AL Pops’ 2028 Offensive Prospect Potpourri – 11.16.23
Use PROMO CODE: ALPOPS40 for a 40% DISCOUNT on your Prep Redzone Next subscription. I literally check out the film of dozens, if not over 100, different middle prospects every single day. From coast to coast, farm towns to big cities, mountains to the beaches…
Access all of Prep Redzone Next and Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingUse PROMO CODE: ALPOPS40 for a 40% DISCOUNT on your Prep Redzone Next subscription. I literally check out the film of dozens, if not over 100, different middle prospects every single day. From coast to coast, farm towns to big cities, mountains to the beaches and fertile recruiting grounds to needles in a haystack. Here are five offensive prospects of various positions that stood out to me today from across the United States on November 16th, 2023. Please note the date, you’ll want to remember it in the future.
Quarterback with good size for only being in eighth-grade at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds right now. Per Virginia High School League (VHSL) rules, was allowed to play JV this past season at James Monroe High School. Really impressive arm strength for a prospect at this level, both in the pocket and on the run. Probably an even better baseball player right now and can switch-hit. His father Todd Hardy played football at Bucknell in the earlier 90’s and his oldest brother, Jack Hardy, is a senior defensive tackle for the UVA Cavaliers.
Highlights
Individually, there isn’t much more that 2028 Utah wide receiver Creed DeVries could have done this season. On top of the good size at 5-foot-11 and 140 pounds, DeVries used speed and intelligent play to fill up the stat sheet this year. With the right arm of quarterback Carter Payne serving as the other half of the connection, DeVries hauled in 35 receptions for 1,033 yards and 23 receiving touchdowns–that’s an average of 29.5 yards per reception. When you total up his offensive contributions, he accounted for 1,865 all-purpose yards. He also added six interceptions and two defensive touchdowns on the year. Like Virginia quarterback Jude Hardy (listed above), DeVries has family ties to the D1 FBS level, as his brother Cannon DeVries was a three-star prospect coming out of high school in 2022 and will attend BYU after finishing a two-year mission in Texas.
A year ago I fell in love with New York 2027 prospect, and then-eighth grader, running back Kory Brown. Brown went on to win the RB MVP at the Prep Redzone Next Middle School Camp in New Jersey before picking up an offer from Rutgers before he even graduated from middle school. This year, the eighth-grade back out of New York that I am high on early, is Khalid Hedges. Hedges, like Brown, is also a Staten Island native and brings a similar mix of speed and tough running. While he doesn’t have the same impressive muscle mass that Brown did/does at this stage, Hedges is an explosive back with tremendous acceleration. At 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, he will (literally) break the arm of a defensive player trying to bring him down with arm tackles. It’s early, but Tottenville High School could add yet another talented back to its stable, that already includes PRZ New York’s No.1 running back in 2027 (Kory Brown) and No.1 running back in 2026 (Tyshawn Bent).
Having watched Taylor’s pre-high school career over the last three years, seeing his progression from “yeah, this little kid is pretty good” to “YUP! This prospect is on another level”–has been a pleasure. He’s no stranger to the Prep Redzone Next headlines, as this is the fifth of sixth time his name has been mentioned in a write up, over the last three years. The son of a former NFL Europe/Arena League running back, Taylor is up to 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, as he wraps up his eighth-grade year. Everything is falling into place for him, as he starts to approach elite status. He was clocked at a 4.8 in the forty this past July and the power is starting to kick in, too. There aren’t too many other, what I would consider to be, complete 2028 backs in the Kentucky/Indiana area. To me, he checks all the boxes right now. From genetics, to work ethic, to speed, power, agility and everything in between.