Imani Christian Academy, Potential Top Prospect in Class of 25&26
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If you haven’t caught wind of the huge noise surrounding Imani Christian Academy, more specifically, top-ranked linebacker Dayshaun Burnett Dayshaun Burnett 6’4″ | 220 lbs | LB Imani Christian Academy | 2025 State PA , you’ve been living under a rock.
Dayshaun Burnett Dayshaun Burnett 6’4″ | 220 lbs | LB Imani Christian Academy | 2025 State PA has seen his recruitment explode this offseason, earning offers out of Pitt and West Virginia early this past August.
Akron and UMass were first to identify and offer the 6’2 LB/ATH, which was then followed by an offer out of Penn State University, acting as the young man’s first Power Five letter. Before the Power Five offers began to roll in from WVU and Pitt, we ranked Dayshaun Burnett Dayshaun Burnett 6’4″ | 220 lbs | LB Imani Christian Academy | 2025 State PA as the top linebacking prospect in the class of 2025, lofty praise. There’s a real chance that Burnett could end up ranking as the top prospect in his class when it’s all said and done. We still like talents like Stone Saunders Stone Saunders 6’2″ | 200 lbs | QB Bishop McDevitt | 2025 State PA , Jabree Coleman, and Anthony Sacca Anthony Sacca 6’4″ | 220 lbs | LB St. Joseph’s Prep | 2025 State PA ahead of the sophomore currently, yet you can’t shake the resemblance to Ta’Mere Robinson Ta’Mere Robinson 6’3″ | 225 lbs | LB Brashear | 2023 State PA and even Quinton Martin Quinton Martin 6’3″ | 200 lbs | ATH Belle Vernon Area | 2024 State PA when looking at Burnett.
Plugging in the freshman and early sophomore tapes, Burnett has some work to do to be held at the same status as Martin and Robinson, yet you can see the similarities to both prospects, both physically and in play style. We all are enamored with Quinton Martin Quinton Martin 6’3″ | 200 lbs | ATH Belle Vernon Area | 2024 State PA ‘s versatility on the field, there truly isn’t anywhere on the field that Martin can’t produce. Burnett has shades of the same position versatility. Running back, quarterback, defensive back, linebacker, you name it, Burnett can produce there. Say what you will about the competition ICA might face week in and week out, the tape shows a prospect that is beyond his years in both athleticism and size.
Burnett’s frame has grown since we last updated his measurables back in April, he now self-lists as a 6’3, 205-pound backer who looks to have toned up quite a bit. I think of the change in build linebacker prospects like Ta’Mere Robinson Ta’Mere Robinson 6’3″ | 225 lbs | LB Brashear | 2023 State PA and Josiah Trotter Josiah Trotter 6’2″ | 220 lbs | LB St. Joseph’s Prep | 2023 State PA have undergone as upperclassmen and wish the same development for this young man. It’s a little early to project his future position, especially for me, considering I’ve yet to see him work in person. I can imagine his combination of size and instincts will lead college coaches to desire him at linebacker. His tape at middle backer also justifies this notion. Burnett is too fast and powerful for interior linemen to handle. An elite blitzer, Burnett times his shots through the gap well, leading to multiple TFLs each week.
Put aside the comparisons and the ranks, we expect Dayshaun Burnett Dayshaun Burnett 6’4″ | 220 lbs | LB Imani Christian Academy | 2025 State PA to have a legitimate shot at being the best player in his class by the time he’s a senior. He’s got a wealth of competition ahead of him. Expect more Power Five programs to give the Burnett family a ring as the Fall season progresses.
Highlights
Contrary to what some believe, we have had our eyes on another elite Imani Christian Academy prospect for quite some time, thanks to ICA Head Coach LaRoi Johnson, who always does an incredible job promoting all of his players, not just the elite ones. Coach Johnson told me of this kid’s ability long before David Davis David Davis 6’0″ | 175 lbs | DB Imani Christian Academy | 2026 State PA received his first Power Five offer, which came out of Penn State on September 5th. I wish we had ranked him accordingly before the season began, nonetheless, expect David Davis David Davis 6’0″ | 175 lbs | DB Imani Christian Academy | 2026 State PA to place high on our updated freshman rankings after the Fall season.
Davis is currently on the short list of Freshmen to be offered by a Power Five program in the state of Pennsylvania. This notion alone justifies the statement that Imani Christian could very well deploy two of the top underclassmen prospects in the entire state. Now the eight freshman prospects to be offered, expect more programs to follow suit, so long as the tape matches the hype.
Despite his initial 2-game tape lacking significant reps at defensive back, I project that the best version of David Davis David Davis 6’0″ | 175 lbs | DB Imani Christian Academy | 2026 State PA is on the defensive side of the ball. The kid’s measurables will be updated, as his current measurables date back to his middle school numbers. Davis now stands at 6’0, 165 pounds, his build beginning to take shape, one that will likely suit his reps at safety/corner.
All of this being said, it’s hard to not love Davis being in the backfield with Burnett, a tandem that is proving itself to be a bit too much for defenses to handle. Both Burnett and Davis are too good to be spared playing both sides of the ball. Davis the running back displays a natural feel through the trenches. His freshman tape is littered with plenty of tough runs through opposing front sevens, just don’t let him shift into his second gear and bounce runs outside, Davis will burn a defense if it loses contain.
I’m excited to see what this kid’s potential ceiling could be. We are sold on Semaj Beals Semaj Beals 6’1″ | 155 lbs | QB Roman Catholic | 2026 State PA and others as top freshman prospects, I am beginning to be sold on Davis as well.