Double Up? Athletes Set to Go Off in 2022

With another year of school behind us, and another group of students graduated, we look around the high school football landscape in WI and see a ton of opportunities for increased work, production, and success. Not just for athletes looking to break onto the scene. There is also an opportunity for established impact players to increase their impact even more. Maybe even twice as much as their 2021 impact. That is what we are looking at today. Athletes who had great 2021 seasons, but could go as far as to double their numbers from last season. Let’s check out seven of those athletes, their previous numbers, and why they could see far more of an impact and production in 2022. [player_tooltip player_id="245970" first="Corey" last="Smith"], ’24 RB- Catholic Memorial 2021 Stats: 96 Carries, 1,130 Yards, 18 TDs Corey already had the most carries, yards, and TDs for Catholic Memorial in 2021, so why would we think he could double his production this fall? The answer to that question is the massive amount of work that graduated in 2022. Catholic Memorial will be looking to start a brand new QB, and replace nearly 200 carries, 1,600+ yards, and 24 TDs on the ground. With that huge void, and looking to get a new QB comfortable for a deep run I expect CM to lean on the best offensive weapon in the state of WI. With that many carries available, there is a huge opportunity for Corey to double his stats. With him averaging well over 10 yards per carry, Corey doesn’t need a huge chunk of those voided carries to break 2,000 yards. Even with a strong stable of RBs behind Corey, you can bet we will see his yards and TDs make a large jump. [player_tooltip player_id="104993" first="Alexander" last="Wraalstad"], ’24 RB- Oconomowoc 2021 Stats: 98 Carries, 459 Yards, 7 TDs I think we see a jump in every category here with Alex, but where I want to focus is the yardage totals. Oconomowoc graduates their dual threat QB who led the team in passing and rushing yards. This leaves a massive void to fill. Not only do they need to find their next signal caller, but they have a lot of production to replace. My selection for who they should lean on is the athletic junior RB. He has 4.6 speed, and impressive vision and instincts once he breaks the line of scrimmage. The experience and talent will be a key, reliable source of production this fall, and we will see the production rise in response to that. Keep an eye on the playmaker in Oconomowoc. Damien Lee, ’23 LB- Aquinas 2021 Stats: 75 Tackles, 8 TFLs, 3.5 Sacks, 1 INT The stat I want to focus on with Damien is his sacks. The reason I think we see that number double or more is because of his pure talent. Damien is such an explosive athlete with the frame to be an elite edge rusher. He is also a smooth mover in space, which has honestly cost him a few sacks because he can be trusted to drop into coverage. Even with that responsibility, I think Damien is going to start to get to the QB with more success when he is sent. He is too quick off the ball, is too agile, and his offense is so potent that he should get plenty of opportunities to rush the passer as teams try to keep up with the reigning State Champs. Lee is an under the radar steal that needs way more attention. He is a potential D1 talent at LB. [player_tooltip player_id="200127" first="Ty" last="Madlena"], ’23 DB- Stevens Point 2021 Stats: 27 Tackles, 3 TFLs, 3 INTs, 10 Pass Breakups The stat I want to focus on here is the INTs. Getting 6 INTs is no easy task when you play in WI where teams love to pound the rock, and the weather likes to force teams to do so. However, the reason for my expectation in a jump in the INT category is because of his PBU numbers. Ty was one of the best at getting his hands on the ball. His double digit breakups show that he is aggressive at the catch point despite his small stature. With an offseason of development, and plenty of experience under his belt, I hope to see him make a jump in his ability to get himself in the right place at the right time and turn those breakups into more turnovers. Keep an eye on this DB. He is a dawg on the outside. [player_tooltip player_id="105005" first="Preston" last="Nelson II"], ’24 QB- Janesville Parker 2021 Stats: 91/144, 1,195 Yards, 12 TDs I could see a couple of Preston’s stats make huge jumps, but where I wan t to focus is his TDs. For starters, Preston only played in 7 games in 2021. With a full season under his belt the numbers should naturally see a bump. I also think Janesville Parker should be competitive this fall, and have chance at a playoff push. That will provide Preston with even more games to put up numbers. Another reason I expect a jump is that Nelson will be throwing to one of, if not the best, WR group in the state. He has three legit options that can takeover games. Lastly, I believe that Preston will be able to convert TDs at a faster rate than his 12 attempts per TD that he had in 2021. With all three factors coming together we could very easily see him break the 20 TD barrier. [player_tooltip player_id="104372" first="Keany" last="Parks"], ’23 RB- Kenosha Bradford 2021 Stats: 135 Carries, 810 Yards, 8 TDs Keany has spent the offseason waking up those sleeping on him, and he is going to continue to do so this season. The number I want to focus on for Keany is the rushing TDs. I think we see Parks take a huge workload this fall. Bradford is replacing their QB, and four of their top five producing receiving options. That leaves Keany as the sole consistent producer from the 2021 offense that saw three kids break 1,000 AP yards; one being Keany. Keany has the tools to put up the numbers and carry a large portion of the offense. He has 4.47 speed, is a three down option because of his receiving skills, and is just as dangerous inside as he is outside the tackles. Double digit rushing TDs is my expectation, and 15+ looks to be needed for Bradford to make a playoff push. Watch what he does this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="104497" first="Ben" last="Vallafskey"], ’23 RB- Appleton West 2021 Stats: 150 Carries, 872 Yards, 6 TDs The numbers that I want to focus on for the twitchy RB is his rushing TDs. Ben already had a large workload at 150 carries, but he wasn’t able to generate the scores you might expect. With a new QB at the helm, I am confident we will see a similar large workload. However, I believe we will see more of those touches convert into scores. Ben is so talented in tight quarters, and has the speed to win in space. We are going to see Ben visit the endzone quite a bit more this season as they look to beat their 5-5 record from last season and their 12.6 PPG. Breakout season incoming.