Calabasas DB Shines at Passing Down

Brendan Radley-Hiles uses physical play to dominate receivers.

Film Study Pays Off for Radley-Hiles

by Lorenzo Reyna

Like most young people, Brendan Radley-Hiles of Calabasas High spends his spare time enjoying You Tube videos and says he wakes up early to go online.

But he’s not watching a music video or something comedic. The Class of 2018 defensive back, who holds 11 reported NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision offers, is awake watching films on the top defensive backs in the NFL, gathering ideas on how to emulate his game after them.

“I watch Malcolm Butler [of the New England Patriots] and all guys. I wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning to watch film and I watch from 6:15 to 7:30 a.m. every morning,” Radley-Hiles said. “I do it before school. This is what I do.”

His preparation and his dexterity as a cornerback has turned him into one the most highly-coveted prospects for the ’18 class.
Known as “Bookie” by his peers, Radley-Hiles emerged as Team Pro Way Hot Boyz’ top shutdown cornerback during their championship run on March 20 at Passing Down’s Southern California Regional in Fontana. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound corner, who transferred to Calabasas from Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman early in 2016, used his upper body strength and agile feet to lock up opposing wide receivers on the Ralph Lewis Sports Park sprint turf during the 62-team tourney.

He won over scout.com’s Greg Biggins, as the national scout wrote this assessment of “Bookie” following the event:

“Radley is one of the more physical corners on the circuit and plays with a nice edge to him. He does a nice job playing the ball in the air, is highly competitive and plays with a ton of confidence. He can close well and shows a nice burst getting out of his breaks. He wants that challenge of going against an opponent’s top receiver and we’ve seen that multiple times this winter. You have to have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder to play corner and Radley definitely has that. His recruitment has blown up and he’s holding offers from schools like the Florida Gators, Nebraska, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers and UCLA.”

Arguably, Radley-Hiles’ best play came in the closing seconds of the title game against Ground Zero Panoramic. He was left one-on-one in the right corner of the end zone with his receiver as the football floated in their direction. What would’ve been a potential touchdown lob turned into a rejected shot from

Radley-Hiles, who leaped into the sky, extended out his right hand and swatted the would-be touchdown to give Pro Way Hot Boyz the 14-6 victory.
“It came on one of those bunch packages – the one that Malcolm Butler used to win the Super Bowl,” Radley-Hiles said. “I was anticipating it, so when they threw it up there, I wanted to make that play.”

He’s known for making plays like that under the lights, justifying the reason why Power Five programs – including Ohio State and Georgia recently – are clamoring for him right away.
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Will Radley-Hiles wait until National Signing Day in 2018 to make his choice? Or seal his collegiate future by verbally committing somewhere early?
“I plan on committing before my senior year. That’s what I’m looking at right now,” Radley-Hiles said.

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