Choctaw Team Camp Report

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Prep Redzone Oklahoma is all about team camps over the next ten days! We got our camp tour started on Wednesday evening in Choctaw as we checked out some solid football from the host Yellowjackets along with Moore, Newcastle and Shawnee. We got a good look at some prospects that we know plenty about, as well as some prospects that we were seeing for the first time and even a few new names that have some potential to be breakout players this fall. In this post, we take a look at some of the top names that stood out to us on a rainy evening in Choctaw. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma this week as we continue our camp tour at Verdigris and Noble on Thursday. Followed by Owasso and Claremore on Friday! [player_tooltip player_id="211560" first="CJ" last="Simon"] - 2025 Athlete - Moore We’ll start with a disclaimer that we absolutely love the 2025 class within the state right now. There are potential stars every where and the class is already shaping up to be a really talented one and incredibly deep at several positions. And speaking of several positions, that’s what we expect to see from Moore 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id="211560" first="CJ" last="Simon"] as he goes into his sophomore season this fall. On Wednesday, we primarily saw Simon lining up at wide receiver but last season he played some receiver, running back and defensive back. We expect to see that once again this fall and for Simon to become that lights out playmaker within the Moore offense. Several times on Wednesday, Simon would turn a small play into a big play in the blink of an eye and he should put up some big numbers this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="347459" first="Darian" last="Grant"] - 2024 Athlete - Moore Our first prospect that was new to us when we saw him on Wednesday was Moore 2024 athlete [player_tooltip player_id="347459" first="Darian" last="Grant"]. Now, when we say new, it was the first time we saw Grant in pads. I got a chance to see Grant this past season with Moore’s outstanding basketball team and he’s currently a top 25 prospect in the state’s 2024 class on our Prep Hoops Oklahoma site. Grant was working on both sides of the ball on Wednesday and the first thing that stood out to us was how he physically looked the part. Whether it was as an outside linebacker on defense and he was tracking plays all over the field or as a wide receiver on offense, Grant certainly passed the eye test. However, you can tell that he’s still very raw and learning the game. But there is definitely a high ceiling with him moving forward on the gridiron. [player_tooltip player_id="154215" first="Jackson" last="Bergt"] - 2024 Quarterback - Newcastle One of the top quarterbacks in attendance on Wednesday evening was Newcastle 2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id="154215" first="Jackson" last="Bergt"]. The Newcastle product is one that we’ve seen a few times in person while playing 7v7 and in camp settings. However, Wednesday was the first time to check him out with the pads on and going against a live rush. He didn’t disappoint. There are a group of ’24 quarterbacks in the state that are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and at this point, we think that Bergt is one of those guys that belongs at the top of the QB charts. He was accurate, he had excellent pocket awareness and he just looks like he’s in complete control of the offense. And he should be with the experience that he brings back. Watch out for Newcastle’s offense this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="157512" first="Jax" last="Rumsey"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman - Moore One of the best two-way players that we saw on Wednesday was Moore 2023 lineman [player_tooltip player_id="157512" first="Jax" last="Rumsey"]. The versatility of Rumsey really stood out to us throughout the camp as he would not only line up on offense and defense but he would move around to different spots along the offensive line. We’ve liked Rumsey as a lineman prospect for a while now and you’re starting to see everything start to come together and he’s turning into one of the better lineman prospects in the 2023 class. Now, that OL group in the 2023 class is incredibly deep but with Rumsey getting reps at multiple positions along the OL, he’s bettering his chances to land at the next level with that versatility. He’s a violent blocker on offense and an absolute run-stuffer on the defensive line. [player_tooltip player_id="307902" first="Landon" last="Davis-Barkus"] - 2023 Linebacker - Shawnee A few months ago, we hadn’t heard of Shawnee 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="307902" first="Landon" last="Davis-Barkus"]. Then we did our "Friday Film Review" series in March and April and <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/friday-film-review-march-18th/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he was one of the prospects featured</a>. On film, Barkus jumped out as a linebacker although he was playing running back as well. And then we saw him in person on Wednesday and our evaluation of his film translated perfectly to the eye test in Choctaw. Barkus was one of the best pure linebackers that we saw on Wednesday and it just backed up everything we had written about him in March. Barkus is a fast, hard-nosed linebacker who moves incredibly well from sideline to sideline. And he is just an absolute game-wrecker when he gets to the point of contact. He’s definitely a LB prospect to keep an eye on this summer. [player_tooltip player_id="98176" first="La’Trell" last="Ray"] - 2023 Running Back - Choctaw We’ve been waiting for the recruitment of Choctaw 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="98176" first="La’Trell" last="Ray"] to take off and it did so earlier this week when he received his first D1 offer from Houston Baptist. Ray has been one of the better running backs in this 2023 class but questions about size have been what’s limited the recruitment. Not the production on the field. And we really like what Choctaw is going to do with Ray moving forward and we got a glimpse of that on Wednesday. Not only will Ray take snaps out of the backfield but he lined up in the slot and Choctaw is going to use him in a variety of ways. It was around this time last year we compared Ray to a version of former Bixby star [player_tooltip player_id="38679" first="Braylin" last="Presley"]. We see Choctaw using Ray in a similar way with how Bixby used Presley last season. [player_tooltip player_id="347453" first="Ren" last="Carter"] - 2023 Defensive Back - Shawnee Another prospect that we had to ask about was Shawnee 2023 defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="347453" first="Ren" last="Carter"]. This was our first time not only seeing Carter but hearing his name but we were impressed. Carter lined up at safety for Shawnee’s defense and he was flying all over the field. We really like his combination of size and speed and the coverage skills are there and when he gets to the point of impact, he was not afraid to lower the boom on a ball carrier or a wide receiver. He did an excellent job coming up and helping stop the run and then in passing situations, he seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. We don’t know anything else about Carter other than what we saw from him on Wednesday but he’s going to be a name we’ll watch moving forward. [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] - 2023 Athlete - Choctaw Choctaw 2023 athlete [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] has been a name we’ve liked since his freshman season. It’s always been about one word when it came to Jackson and that was "potential". The potential is definitely there for him to be one of the more physical 2023 prospects in the state’s class and we’ve been waiting for him to blow up into that guy. It appears that he’s on the path now as he’s playing more on the defensive side of the ball. Jackson was lining up at defensive end and was doing a good job on Wednesday, in addition to his work at tight end. Physically, Jackson definitely looks the part and there’s no question he passes the eye test. The only question would be what is the most natural position for him at the next level and is it on offense or defense? [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] - 2023 Quarterback - Choctaw Our next Choctaw prospect is without a doubt the most known across the state and that’s 2023 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"]. Earlier this year, Wasel committed to Akron and this fall he’ll be a three-year starter for the Yellowjackets. We’ve probably seen Wasel in person more than any other media outlet and the growth he’s made from his sophomore year to now is outstanding. On a rainy evening on Wednesday, Wasel still threw perfect passes all over the field. He had nice touch on the deep ball and he was putting it where his receivers could make a play on it. Wasel was incredibly accurate this offseason while playing 7v7 and that accuracy continued on Wednesday. The Akron commit has been one of the top quarterbacks in Oklahoma and that’s not changing in 2022. [player_tooltip player_id="291011" first="Will" last="Smith"] - 2024 Athlete - Choctaw Our final prospect on this breakdown is one that we were probably the most excited to see. Choctaw 2024 two-sport standout [player_tooltip player_id="291011" first="Will" last="Smith"] was playing both sides of the ball on Wednesday and he definitely looked the part. If you’ve read our breakdowns on Smith over the last six months, you know that we’re excited about the potential there and it’s apparent that colleges are excited too as his recruitment has already taken off. On defense, Smith lined up as an outside linebacker in Choctaw’s 3-4 defense. Smith has the chance to be an absolute game changer at that position and his main job will be to cause as much havoc as possible. Now, the interesting thing was his work as a tight end on Wednesday. He has good hands and can move after the catch. We came in thinking he’s defense only but the work on offense has us even more excited about the potential here.