Rankings Update: 2023 Newcomers

During the 2020 football season, plenty of high school football prospects found time to shine. Particularly, a large amount of 2023 prospects began to see more time on the field, while also giving themselves plenty of exposure. In our new update, plenty of newcomers have been added not only due to their strong performance this past season, but because they stepped up to the plate, and performed better than multiple players in their class. Below, we have included some of our favorite newcomers in this very young class. <strong>Mike Aguirre </strong>(2023 LB) <em>Cedar Grove</em> As a 2023 prospect, Aguirre has already put himself in place to step up for Cedar Grove’s defense as he has the knack to play the LB position instinctively. Ultimately, we have added him to our newcomers list because of this. When he plays, Aguirre is very quickly on his feet, and reads the QB well. He moves sideline to sideline with efficiency, and does not waste much movement. With this, hie also breaks down well when making tackles, and rolls his hips well too. While he certainly has a ton of development left, we feel that his ability to make key plays at this age is a great sign of what is to come. He will only continue to grow and develop in his overall ability, as well as his size and frame. Due to this, we have listed him at number 8 overall in the 2023 class. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="94023" first="Seven" last="Cloud"]</strong> (2023 DL) <em>McEachern</em> Cloud, who is already a very wide bodied defensive prospect has no problem taking up a large amount of space, which ultimately helped his defense stop the run this season. With this, despite his heavy set, he is very quick off of the ball, uses his hands to his advantage, and is relentless in pursuit. He has a bit of a squatty lower body, and shows to be very explosive out of his stance as well. He finishes tackles, and plays with the attitude that you would like out of a defensive end. We not only expect him to blow up next season, but we also feel that he will start to receive power 5 offers specifically. Because of this, it should come as no shock that we have listed this newcomer at 10 overall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="94015" first="Johnny" last="Williams"]</strong> (2023 OL) <em>Northeast</em> Williams’ sophomore season proved that he is not only one of the better OL in the state, but that he is worthy of a solid spot on this list. He has the ideal weight and size for his position, but we hope that he can maintain a healthy build. He rolls his hips well off of the ball, and shows good pop when he makes good contact with defenders. He is also great at run blocking, and his shows power in moving defenders. This starts as he explodes from his legs, rolls his hips, and drives players into the ground, finishing blocks. He shows flashes of greatness in his game, and will certainly get better as he becomes more consistent at keeping a strong stance, and good footwork. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="94016" first="Christian" last="Harris"]</strong> (2023 ATH) <em>Elbert County</em> Harris, another prospect who has a unique burst and quickness to him can be expected to be a big name prospect within the coming years. Because of this, we have him ranked at 31 in our update. He plays both WR, and LB, and already has the desired frame for his position. He has decent feet, great hands, and a decent balance as well. His routes are crisp, and he does a good job of creating separation. With this, Harris also does a good job at stacking defenders, and even making contested catches when needed. Going into next season, while we think his stock will continue to rise, we would like to see him add more long speed to his game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="94022" first="Olan" last="Robinson"]</strong> (2023 LB) <em>Newton</em> What’s not to like about Robinson’s film? He is a natural LB, and plays at an incredible speed for his age. He flies around the football field with a knowledge of where the ball is going at all times, and takes great angles as well. He plays the sidelines great as well, regardless of if it is a run play, or if he is in zone. With this, he has a decent frame, and build already for his age, and is the prototypical LB type that colleges look for. As he has already played a key part in his defense, look for him to continue to make plays for his team, especially because he has the athletic ability to get past blockers, take good angles, and utilize good leverage in bringing ball carriers down. One thing we can definitely say about Robinson is that he does all of this fluidly, which is also something that is highly desired. This ability to bend and sink well almost always translates to the next level. Expect Robinson, who we have listed at 41 in our update, to blow up soon. <strong>Kenneth Dorsey</strong> (2023 WR/ DB) <em>Hephzibah</em> Dorsey, a little known prospect out of Hephzibah has had his own share of silent success. Not only has he been efficient for his team in the passing game, but he has also seen success in the return game as well. He has a unique twitch, speed, and shiftiness, that often times results in key plays for his team. This is also the reason why he can be seen to have lined up in the backfield on occasion last season. When running routes, he has shown to be able to get out of breaks smoothly. Even more, Dorsey has also seen playing time on the field as a DB. As a DB, he shows that he not only has fluid hips, but he plays with discipline when reading the run. His fluid body movement, and ability to change direction on a dime is what makes him great on both sides of the ball, and will likely be huge for him in his coming years. This is why we have him listed as 48th overall in our 2023 update.