necessarily mean Steele puts up monster numbers. In fact, he's content playing in relative obscurity, preferring instead to shut his matchup down.

"If a team has a No. 1 guy, my coaches can trust that if they put me on him I'll hold him to little or no yards," Steele says.

At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Steele is long and physical, a killer combination for a cornerback. His stats are modest, more indicative of his reputation than his abilities. And, to be frank, his highlight film is boring -- mostly a compilation of Steele running stride for stride with a receiver as the opposing quarterback throws at another defender.

Steele has had a quiet junior season, but quiet is good. Quarterbacks avoid challenging him. The strength of the St. John Bosco defense only exacerbates the challenge of facing a cornerback who eliminates half of the field.

"It does get very frustrating," Steele admits. "I know that as the season goes on, I'll get tested a bit more so I'm trying to stay patient and create plays in other ways."

Even No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) steered clear of Steele in a 9-3 overtime victory over the Braves on Aug. 25. Against St. John's, expect Steele to be more assertive, rather than sitting back idly while Doyle picks his spots though.

With a Twitter bio that reads, "I hate wideouts," the Under Armour All-American better be physical -- and he is.

Steele has adequate speed (4.57 40-yard dash) and elite physicality that is rarely found among high school defensive backs. Steele thrives in press coverage, often battering receivers over and over within the five-yard window. A lockdown corner, Steele is also comfortable playing off-man, zone, safety, or even linebacker in some 4-4 sets.

"I just try to shut down routes early by being physical at the line of scrimmage," Steele says. "Once I do that, it usually causes the wideouts to change their game up so I start working different techniques to sort of throw them off."

As a sophomore, Steele finished fourth on the team with 81 tackles, while leading the team with seven pass breakups. He hauled in only one of the team's 19 interceptions, but, again, the lack of picks is a product of his dearth of opportunities.

Steele will be a key factor on Saturday -- perhaps even more so than usual. St. John's is averaging nearly 41 points a game in three contests, and the Braves' defense has given up less than that across its four games combined. St. John's will probably look to air it out, putting the game in Doyle's hands. And, at some point, he'll likely be forced to take a shot at Steele.

If that happens, don't be surprised if Steele rises to the occasion.

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