Underclassmen Spotlight: Week Three

<strong><em>Interested in a discount off our subscription? Email michael@prepredzone.com and you can get a coupon code to save!</em></strong> With a few weeks of games finished in the 2020 season, we are starting to see players emerge as stars and playmakers. This week in the underclassmen spotlight we will highlight some players who have had hot starts to the 2020 season and are forcing college coaches and recruiters to take notice. [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] - <strong>QB Putnam City North - Class of 2023</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] is a player who was not included in our initial 2023 rankings because he had little varsity experience in 2019 so we marked his name and set him aside to see what he would do in his first season as a starter and let’s just say we like what we see so far from Putnam City North’s signal-caller. Through 2 games this season, Laverty has 405 yards and 6 touchdowns passing to only 1 interception. His placement on deep balls has been spectacular, especially in the RedZone on fade routes, and he has shown some great anticipation on out routes and hitches. Carson’s size may be a bit of concern for some, but we also have to remind ourselves that he is only a sophomore and has 2 more years to bulk up and fill out his frame, so we are not too concerned about that. [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] - <strong>WR Cushing - Class of 2023</strong> Crooks is a player who had a huge season as a freshman with 779 yards and 10 touchdowns and so far in 2020, he has picked up right where he left off. Through 2 games Crooks has 265 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 10 catches which puts him at an incredible mark of 26.5 yards per catch. Additionally, on defense, Crooks has 14 tackles and 2 interceptions in just as many games. Crooks is on pace for a monster year and with that, we expect the scholarship offers to start flowing in for Cushing’s top WR. [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"] - <strong>RB Bishop McGuinness - Class of 2023</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"] played for Millwood his freshman year where he had some success as a dual-threat QB. This season, Taffe transferred to McGuinness where they have been using him all over the place as both a Running Back and as a Wide Receiver and so far he has been a very valuable addition to their offense. On the ground, Taffe has 125 yards and a touchdown while averaging 6.2 yards per carry. In the passing game, Taffe has 143 yards and a touchdown and is averaging nearly 16 yards per reception. With him and [player_tooltip player_id="38557" first="Luke" last="Tarman"] in the backfield for McGuinness, the Fighting Irish have one of the more lethal rushing attacks in 5A. [player_tooltip player_id="51873" first="Kaden" last="Holder"] - <strong>DB Elk City - Class of 2023</strong> Coming into this season Holder was not on our radar of breakout players but through 3 games this season he has forced us to take notice of him. Holder has played all over the secondary for Elk City this year and has been an absolute ball hawk with 4 interceptions. Holder is part of a secondary for Elk City that has already recorded an astounding 7 interceptions in just 3 games. A defense that can consistently produce turnovers for its offense is invaluable in today’s game, and so far this season [player_tooltip player_id="51873" first="Kaden" last="Holder"] has been a one-man turnover machine. [player_tooltip player_id="51875" first="Braden" last="Foster"] - <strong>LB Skiatook - Class of 2023</strong> Like [player_tooltip player_id="51873" first="Kaden" last="Holder"], Foster has had a terrific start to the season on the defensive side but in a different way. Through 2 games, Foster has been all over the field for Skiatook recording 26 tackles. He has shown great ability to wait and scrape across the field to shut down the run no matter if it’s inside or outside, and he has shown encouraging pass coverage ability for a young linebacker who is still developing. He may be a bit of an unknown player right now, but [player_tooltip player_id="51875" first="Braden" last="Foster"] will certainly be a name to know by the end of the season.