2025 Rankings: Big Play Athletes
In this article:
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! This week on Prep Redzone Oklahoma, we’re continuing our ranking update with a spotlight on some of the top 2025 prospects in the state. On Monday, we…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!
This week on Prep Redzone Oklahoma, we’re continuing our ranking update with a spotlight on some of the top 2025 prospects in the state. On Monday, we released our updated 2025 rankings. Throughout this week, we’ve been breaking down different position groups and overall standouts in the state’s 2025 class. In this post, we’re putting the spotlight on five prospects that are listed as “athletes” on this breakdown because of the versatility that they play with. . Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more breakdowns on 2025 prospects. And check back next Monday for our final prospect ranking update when we look at the 2024 class!
We’ve mentioned this a few times this week but it fits here as well. The state’s 2025 class is absolutely loaded and there are quite a few prospects that would be considered top ten overall prospects in most years but are on the outside looking in. Carl Albert’s Marcus James Marcus James 6’3″ | ATH Carl Albert | 2025 State OK is another example of that. James is a name to keep an eye on in the next week as he is getting ready to announce his commitment on Thursday evening. On offense, James is a tight end that was one of the brightest parts of their massive road win over Guthrie in week eight. On defense, James has the ability to line up at linebacker or even closer to the line of scrimmage. He’s one of the best in the class.
North Rock Creek might be flying under the radar in Class 3A but they just locked up their first playoff appearance in school history and junior Caleb Hawkins Caleb Hawkins 6’2″ | 205 lbs | ATH North Rock Creek | 2025 State OK is a big reason why. Hawkins is one of the more complete players in Class 3A this season. Whether it’s offense, defense or special teams, Hawkins finds a way to make a massive impact. Earlier this season, it seemed like Hawkins was a weekly member of our “Top Performer” feature because of his ability on the offensive side of the ball. Hawkins had a breakout season last year as a sophomore and he’s continued to build on that momentum over the last 12 months. Hawkins is a name that more people to know about moving forward.
Highlights
Choctaw standout JuJu Smith JuJu Smith 5’8″ | ATH Choctaw | 2025 State OK was arguably the most underrated part of their team that made it to the state title game a year ago. So when the Yellowjackets were hit hard by graduation, we knew that Smith would elevate his game to new heights and become arguably the team’s best overall player this season. It’s hard to argue that this hasn’t happened as Smith has done just about everything for Choctaw on offense, defense and in special teams. As the Yellowjackets start preparing for the playoffs, we anticipate that Smith is going to elevate his game again. If Choctaw makes it back to Edmond to contend for the state title, don’t be surprised if Smith has a massive role on the road to Edmond.
Rejoice Christian standout Cale Marley Cale Marley 5’9″ | 170 lbs | ATH Rejoice Christian | 2025 State OK had his junior season come to an end before it could really get going. So we don’t have any new information to go off of when it comes to evaluating Marley as a prospect but he is still one of the better prospects in the class. Despite missing this fall, Marley is still going to be a name to watch moving forward in this class. Marley was slated to be Rejoice Christian’s starting quarterback this season but he has also shown the ability to play wide receiver on offense and then turn around start for the Eagles at safety on defense. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see what Marley could do with a full season as QB1 after dominating in the second half of last season.
Highlights
Blanchard junior standout Brayson Carter Brayson Carter 5’9″ | 155 lbs | ATH Blanchard | 2025 State OK is no stranger to our rankings updates but for the last year, we’ve had him listed as a wide receiver. But moving forward, we’re starting to keep an eye on him and his potential as a defensive back in addition to what he’s already shown at wide receiver. Carter has still been excellent for the Lions this season on the offensive side of the ball. He’s a versatile weapon on offense but when we got a chance to see Blanchard in person earlier this season, it was Carter on the defensive side of the ball that got our attention. He had two interceptions and a forced fumble that he took back for a touchdown in a massive district win over Tuttle. His versatility has gone up this fall.