Can’t miss talent in 2A-3

Last week we covered the best quarterbacks in the conference, this time around we are covering the best talent overall within class 2A region 3. These players have jumped off the screen and really caught my eye as developmental talent and could find themselves playing football past high school. No, it isn’t the greatest level of competition in 2A, but I believe these players could play in higher classifications and still show out. They are certainly worth a look. Here. We. Go. <strong>RB</strong> #24 Dennis Gaines- Sophomore 5’10 165lbs, East Poinsett County High School Dennis Gaines is an incredibly talented young player. Last year, he got the call up from junior high to senior high as a freshman. He went on to put up 620 yards on 66 carries in only 6 games. He added 7 touchdowns for the Warriors in his short stint at the senior high level. What Gaines lacks in size, he makes up for with impressive speed and creative elusiveness. Once he gets through the initial level of defenders he shows great burst and has a second gear he can get to. He has an explosive first step and incredible vision for his age. He needs to work on pass protection, and covering the ball up. He will be one of the best running backs in class 2A, I expect him to rack up lots of yards and touchdowns this fall. If Gaines continues to develop the rest of his game, builds strength and muscle, he is definitely a true prospect for colleges in 2024. He is best suited as a runner, but as an outside linebacker, he gets to the ball quickly, is very disruptive and is not afraid to light someone up when he gets the chance. <strong>OT/DT </strong>#56 Buck Neal- Senior 6’0 293lbs, McCrory High School What a better name than Buck, for an offensive tackle that constantly bucks over defenders? Neal has great size and strength for a lineman. He is super explosive off the ball and led the conference in pancake blocks. He destroys 2A defensive lineman. He is pretty athletic for his size and shows good hand techniques at times. He will need to work on his drop steps and may be better suited as a guard if he were to take it to the next level. As a DT, he clogs up the middle and can take on double teams, although, he fires off much better on the offensive side of the ball. Neal seems to get away with some holds and has a tendency to sling defenders if they try to speed rush. He will need to tidy this up if he has aspirations for football beyond high school. His raw strength, explosiveness, and size are impressive enough in itself for Buck to get a shout out on this list. <strong>DE/WR/TE </strong>#24 BJ Marshall- Senior 6’2 205lbs., Marked Tree High School Marshall is one of the better two-way players in the conference. They can use him at a plethora of different positions. He primarily plays a stand up 9 technique on defense, and on offense he plays tight end and splits out to the primary Y receiver in spread formations. Although BJ does not awe with speed or quickness, he does have some explosiveness and his best attributes lie in his soft hands, his strength, size and toughness. BJ could easily develop as a tight end at the next level if he continues to add to his size and strength. He is not tackled easily and breaks arm tackles. He’s shown the ability to go up and get jump balls over multiple defenders. On the defensive side of the ball, he reads the offense well and puts himself in the right place. He is really good at breaking loose from blocks with his strong upper body and takes good angles. He does have a tendency to arm tackle because he has the strength to do so in 2A. He grades best as TE/Y <strong>LB </strong>#1 Joshua Gilmore- Senior 5’10 195lbs., East Poinsett County High School Gilmore is the best tackler in the conference, I expect him to lead the conference in tackles this season. He has a nose for the ball, as he forced 4 turnovers in only 9 games last year for EPC. He doesn’t give up on plays and he is pretty good at underneath coverage from the MLB position. The most impressive part of Gilmore’s game is how quickly he reads the play, and how fast and hard he hits the hole. He wraps up very well, keeps his pad level low and drives upon impact. If Josh could put on some muscle mass this kid could be a next level linebacker. <strong>WR/QB/SS </strong>#3 [player_tooltip player_id="133259" first="AJ" last="Beale"]- Senior 5’11 185lbs., Cross County High School AJ was in our top QB list last week, but as an all around athlete I could not leave him off this list. He shows his athleticism on both sides of the ball. He is a bit of a ball hawk on defense, and as we’ve seen the past couple of years as a WR, he can certainly go up and get the ball over defenders.  AJ recently showcased his talents at the Under Armor Elite 300 Combine as a receiver. He has a good vertical and good speed on film. He runs pretty crisp routes and can find the soft spot in zone coverage. However, he will be using his athleticism at QB1 this year. I look forward to seeing him make the transition from WR to QB. The thing that pops out to me about AJ, other than his physical talent, is his determination and toughness on the field.