Underclassmen Spotlight: Week Eight

Welcome back to our underclassmen spotlight series. The last few weeks here at Prep Redzone have been extra busy with our rankings updates for each class, so we decided to holdoff on the underclassmen pieces for a little while, especially since we highlighted most of the players we would have done so on here in our positional breakdowns for the class of 2023. But we are now back and ready to give some praise to some youngsters who have earned it. Let’s dive in. <strong>Disclaimer: This was written prior to week 8’s games so the stats included here will not reflect the results of last week's games.</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="62997" first="Justin" last="Humphrey"] - <strong>QB/SS</strong> <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Pauls Valley </strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem;"> - Class of 2023</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="62997" first="Justin" last="Humphrey"] was not a name that was on my radar to start the year but he has exploded onto the scene in 2020. Humphrey is still developing as a passer but has been incredible as a runner this season. Through seven games, Humphrey has over 900 yards rushing along with 13 touchdowns on the ground. Humphrey was recently featured as a candidate for the Prep RedZone player of the week thanks to an incredible performance against Madill, and I expect him to make a couple more appearances on that list over the next 2 years as he develops for Pauls Valley. [player_tooltip player_id="57157" first="Jaedon" last="Foreman"] - <strong>DL Del City - Class of 2023</strong> I feel like a broken record here talking about another Del City defensive star but I’d be remised if I didn’t include [player_tooltip player_id="57157" first="Jaedon" last="Foreman"] on this list at least once this season. He may be young but he also might have the highest ceiling of all the youngsters on Del City’s defense with his size and nastiness. Foreman is 6’4" and is as physical as they come on the defensive line and is a constant disruptor in the backfield. He has the athleticism to play DL and a little LB, but his best position at the next level is most likely on the defensive line where he can pin his ears back and get after the ball carrier. Foreman will most definitely be at or near the top of his class for the next few years. [player_tooltip player_id="65161" first="Gabe" last="Diaz"] - <strong> RB Empire</strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem;"> - Class of 2024</strong> Well, here we are in week 8 and we finally have our first freshman of the year to spotlight in this series. It is not often we have players from class B on this list but Diaz is certainly an exception. Gabe is listed at 5’10" 175 Lbs and has looked older than his age in more ways than one this season. On the year Gabe has over 700 rushing yards and 16 TDs in 8 games. Diaz has seemingly come out of nowhere and will be fun to watch rise through the ranks over the next 3 years as he is just scratching the surface of his potential. [player_tooltip player_id="65163" first="Jax" last="Sternberger"] -<strong> QB</strong> <strong>Kingfisher - Class of 2023</strong> Coming into the season we assumed that [player_tooltip player_id="38558" first="Cade" last="Stephenson"] would be the starting QB for Kingfisher as he had been the last couple of seasons, however, we were surprised to see a new, young QB starting for Kingfisher in [player_tooltip player_id="65163" first="Jax" last="Sternberger"]. Sternberger is a good-sized QB for his age at 6’0" and has played very well for his team to start the year. On the season, Sternberger has thrown for over 1400 yards with 15 TDs and only 4 interceptions. Perhaps the most exciting part of Jax’s emergence for this team is that it has allowed Kingfisher to move [player_tooltip player_id="38558" first="Cade" last="Stephenson"] around on offense and use his athleticism in a variety of ways. Sternberger has played spectacularly to start his career for Kingfisher and should be their starter for years to come. &nbsp;