Up-and-Coming Michigan 2024s + 8 2025s
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It’s never too early to start scouting the young bucks! With camp season well underway and only a few short months remaining until the 2021 high school season kicks off, bringing with it the incomparable and idyllic Friday night lights,…
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Continue ReadingIt’s never too early to start scouting the young bucks! With camp season well underway and only a few short months remaining until the 2021 high school season kicks off, bringing with it the incomparable and idyllic Friday night lights, I wanted to let our awesome PrepRedzoneMI subscribers get a sneak peek at some up-and-coming Michigan underclassmen that have caught my attention over the past couple of months. Not only that, I’ve also included seven rising freshman prospects that I will be continuing to keep my eye on going forward. Get to know these future studs below! Thanks for reading.
2024s
Caleb Williams (Canton) WR/CB 6’, 170 lbs. All-Region. @CalebCWilliams5
Received an early offer from the Tennessee Volunteers in March, so although he’s not as much of an up-and-comer as some of the other selections on this list I think he still counts due to the scholarship coming a couple of months ago. This summer he’s camped at Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee State, Tennessee, and Ohio State so far. The tape from his freshman year varsity highlights show off a dynamic playmaker who can make splash plays on the outside at the X, as a RB in Canton’s triple-option offense, or as a returner in the kicking game. With long strides, he shows some solid speed to beat DBs deep or pull away from defenders and noteworthy vision that makes him overall elusive with the ball in his hands and a good route runner as well. Watching the tape you wouldn’t guess he’s a freshman and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.
Andrew Dennis (Mt. Pleasant) DE/OT. 6’4.5, 230 lbs. @andrewdennis_08
Recently earned his first offer from Central Michigan five days ago and camped at the Michigan State Spartans on the 13th for what I would call a productive summer so far. His freshman tape is impressive, as he is tall and long and seems instinctive and able to get himself around the football. He also can and will finish plays, and uses his length and some strategic hand placement to freeze lineman at initial contact and is athletic enough to get around the edge. He also has some good pop and leveled a couple of people in his first season of high school and also can time out the snap and get a jump on the football as well. All in all he’s a P5 kid with a lot of good football in front of him.
Davion Hill (River Rouge) RB. 6’, 220 lbs. @HillDavion
With excellent size and a rumblin’, hard-nosed running style who can grind through arm tackles and brings the force at the point of contact, Hill is a really promising RB prospect who moves well for his size who shows a lot of potential to find success on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball depending on how he keeps growing going forward. As a LB he’s a good tackler and plays football with the physical presence you should play it with.
Brady Pretzlaff (Gaylord) TE/OLB. 6’2, 205. All-Conference football and varsity basketball starter. @brady_pretzlaff
Camped with Michigan State this summer. On tape, he shows a nice ability as a TE to adjust to the football when it’s in the air and has some promise as a pass-catcher due to his size and athleticism as only a rising sophomore. As an OLB he flys around and can withstand and defeat blocks and hold the edge as well, and is a high motor kid who doesn’t slow down until the whistle is blown. He’s also physical enough to tackle and block well, and with an intriguing frame I think he’s definitely got FBS potential and I’ll be eagerly following how he develops.
Callen Campbell (Sault Area) 6’3, 230 lbs. All-Conference and Max Preps All-American. @callen_campbell
Is already a prolific weight lifter who placed first in Michigan in the JV state powerlifting championships and can squat 500 lbs., deadlift 500 pounds, and bench 300 pounds at only 15 years old! He moves well for a 230 lber. as a TE who looked like a legitimate target in the passing game and made some nice catches this past season in contested situations and scored a couple of TDs as a first-year. On defense, I think he does his best work, as his closing speed and blitzing ability both stand out on film and it’s obvious he’s a strong kid who plays like he’s an experienced upperclassman. He’s a big name to go going forward.
Gabriel Winowich Gabriel Winowich 6'1" | 215 lbs | ATH Detroit Country Day | 2024 NJ (Detroit Country Day) 6’, 205 lbs. @win0wich
Squatted 410 pounds back in December, benched 225 pounds x7 on the incline bench in February, and benched 255 nine times in March for some big-time weight room numbers. Also produced some intriguing stats as a freshman for DCD as he scored 8 TDs on 26 carries against some good competition. For 205 pounds he’s got some homerun speed and also took a kickoff back to the house while showing off some impressive burst and vision. Winowich also runs behind his pads and has the lower body strength to run through weaker tackle attempts if you come at him wrong, and overall he’s a really promising blend of speed and power and absolutely shows the ability to become a four-down back sooner rather than later.
Bruce Fomby Jr. (Ecorse) 6’3, 265. OT/DT. @FombyBruce
Received an FCS offer from Morgan State back in December for an early D1 opportunity. Plays violently and through the whistle and is strong enough to take on DE rushes at the initial point of contact and has the balance to work back and get his body in a position to finish the block. He also possesses long arms and has some experience in pass protection already so there’s a lot of traits and characteristics to like from Fomby Jr. and he’s got a good frame to continue adding weight and strength.
Preston Crum (Eisenhower) QB. All-League in basketball as a freshman. @PrestonCrum5
Has camped at Central Michigan so far this summer. In his freshman year varsity highlights, I was really impressed by his management and navigation in the pocket as he was elusive and mobile and able to improvise when things broke down to make a play. He also shows some good accuracy and is able to get the ball out of his hand quickly and displayed some promising arm strength for a freshman that will no doubt improve as he continues to grow. He additionally had some good touch on his deep balls and overall has the athleticism that catches my attention and should be catching colleges’ attention soon.
Nigel Dunton (West Bloomfield) WR. @NigelLDunton
Has some promising speed and route-running ability for a youngin’ and is a good athlete who is worth keeping an eye on going forward!
Hunter Belanger (Grosse Point South) 6’2, 225. @HunterBelanger
Played JV/freshman ball but looked very good as a massive RB who ran like a pickup truck whose brakes just went out. He also was a block destroyer on the defensive line who flys around and sacrifices his body in order to make plays. His size, attitude, and talent all indicated to me that he won’t be seeing any more non-varsity time going forward, and he’s an impressive athlete at his size who is going to put up some great sophomore film next season.
Emil Burton (Romulus) DB/WR. 5’9, 165 lbs. @EmilBurton4
Has good hands and shows some good route running ability.
2025s
Bryce Underwood (Belleville) QB. @BryceUnderwoo16. Offers from Tennessee, Michigan, Marshall, Kentucky, Michigan State
Bobby Kanka (Pinckney) 6’3, 250 lbs. Pops played in NFL. @BobbyKanka1
Mason Mayne (Lawton) 6’2, 220 lbs. Beast in the weight room. @masonmayne55
Michael Cygan (Brother Rice) QB/OLB. 6’3, 170 lbs. @MichaelCCygan1
Aspen Keyes (DeWitt) QB. 6’2, 185 lbs. @AspenKeyes
Conner Temple (Eisenhower) WR/DB. 5’10. @C_Temple11
Mason Chadwell (Holt) WR. 5’10, 160 lbs. @Mason_Chadwell
Donald Corlew III (Gladwin) WR/DB. 5’8, 130 lbs. @tracecorlew1