On The Come Up 2023 Vol. I
The On The Come Up series is driven to highlight the upcoming prospects in New York making waves in recruiting or primed for a huge year come fall 2023. We’re always looking for upcoming New York talent that needs to…
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Continue ReadingThe On The Come Up series is driven to highlight the upcoming prospects in New York making waves in recruiting or primed for a huge year come fall 2023. We’re always looking for upcoming New York talent that needs to be highlighted because let’s face it, New York doesn’t get the recruiting attention it needs like it’s neighboring states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so we’ll make sure we cover all of the New York prospects that we can. And with that welcome to the “On The Come Up 2023 Series” volume I.
Elijah Welch Elijah Welch 6’0″ | 175 lbs | QB Westhill | 2026 NY is a 2026 QB who has 2 years of varsity football under his belt and really showed out in 2022 amassing over 2100+ yards from scrimmage and was responsible for 28 Touchdowns on the season. Standing 6’0” and weighing 173 pounds. Welch has good size and should continue to grow a few more inches before he finishes his high school career.
Throws with nice touch with above average accuracy for a high school quarterback.
Pocket Passer that can use his legs to extend plays while keeping his eyes downfield.
Throws a very nice ball that seems easy to catch for his WRs.
Most accurate on short to intermediate routes.
Needs to continue to refine his mechanics.
Would like to see him use his legs more.
Field general that has total control of the offense
Elijah needs to hit the showcase camp and college camp circuit this spring and summer to help push his recruiting in a positive direction. He has the varsity film and is a proven play maker in Central New York (Section III) and that was clearly evident by his All-CNY and All-State selections as a freshman. Can be among the top 5 passer in the state for 2026 when it comes time for that cycle to sign. A huge spring and summer on the camp scene could make Welch a household name before September 2023.
Jacob “Hurricane” Butler is a name you need to know in the 2026 class. And by his nickname you can obviously guess speed and quickness is apart of his game. Can make a house call and strike up the band from anywhere on the field. Hurricane had a very impressive 2022 freshman campaign snagging 31 receptions for 648 yards, 938 all-purpose yards 21.8 yards per touch and 8 touchdowns for Long Island Lutheran high school.
Very good speed for a 2026 prospect, which has him ahead of the curve speed wise
Twitchy, sudden, agile
Good body control
Does a good job catching football at his highest point
Elusive open field runner
Ranked #14 in the nation among 2026s during indoor track in the 300m
Qualified for the 2022-2023 NYSPHAA Indoor Track & Field State Championships
Solid hands and doesn’t double catch the football
Jacob has received interest from Rutgers, Stony Brook and visited Penn State for Junior Day back in January.Has a knack for making plays in big games and that trait was on display during Long Island Lutheran’s 2022 semi final playoff game when Butler posted 3 catches for 123 yards and 1 Touchdown. And at 5’10” and growing Butler won’t have any problems meeting the measurable for his position. Expect Hurricane to be a national prospect by his junior year.
Highlights
Mr. Camp Season 2022 stock riser from New York outside of PJ Carey from St. Anthony’s had to be De’Mari Clemons De’Mari Clemons 5’10” | 160 lbs | DB Bennett | 2026 State NY hand down. The 2026 NY Defensive Back was the FBU Columbus MVP, The UC Report NJ DB MVP, NXGN Cleveland DB MVP, Prep Red Zone Next NJ DB MVP. All of that helped Clemons rack up two early offers from Syracuse and Buffalo. He rode that momentum to starting every game he played in during the 2022 season for a State Championship winner and amassed All-WNY honors. Post season Clemons played in the FBU Adidas Freshman All-American game where he was tasked with covering Malachi Toney of American Heritage (FL) who’s regarded as the top WR in the 2026 cycle. Clemons held his own and made plays.
Good size early on
Above average footwork
Advanced Position Technique Knowledge
Twitchy and Bouncy
Good Length
Above average make up Speed
Good lateral movement
Uses hands well in press coverage
Needs to make more plays on the ball (more INTs)
Solid tackler, that’s not afraid to mix it up with bigger RBs, WRs or pulling OL
This off-season De’Mari has been training in Buffalo,NY and flying to Atlanta to train with the likes of Oliver Davis who’s a DB training goat who has a roster of players currently in the NFL and all over college football and high school football. Clemons is also on the radar of some the top private high schools in the country and recently picked up a huge offer from Penn State this month. With that offer coming from PSU you can expect Clemons recruiting profile to continue to rise and by this time next year should be a certified national recruit and one of the tops at his position.
Highlights
This under the radar 2024 prospect has freakish athletic ability and hasn’t camped so he’s not on many people’s radar, but his film suggests he damn sure could be one of the top 50 NY prospects by the end of the summer. Standing around 5’9.5″ – 5’10” and weighing 171-174 pounds Lawson has good size to project as a RB, Slot WR, PR, KR or DB at the next level. Has D1 FCS recruit written all over him. Started the 2022 season off as a WR but half way through the season was switched to RB to take advantage of his play making ability with the football in his hands. And in 4 games at RB Lawson posted 708 yards on 73 carries for 7 Touchdowns averaging a staggering 9.7 yards per carry. First highlight on film you see Lawson take off 70 yards for a touchdown while weaving through defenders and showing very good speed to pull away from the defense after breaking several tackles, with one seeing Lawson hurdle a defender. When you’re able to do that and still have enough gas in the tank to pull away…you’re a D1 FCS prospect at minimum. Lawson also put up 5 receptions for 99 yards and 1 Touchdown, on defense he posted 38 tackles, 2 TFL and 1 Interception that he showed about a 36 inch vert in game to snag the pass out the air.
Speed
Quickness
Agile
Suddenness
Good Hands
Very good leaping ability
Good wiggle and shiftiness to make defenders miss in tight space or open field
Runs hard like the Kansas City Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco
Home run threat from anywhere on the field.
I expect Lawson to rush for well over 1000 yards this upcoming season as he’s in line to be RB1 from day 1 of practice. And overall he’s primed for a huge senior campaign that should make him a hot commodity for FCS programs in the northeast. And don’t be surprised if Lawson is a name you here a ton about during the 2023 season.
Highlights
Marlon King
Marlon King
Another under the radar prospect here in New York that I like is Marlon King of Midwood High School. Checking in at 5’11” and 170 pounds King has the size to play WR or DB at the next level. King played WR, DB PR and KR last season and racked up over 700 all-purpose yards and posted 10 TDs, and on defense he posted 4 interceptions. That led to him being named All-City on both sides of the ball. Nothing on what the recruiting process has been like for King but I can tell you that he’s under recruited and hopefully that changes this spring, summer and fall for the Midwood standout.
Reported 4.5 speed in the forty (shows on film)
36″ Vertical
4.39 Short Shuttle
Rangy as a DB
Good overall length
Good hands
Can Score from multiple positions and from anywhere on the field
Elite Athleticism
Good combination of size, speed and balance which he knows how to use on the field
Expect big things from King over the course of this spring eval period and if he posts the numbers that are reported on his social media, Marlon should go into his senior season with a few offers with the possibility of racking up more come early fall. Looking forward to see how his off-season progresses and how he performs at various camps.