Future Stars Game: 2028 Prospects That Caught My Eye – Part 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the recruiting world continues to speed up and the times continue to change drastically, the seventh-grade school year is poised to become the year when the scholarship conversation begins to happen. The change has been coming for years and it's now here. The rising ninth-grader (class of 2027, who just finished eighth grade) athletes have received a record number of verbal offers, which has caused this 2028 class (will be eighth graders in the fall) to also report a record number of verbal offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Future Stars Game event is no stranger to elite talent early. For years they've been pinning elite middle school competition against each other, and this year was no different. Yesterday we looked at <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/06/future-stars-game-2028-prospects-that-caught-my-eye-part-1/">Part 1 of the 2028 prospects that caught my eye</a></strong>, and today we'll look at Part 2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["410826"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"- Either myself, or another Prep Redzone Next scout, have seen Pope play at least twice a year over the past two years and he's worth the trip down south alone. Loved him as a sixth grader last year on the Georgia Future Stars, and he came back even better this year as a seventh graderrnrn- Up to 6-foot-1 and 180-solid-pounds that made life tough for offensive tackle's, as he rushed off the edge with exceptional athleticismrnrn- Without the benefit of having official stats I can't remember if he tallied any official sacks, but I know he was in the backfield a lot, and had a number of tackles for loss.rnrn- His speed and ability to strike really stood out to me. Thrived against zone blocking because offensive linemen would step left or right, not see him as the most immediate threat and then look for someone else to block. Meanwhile, the second the blocker was gone, he used his elite quickness to shoot in the hole to make a stop","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["366529"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"- Have been following him from afar the last two years and seeing him live stamped what I already thoughtu002du002dhe can playrnrn- Did a nice job playing defensive end with his 6-foot-1 and 220 pound body and made a lot of plays coming off the edge. If he didn't make the tackle, also forced plays back inside regularly by keeping containmentrnrn- Also big and thick enough to bump inside to play defensive tackle if scheme called for it. Right now, looks ideal for a 3-4 defensive endrnrn- Offensively lined up as an H-Back and Tight End and helped pave the way for a nice running attack for North Carolina. He was bigger than some of the offensive lineman and running power behind him proved to be fruitful","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["653251"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"- Magee was a solid performer on both sides of the line for the Georgia 7th Grade Future Stars, starting at guard and defensive tacklernrn- Built very similarly to [player_tooltip player_id='656532' first='Christian' last='Williams']u002du002dwho played offensive tackle on his sideu002du002dbut even thicker at 6-foot and 290 poundsrnrn- All the talented backs on the Georgia Future Stars team had to love running behind the 2028 prospect, as he was nothing short of a road grader up frontrnrn- Going to list him as an offensive lineman at this point, but could easily see him becoming strictly a defensive tackle. With his size, wide base and strength, he has the potential to become a highly recruited player","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["379094"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"- Showed glimpses of having the ability to take over the game on both sides of the ballrnrn- Nicknamed u0022Beast Modeu0022, he's a load as a dual-threat quarterback and an interior defensive linemenu002du002da combination you won't see too oftenrnrn- Did a nice job a year ago on the sixth grade South Carolina Future Stars team, but came back this year a much improved player. Noticeably more athletic and considerably quickerrnrn- Not sure what the future will hold for him on the field. I've listed him as an athlete because of what he does on the offensive side of the ball. However, if I was a betting man, I'd say he projects to an athletic interior defensive lineman. Time will tell","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["605913"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"- Second time seeing him in the last four months and I'm starting to like how Green plays more and morernrn- Did a great job at the PRZ Next camp this past winter and looks to have grown an inch or two and put on some notice able weight. Now listed at 5-foot-8 and 120 pounds, if not biggerrnrn- Specifically impressed during the championship game against Georgia. Despite being a natural defensive back, his biggest play of the Future Stars Game week came in the form of an over-the-shoulder touchdown reception right before the end of the first halfrnrn- Prior to the championship game against Georgia, made some really big plays for the Florida Future Stars in their victory over North Carolina. Specifically on a two-point attempt, where he came up to assist on a tackle","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["866297"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"- Out of all the North Carolina Future Stars prospects, regardless of grade level, Edmond was the first prospect that. caught my eye. After watching him stretch in warmups, I could tell he was going to be a good onernrn- Really well put-together for a 2028 prospect at 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, with another year of football to go before he even reaches high schoolrnrn- In my opinion, a three-down back that has the skill set to stay on the field in nearly any situation during the gamernrn- Brings a nice mix of power and speed to the position. Also contributed in the return game with a pair of touchdown's","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["734250"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"- He may only be a 7th grade running back, but I'd question any grown man who would want to try to tackle the tank that is Matthew Craft Jr. and his 5-foot-5, 189-pound framernrn- Craft Jr. didn't particularly stick out to me during the Georgia Future Stars practice and a half that I watched, but the battering ram showed up in a bug way during the gamesrnrn- Throughout the week he picked up a ton of yards by simply wearing down the defense with 3-to-5-yard carries before ripping off longer runs on a beat up defensernrn- In the victory over Florida he scored on an impressive 40+ yard touchdown run, en route to the Offensive MVP of the game","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["865757"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"- Another prospect I've been keeping an eye on from afar, Terry did a great job for the Florida Future Stars 7th Grade Teamrnrn- Proved to be one of the best players, regardless of class, at the entire event. At 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds, the future is extremely bright for him at the quarterback positionrnrn- Showed off a ton of dual-threat ability with a number of touchdowns with his legs and arm during the two games he playedrnrn- In Florida's loss to Georgia in the championship game, he left it all on the field. Scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and made some big time throws. I came away very impress with his body of work","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":["424684"],"_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"- Showed up after my first go-around watching the seventh-grade North Carolina team practice, but was glad to be able to catch him in the last practice before their opening game against Floridarnrn- A shorter, more compact offensive lineman that was listed at 5-foot-8 and 280 pounds on the roster and made for a very good offensive guardrnrn- Perry Jr. is another prospect that caught my eye over a year ago as a sixth grader in the Future Stars Game, but came back a significantly more mature playerrnrn- Very strong at the point of contact and did a good job of keeping interior defensive linemen out of the backfield. At this point, a better run blocker than he is in pass pro, but has another year to improve his overall skill set before high school ball","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_9_player":["664674"],"_player_evaluations_9_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"- Williams Jr. was a prospect I was excited to see play live for the first time. For, if no other reason, just to see what 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds looked liked on a 2028 prospectrnrn- A long defensive end with considerable thickness given how tall he is, he's the type of player you send off the bus first because of his sheer sizernrn- In the championship game against Florida, was lined up across from 6-foot-4 Florida tight end Franky Arcaro and watching the pair bang against each other was a treat. Nearly 13 feet of 7th grade prospects going at it resulted in both guys needing to take a play to calm down per the refsrnrn- Was more athletic than I thought he would be, but still has a way to go in terms of putting it all together. Has some raw skills and an obvious body to work with, but needs to become more fluid and coordinated. Bottom line, there's a ton of potential to work with here","_player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_10_player":["866227"],"_player_evaluations_10_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_10_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_10_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_10_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_10_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_10_evaluation":"- Spruill is a new name to me, once again proving why the Future Stars Game is such a valuable event for young prospects to be involved withrnrn- Standing 6-foot and 140 pounds, he looks like future NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Durant out on the football field playing the safety position with just how long he looksrnrn- His height and length is what naturally immediately caught my eye, but he's significantly more physical than I thought he would be. Had no problem coming up in support during Future Stars. After watching some of his film from this past year, I can see he regularly takes heads off back therernrn- While he also played wide receiver in the games, his future and his impact plays were made at safety. Highlighted by high-pointing an under-thrown ball and picking it off, in North Carolina's win over South Carolina","_player_evaluations_10_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":11,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-649588c95c89a"} /-->