5 Vastly Overlooked 2025 Recruits Rising In The Rankings
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These 5 players have all steadily improved throughout their careers and are some of the biggest movers in the most recent rankings update. Kellen Watson Kellen Watson 6'3" | 190 lbs | WR Penn | 2025 State IN – Penn…
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Continue ReadingThese 5 players have all steadily improved throughout their careers and are some of the biggest movers in the most recent rankings update.
Kellen Watson Kellen Watson 6'3" | 190 lbs | WR Penn | 2025 State IN – Penn – ATH – 6’3″ 190lbs
Watson has the size and frame to dominate the middle of the field. For Penn, he’s shown that he can be effective over the middle and find the soft spot. He’ll settle into zones and give his QB an easy target. He’s much quicker in short areas than people anticipate, allowing him to make guys miss. To be 6’3″ and have any amount of wiggle is a good thing, and Watson can be fairly shifty. He’s sneaky athletic with his acceleration as well. His sense of urgency goes up when he gets the ball in his hands. With his length and speed, he’s also able to get behind the defense and hit the big play. Watson’s tape and speed are actually a bit surprising because he is a full 6’3″ and moves as well as he does. I think it was important that he showed he could be the big play threat, but then he was capable of being a possession WR. His best game this year was his 5 catch, 94 yards, and 2 TD performance against Mishawaka Marian. He’s coming off of a really sound year but should build upon that during his Senior year because there’s more potential and talent waiting to be tapped into.
Twitter: @KellenWatson5
Kenny Smith Kenny Smith 6'2" | 285 lbs | OL Northview | 2025 State IN – Northview – OL – 6’2″ 285lbs
Some players have their ups and downs, but Smith has handled it all well and continued to develop and improve. There were moments early in his career where he looked half a step behind, but that’s been flipped completely on its head. He’s confident, knows where he’s going, and the adjustments he needs to make post-snap. It’s reacting and being physical now for Smtih, and it’s been night and day on the field. He’s got a powerful lower body and does a great job with leverage, especially in the running game. Being a Center, his snaps are fairly consistent as well. They’ve got a nice spiral, come out quick, and in the midsection just about every time. It’s not an issue for him to snap and go on the move, either. Smith wastes no time getting out of his stance and can work to the second level on double teams. Smith has earned his stripes the hard way, but he’s absolutely better for it.
Twitter: @Kenny_Smith70
Nikos Evans Nikos Evans 5'10" | 145 lbs | DB Hammond Central | 2025 State IN – Hammond Central – DB – 5’10” 145lbs
It’s been a really solid past 2 years for Evans as he’s broken out and shown to be a pretty reliable DB. He’s quick and has the speed to cover a big chunk of the field. He doesn’t bite on the double moves and typically does a good job keeping his WR at his hip pocket. He knows when to play the ball and when to bat down the ball. He’s even had a few pass deflections where the WR never showed his hands until he went to catch it. Evans was just quicker in those instances. Over the past 2 years, Evans has put up 58 tackles, 54 being solos which is fairly impressive, 4 interceptions, 6 passes deflected, and 2 fumble recoveries. Having a DB willing to come up and play the run as much as Evans is while developing on the backend is the best thing a young DB can be doing which is exactly where Evans has put himself.
Twitter: @TheOnly5Nemo
Guiseppe Moore Guiseppe Moore 5'8" | 160 lbs | QB Gary West Side | 2025 State IN – Gary West Side – ATH – 5’7″ 160lbs
This past spring I went up to Gary West Side’s combine and was told about Guiseppe and what he could do. I got to see him work, talked to him a bit, and then just wanted to see how he did. Hearing from the staff a kid could be special, seeing it is another. Moore did not disappoint this year and showed all the potential they told me about. He played QB, but that’s because he’s typically just the best athlete on the field and it’s best to keep the ball in his hands. Despite that, he still completed 52% of his passes, threw for 600 yards, and 7 TDs while adding an incredible 1047 yards and 11 TDs on the ground, including a long of 82 yards where he made everyone just look silly. The dude is dynamic with the ball in his hands, and Gary West Side has developed around Moore and what he can do, because there’s not much he struggles with. Having played QB, there’s a chance that helps him tremendously at WR or wherever a team decides to use him. As quick and as twitchy as he is, you have to imagine he could develop a nice route tree. All to be determined, but nonetheless, Moore is fun to watch.
Twitter: @GuiseppeMoore3
Maverick Geske Maverick Geske 6'0" | 195 lbs | QB Brebeuf Jesuit | 2025 State IN – Brebeuf Jesuit – QB – 6’1″ 190lbs
One of the most steady improvements at the QB position in the entire state has been Geske. Year by year for Brebeuf, he’s improved drastically and taken a big jump across the board. His first year was mainly about getting his feet wet. The past 2 years have been all in the flames, and the results are promising. In year 1, he completed 56% of his throws for 1650 yards and 22 TDs. In year 2, he threw for 3084 yards, and 40 TDs while completing 62.2% of his throws. The jump was big, but so was the difference in his confidence with his reads. The arm talent was never a question, it was can he play QB? There’s a big difference between “being a nice thrower of the football” and “being a quarterback” and I think Geske has answered that question. They went 6-5 this year as a team, but they lost games scoring 23, 25, 26, 29, and 39 points respectively. The offense is able to move and score points on a regular basis and that’s because of the steady leader they have at QB in Geske.
Twitter: @Maverick_Geske