Rivals Los Angeles Combine: Notable Middle School Wide Receivers

The Rivals Combine Series kicked off its annual spring slate of events on February 26th in Los Angeles. The combine, largely geared towards high school athletes, saw a total 1,085 kids go through combine testing drills such as the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, vertical jump, broad jump and shuttle run. The top performing athletes from the combine on Saturday, were then invited back on Sunday to compete with the upperclassmen. Here’s a look some notable middle school wide receiver performances from the event. <img class="alignleft wp-image-299830 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/03/KennethMooreIII-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />A wide receiver we’ve covered several times recently, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="283637" first="Kenneth" last="Moore III"]</strong> had the most complete day of all the middle school receivers. He measured in at 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds, then proceeded to run the second best 40-yard dash out of all receivers at 4.874 . He also impressed with explosion and lower body strength with the second best broad jump (99") and a middle school wide receiver-best 26.5" vertical. The Stockton native is going to be a special one in high school. <strong>Derrick Johnson II</strong> of Riverside, California displayed some very good speed and agility during the combine. At 6-foot-1, he was the tallest of the receivers and ran the fourth best 40-yard dash of all the middle school receivers at a 4.911, and the second best 3-cone drill out of the same group with a 4.427. Future Murrieta Valley High School Nighthawk <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270894" first="Ryder" last="Parks"]</strong> also tested well. The 5-foot-11, 151-pounder finished third amongst middle school receivers with a 7.33 shuttle run and tied for the best broad jump out of all middle school combine participants (not just receivers) with a 103" broad jump. <strong><img class="alignright wp-image-285974 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/MichaelCruz-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Michael Cruz</strong>, the lone Arizona middle school wide receiver top performer, finished with the second best shuttle time out of all middle school receivers with a 7.267. We saw him earlier this spring at the NextGen camp in Las Vegas, and he again, did not disappoint. <strong>Brody Preisendorf, </strong>younger brother of <strong>Kai Preisendorf</strong>, who was an All-League selection as a 2024 prospect, showed that he is set to be a stand out as he hits high school too. Ran a middle school-receiver best 4.82 in the 40-yard dash. Only a seventh grader (class of 2027), <strong>Elijah Wilson </strong>posted the second best vertical of all middle school wideouts with a 25.7" jump. <strong>Alex Ramirez </strong>of Moreno Valley, California had the third best 3-cone drill of all middle school receivers with a 4.474. A pair of the smaller receivers at the combine, <strong>Daylan Stovell </strong>didn’t let his 5-foot-6, 120-pound frame stop him from competing and impressing. The Chino resident finished with the third best 40-yard time with a 4.898.  Cut from a similar cloth in terms of smaller size, <strong>Ryley Lander </strong>opened up a few eyes with the best shuttle time of all middle school receivers, posting a blazing 7.182. <img class="alignleft wp-image-307634 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/03/JacksonFleming-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Another pair of receivers, this time on the bigger side, showed some promising glimpses. Teammates with the Bakersfield Cowboys, <strong>Jackson Fleming </strong>and <strong>Emmanuel Martinez </strong>measured in at 6-foot, 168-pounds and 5-foot-11 and 156 pounds, respectively. Fleming had the fifth best 40-yard dash time out of the middle school receivers with a 5.102. Martinez showed some quickness with a 4.566 in the 3-cone drill. Finally, a tight end that tested very well for the position was <strong>Jake Kerekes </strong>of Torrance, California. He was the heaviest athletes in the group at 175 pounds and also one of the taller one’s at 6-foot. Showed good lower body power with his jumps, highlighted by the fourth best vertical of the middle school receiving group at 22.7". &nbsp;