Future Stars: St. Thomas Aquinas

The latest MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings pins <strong>St. Thomas</strong> <strong>Aquinas</strong> at No. 6 after a convincing 38-23 win over then No. 9 <strong>St. Frances</strong> <strong>Academy</strong>. Yes, the Raiders stay neutral from last week's poll. <em>Whatever</em>. I look at each game as a <em>one-game </em>season<em>. </em>If St. Thomas Aquinas handles their business, they have a great shot at the No.1 ranking. Put <em>that</em> thought on the back-burner for now. My focus here is on the younger players, particularly the sophomores. Playing time is not guaranteed at a school like St. Thomas Aquinas. A quote I found states "<em>Practice like</em> <em>you play</em>, <em>because you will play like you practice</em>." You never know when you will hear your name called. In other cases, these sophomores are already hitting the field. That just goes to show you how talented these prospects are. The future is always bright at St. Thomas Aquinas. Look for more prospects in future articles. For now, check out this list. <strong>William Roberts</strong> - <em>Offensive Tackle</em> 2024 William Roberts is a prospect that started games as a freshman for St. Thomas Aquinas. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound Roberts helped the Raiders to a 8-1 record and a 7A state championship. Here is a kid with valuable experience at a young age for a national powerhouse. I think that is particularly important when you are developing offensive lineman. He is strong with a good base to work from. Roberts already holds offers from <strong>Colorado</strong>, <strong>Miami</strong>, <strong>Syracuse</strong>, <strong>Albany State</strong>, <strong>Texas A&amp;M</strong> and <strong>Florida International</strong>. He is the son of the <em>boss</em>, rapper/songwriter <strong>Rick Ross</strong>. <strong>Nick Rodriguez</strong> - <em>Linebacker</em> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Nick-Rodriguez-crop-1242x816-1630607366.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-195463" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Nick-Rodriguez-crop-1242x816-1630607366-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> 2024 Nick Rodriguez is a fantastic student-athlete for the Raiders. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound linebacker holds a 4.2 GPA in the classroom. Rodriguez brings a ton of versatility and speed onto the football field. He's just highly valuable and will make plays on the defensive side of the ball. Line him up at multiple spots and watch him work. Rodriguez holds offers from <strong>Colorado</strong>, <strong>Miami</strong>, <strong>Penn State</strong>, <strong>South Carolina</strong> and <strong>LSU</strong>. <strong>Jordan Lyle</strong> - <em>Running back</em> 2024 prospect Jordan Lyle already has good size at 6-foot, 180 pounds. I watched his spring game highlights and he appears to be a multi-purpose back. Lyle caught passes out of the backfield and showed patience as a runner. He found some holes and used his speed to get up field. Lyle also showed his toughness by bouncing off tackles and staying on his feet. He holds offers from <strong>Miami,</strong> <strong>Penn State</strong> and <strong>Colorado</strong>. <strong>Ryan Mack</strong> - <em>Safety</em> 2024 Ryan Mack is another prospect I watched highlights of. He appeared to have good awareness of locating the football when it was in the air. Mack closed quickly and had a nose for the football. He racked up a ton of pass deflections from what I observed. Those coverage skills have earned him offers from <strong>Florida State</strong>, <strong>Miami</strong>, <strong>Colorado</strong>, <strong>Ole Miss</strong>, <strong>Penn State</strong> and <strong>South Carolina</strong>. <strong>Chance Robinson</strong> - <em>Wide receiver</em> 2024 Chance Robinson is a prospect I really like. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Robinson has a great first move off the line of scrimmage. He is a solid route runner that creates separation. I saw Robinson juke his defender on multiple occasions, particularly on dig/out routes. He also has a ton of speed on fly routes, which coincides with his technique off the line. A defender is toast once he makes his first move. He is a 4-star prospect with offers from <strong>Colorado</strong>, <strong>Georgia</strong>, <strong>Miami</strong>, <strong>Ole Miss</strong>, and <strong>Pittsburgh</strong>. 2025's To Know: <strong>Brandon Joseph Jr.</strong> - <em>Offensive lineman</em> <strong>Andrew Jackson</strong> - <em>Defensive back</em> <strong>Shakir Williams</strong> - <em>Running back</em> <strong>Martin Rylan</strong> - <em>Linebacker </em> <strong>Logan Husband</strong> - <em>Defensive end</em> <em><strong>For any South Florida Prep Redzone news or information...please contact Michael Costeines @Steins_23 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.</strong></em> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;