10 California Middle School Prospects On The Come Up
With Spring practices just around the corner, and Summer camp on the horizon, we take a deeper look at some California prospects flying under the radar in the state. Jaxon Bell | Running Back | 2026 Bell is a slippery…
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Continue ReadingWith Spring practices just around the corner, and Summer camp on the horizon, we take a deeper look at some California prospects flying under the radar in the state.
Jaxon Bell | Running Back | 2026
Bell is a slippery and explosive running back, with good vision for finding creases and cutback lanes in defenses. He is the latest in a family of stellar athletes, and while not the tallest in stature, he is extremely difficult for tacklers to locate and bring down. Bell is patient hitting holes and dances in and out of defenders’ grasp with ease. His patience and smooth footwork allows him to cut sharply and eat up defenders’ pursuit angles. Once in the open field he demonstrates game breaking speed and is rarely caught from behind. A complete athlete, Jaxon also shows the hands to catch passes out of the backfield or split out in the slot to create mismatches.
Madden Jones-Drew | Running Back | 2028
Son of former NFL and UCLA standout, Maurice Jones-Drew, Madden is following in his father’s footsteps as a versatile playmaker at a young age. He has good size and burst out of the backfield, with the ability to run over, through, or around defenses with a physical style complimented by his speed to the edge. An excellent north-south runner, Jones-Drew was also heavily featured in the screen game and has proven to be a homerun threat whenever he touches the ball.
Jaden Jefferson | Running Back | 2026
Jefferson is a one-cut runner with elite speed. He thrives setting up blockers in front of him for the bounce and big play outside. Wasting no effort to try to evade tacklers, he simply just out-runs them and their angles. He is more than just a speed demon, however, and is physical when defenses can manage to get their hands on him. A dual threat back, Jefferson is also fully capable of lining up outside and catching passes down the field, not just in the flats. This added versatility made it tougher for defenses to key on him during his 8th grade year playing in an Air-Raid system.
Mike Mitchell | Quarterback | 2026
Mitchell is a tall and lean athlete, with great deep ball touch and good arm strength. His footwork and feel in the pocket are excellent, allowing him to regularly put 10-15 yard throws on a line down the field. While more of a pocket passer, he also demonstrated the athleticism to escape pressure and run when necessary.
Truly Bell | Wide Receiver | 2026
https://twitter.com/trulybell4/status/1485720238662422529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1485720238662422529%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Ftrulybell42Fstatus2F1485720238662422529widget%3DTweet
Bell is an outstanding overall receiver and physical blocker, but is truly elite after the catch. His ability to turn short completions into big plays had his team moving him around the formation in a variety of ways to get the ball in his hands on the move.
Carson Fife | Tight End | 2026
Fife is a hybrid TE/WR. He has the athleticism to split out wide and the size to line up inside to work between the hashes or up the seams. His long arms and tall frame make him a QB-friendly target, especially in the redzone.
Wesley Winn Wesley Winn 5'9" | 155 lbs | ATH Archbishop Riordan | 2027 State CA | Cornerback | 2026
Pick #6! #OCBuckeyes #TrustTheProcess @brian_ohana5
@chrisflores0321 @sensei_david42 @DemetricDWarren @UAFuturesGame @GoldFeet_Jr @KTPrepElite@Wildcat_William @UCLAFootball @G6Arron @RyanBOliver @AlPopsFootball @TheSHOWByNXGN @PlayBookAthlete @alecsimpson5 pic.twitter.com/hC1xx0K6Mu— Wesley Winn (@imwinnin8) October 10, 2021
Winn is a three sport athlete with good instincts, hips, and footwork at the corner position. He is undersized but showed he can cover taller receivers without problem during the course of the 2021 season, including all-star games. He collected a half-dozen interceptions and is a great tackler on the edge.
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt | Wide Receiver | 2026
Standing at 6’2” 165 lbs, Dixon-Wyatt has the build to compete on the high school level now. His ball skills at the receiver position are elite as well, using his long frame to easily out-jump smaller corners on deep throws and box out others in traffic. He demonstrates effortless speed, using long strides and smooth transitions in and out of his breaks to create separation on routes and out-run tacklers after the catch. With the ball in his hands, he is a tough runner with the ability to weave through defenses or simply run over them.
Braylon Pitts | Athlete | 2028
Hard work always pays off pic.twitter.com/6jFcXtFJ7I
— Braylon pitts (@Braylonpitts5) November 6, 2021
Pitts is a quick and shifty athlete, with far more technical polish than most other athletes his age when it comes to getting in and out of breaks, and how to use leverage to his advantage. A hybrid Slot/RB, Braylon breaks away in the open field and is extremely difficult to corral in open spaces or cover one-on-one.
Nick Del Monte | Quarterback | 2027
Del Monte is a tall and thick quarterback, built more for running through tacklers as opposed to throwing over them. He runs with a Tebow-esque physicality with the ball in his hands, and while not a prototypical passer, he is still crafty off of play-action and in the short game. To his benefit, he still has another year of development before hitting the high school circuit. Which given his size, is bad news for defenses in 2022.