AYF National East All-Star Standouts

The AYF National All-Star game is taking place on Saturday, February 5th at prestigious Bishop Gorman. The game will feature 60 of the top eighth grade athletes in America, who excelled for their local AYF program and now have earned national recognition. The athletes arrived from all over the country earlier in the week and have had two practices a day, in addition to a number of team-building activities. Furthermore, they will be guests of the NFL at the Pro Bowl on Sunday, following the AYF National All-Star game the previous night. Let’s take a look at some players who have stood out on the East team. <img class="alignleft wp-image-284257 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/NajeeCalhounAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="284069" first="Najee" last="Calhoun"] | New Jersey | Running Back First time seeing Calhoun live since September and the kid has only improved since last time. Tremendous frame ready to just pack on muscle as he advances to high school. Explosive runner who gets to full speed in just a few strides. Will be headed to Donovan Catholic in the fall. I fully expect him to be featured by the East squad in the game.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284259 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/MarcisPonderAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Marcis Ponder | Florida | Offensive Line You don't find many humans that stand 6-foot-8, nevermind the fact that Ponder is in the eighth grade. The Miami kid already has a size 19 shoe, which tells me he's probably not done growing yet either. Is pretty raw fundamentally but any coach in America would be drooling to have an athlete with this frame entering their program in the fall. Has all the size and potential in the world.   Blake Caruso | New Jersey | Kicker<img class="alignleft wp-image-284384 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/BlakeCaruso-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> I jokingly told coaches this may be the first time a kicker gets included in an all-star game evaluation, but Caruso left me no choice. In unseasonably cold temperature, with a whipping wind and kicking a composite football, Caruso was drilling kicks of 40+ yards with ease. If the East squad gets even close to the redzone, look for Caruso to be an option to put points on the board.   Zakee Hall | Pennsylvania | Defensive Line<img class="alignleft wp-image-284385 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/ZakeeHall-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> Hall passes the eye-test right away. He's in the neighborhood of 6-foot-2 and weighs roughly 260 pounds. Absolutely dominated his league locally in Philadelphia and earned his invite here. Strong at the point of contact with a thick body that is tough to move out of the way. Pretty good agility for a big guy who hasn't needed to use it much, as he was bigger and stronger than most on the local level.   Dereon Albert | Mississippi | Defensive Line<img class="alignleft wp-image-284386 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/DereonAlbert-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> My second time seeing Albert in the last few weeks, and he's consistently atop the scouting reports no matter where he plays. He's a mirror image on the field of the above mentioned Hall, just with more quickness. He's an unquestioned leader too. Certainly an extension of the coaching staff on the field, he's a smart kid who continues to get better on every rep. Promising young prospect, for sure.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284387 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/SavionHiter-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Savion Hiter | Virginia | Running Back Hiter is great looking 2026 prospect, who flat out looks like an athlete. Has many of the top private schools in the DMV hoping for his services during high school. He stands around 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds and can do pretty much anything on the football field. Look for him to get a fair amount of touches at running back, but will also play defensive end. Long term I think he's a P5 linebacker.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284389 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/KaronMaycock-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Karon Maycock | Florida | Wide Receiver Another prospect that caught my eye right away from the Gwen Cherry Bulls program in south Florida. Great build on him and plays a very strong style of receiver. Was a little inconsistent catching the ball at practice, but when he did come down with it, he was making plays. Looks every bit the part of yet another future college football player coming from the hotbed of Miami.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284390 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/SamariMatthewsAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Samari Matthews | North Carolina | Defensive Back Like some of the other prospects mentioned, this is my second time seeing Matthews in the last few weeks. All he does is make plays on the football. Period. On offense he's a homerun threat that can stretch the field. Defensively, I don't think I've seen him give up a single reception. Also a track kid. Spent a few minutes talking to him about non-football things and he's an impressive young man.   Faizon Brandon | North Carolina | Quarterback<img class="alignleft wp-image-284391 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/FaizonBrandinAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /> As physically gifted as they come for an eighth grade quarterback in the country. Standing 6-foot-2 and super athletic, he was a regular season teammate of the aforementioned Matthews. He throws a beautiful deep ball with pretty good accuracy. Also a standout on the basketball court. He has succeeded on raw talent up to this point. Needs to sharpen fundamentals to reach full potential.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284392 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/LeonStrawderAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Leon Strawder | Florida | Quarterback Looked super comfortable all practice long. Offense is running the same scheme he used all season for the Miami Gardens Ravens youth program out of Miami. He, like Fazon, throws a beautiful deep ball with a very tight spiral. Stands around 6-foot and is a bit thicker of signal caller in the 175-ish range. Another kid who has found success on raw ability. Has room to tighten up the little things.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284393 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/DanteKainAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="212385" first="Dante" last="Kain"] | New Jersey | Defensive Line Practices at a different speed and tempo than the other defensive linemen. Can play multiple positions but will play end in the game. Literally did not take a single rep off during practice, even when coaches weren't around. Works hard in the off-season and it translates on the field. Strong, thick lower body allows for good explosion off the snap. Headed to Bergen Catholic next year.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284396 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/EmmanuelGerenaAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Emanuel Gerena | New Jersey | Wide Receiver Hands down the most confident kid on the East squad. Believes in his ability to do anything and everything athletically--and he'll let you know about it too. Stands around 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds. However with this vertical, he plays much bigger than that. He's a sure-handed kid that wants the ball in every situation. Also the team's Long snapper. He'll be joining Calhoun at Donovan Catholic.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284397 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/BreyonWilliams-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Breyon Williams | Maryland | Running Back Not sure how much he can squat, but with a lower body like Williams has, it has to be north of 300 pounds already. He's a carbon copy of former Jacksonville Jaguar standout running back, Maurice Jones-Drew. Compact back that runs low to the ground and punishes tacklers. Expect him to play in the slot and even split out wide at times. Just a great athlete who can make plays.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284398 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/JoaxisMedinaAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Joaxis Medina | Massachusetts | Defensive Line A little bit of an unsung hero on the interior East defensive line, Medina quietly impressed me. Pretty big kid in the 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 range and 270-280 pound range. Love the fact that he's a wrestler as well. Understands leverage well. A little more unassuming than some of the other big boys on the field, he consistently penetrated the line of scrimmage and was very disruptive during inside run drills.   <img class="alignleft wp-image-284399 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/MalachiToneyAYF-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Malachi Toney | Florida | Wide Receiver A young man I was waiting to make a play to impress me and he certainly did towards the end of the second practice. An extremely impressive looking athlete that will give defenses fits trying to contain him. Gnat-like quickness and a great set of hands that snags a ton of passes. Very good speed and vision once the ball is in his hands. Simply put, he's a playmaker.