2024 Rankings: Breakout Stars

<strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong> Last Monday, we updated our 2024 rankings and released the Top 50. We saw plenty of new names in the rankings and plenty of prospects who soared up the rankings as stock risers. Check out the complete <a href="https://prepredzone.com/oklahoma/rankings/2024-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>2024 Top 50 Rankings RIGHT HERE</strong></a>. For now, let’s take a look at five prospects who are enjoying breakout seasons this fall and have not only risen their stock within the 2024 class but they’re are producing in a big way for their team this fall. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="215196" first="Dax" last="Collins"] - ATH - Poteau</span></strong> Poteau is once again a serious threat in Class 4A and will be pushing other teams like Tuttle, Cushing, Clinton and Grove to raise a gold ball in December. The Pirates have an outstanding cast of playmakers and the Pirates have been dominant this season with the exception of the loss to Shiloh Christian out of Arkansas. One of the young emerging stars for the Pirates has been sophomore standout [player_tooltip player_id="215196" first="Dax" last="Collins"]. The young playmaker hasn’t been the leading rusher for the Pirates this season but he’s had some outstanding performances. He’s ran for north of 100 yards in three games this year, including two impressive wins against Bishop Kelley and Hilldale. Collins has seven touchdowns on the season. While he’s not the leading rusher with senior [player_tooltip player_id="207530" first="Todd" last="Mattox"] taking that spot, you can make the argument that Collins is more of the big play waiting to happen while Mattox is the workhorse back for the Pirates. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="193143" first="Dylan" last="Baldridge"] - WR - Lincoln Christian</strong></span> Lincoln Christian came into this season with one of the top senior quarterbacks returning with Central Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id="52787" first="Max" last="Brown"]. However, the Bulldogs had to find some new faces at wide receiver as they lost [player_tooltip player_id="38543" first="Kolbe" last="Katsis"] to graduation. It didn’t take long for a young sophomore to show that he could be a big playmaker for the Bulldogs in the passing game. Dylan Baldridige is one of the top receivers along with junior [player_tooltip player_id="157518" first="Cam" last="Dooley"] and those two have become the top two targets for Brown in this passing attack. Baldridge got out to a red hot start to the season. 6 of his 19 receptions this season have gone for touchdowns. In fact, Baldridge caught all six of his touchdowns before the calendar flipped to October. He hasn’t been in the end zone in the last few weeks but it hasn’t really mattered as Lincoln Christian has absolutely blown out their district opponents. In the first three games, Lincoln’s competition was the toughest they’ll see this year and that’s when Baldridge was at his best and was the most productive. That’s a good sign with the playoffs around the corner. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110747" first="Jino" last="Boyd"] - WR - Union</strong></span> Out of the five prospects on this list, we probably would have bet on Union’s [player_tooltip player_id="110747" first="Jino" last="Boyd"] to make it to this point as a breakout star. We got a chance to see the sophomore throughout the offseason, playing 7v7 and it was apparent that he had the speed and skills to have an impact on the varsity level this fall. And in the past, it takes a special kind of talent to make Union coaches talk about a player that is a freshman or sophomore. However, Boyd got high praise and it appeared like they expected him to have the kind of season he’s had so far this year. Boyd has been a home run threat for the Union offense at the wide receiver position. It’s no secret that Union has been a run-first team this fall but Boyd has been one of their top playmakers at the receiver position and he’s taken advantage of the opportunities <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110743" first="Kordell" last="Gouldsby"] - ATH - Holland Hall</strong></span> Holland Hall’s [player_tooltip player_id="110743" first="Kordell" last="Gouldsby"] was one of the few freshmen last season that stood out to us at the varsity level. However, his freshman season came to an end early with a knee injury. And he missed Holland Hall’s trip to the state championship. This year, he came into the season not only returning to the field but taking over as QB1 for the Dutch. He has Holland Hall still in the top spot with another undefeated record and the Dutch appear to be primed for another trip to the state championship game. Gouldsby is certainly a dual-threat quarterback and it’s a change of pace from last year with pocket passer [player_tooltip player_id="38568" first="Wallace" last="Clark"] at the QB spot. Gouldsby has done a great job getting the talent around him involved and he’s not asked to be superman considering the talented players he has around him like wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="61135" first="Ethan" last="Roush"] and running back [player_tooltip player_id="38774" first="Zane" last="Woodham"]. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="215200" first="Ladainian" last="Fields"] - WR - Southeast</strong></span> The one thing the other four prospects have in common is they’re playing for state championship contenders and plenty of eyes have been on them throughout the season. That hasn’t been the case for Southeast as they’re 4-3 on the season and battling every single week just for a playoff spot in Class 5A. But when you look at the Spartans a little closer, you’ll see a potential star in the making with wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="215200" first="Ladainian" last="Fields"]. The young playmaker has 16 receptions on the season but 7 of those catches went for touchdowns. Fields is a big play waiting to happen and he has really good size and when the ball is in his hands, he nearly makes it into the end zone half of the time. Fields is excellent after the catch and is going to continue to grow as a wide receiver prospect. There’s a few other wide receiver prospects on this list but Fields might have the highest ceiling. When you combine his size and speed and ability after the catch, he could end up being a top ten prospect when it’s all said and done.