Class of 2029/2030 Standouts from New Jersey PRZ Next Camp
This past weekend in Waldwick, New Jersey, Prep Redzone Next held its middle school camp at the Superdome. While, as usual, the camp was dominated by the eighth-graders (class of 2028), there were more than a few younger athletes that…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend in Waldwick, New Jersey, Prep Redzone Next held its middle school camp at the Superdome. While, as usual, the camp was dominated by the eighth-graders (class of 2028), there were more than a few younger athletes that stood out. Seventh-graders (class of 2029) and even a few sixth-graders (class of 2030) earned praise from myself, the collection of college coaches and high school coaches in attendance.
A recently reclassed quarterback to the class of 2029, Rivera picked up from exactly when I saw him play last month at AYF Nationals in Florida. Only 13 years old, he played up on the 14u level this entire season and he was still excellent. Officially measuring in at 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, he showed off the soft touch on passes that has seen him become one of the top passers in New Jersey. In addition to his accuracy on the deep ball, I saw him make a number of throws that required a little more zip on the ball–and he hit the receiver in stride way more times than not.
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I saw Towns play a few years back while awaiting an older game and I took note of his ability back then. Watching him again this past weekend, it’s evident to see why many people in the greater Philadelphia area are excited about him. He measured in at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds at the camp and checked every box on the field. Wide shoulders and noticeably strong latts, he’s physically advanced. Made a number of very good throws to all three levels. There was a lot of smack talk during the 1-on-1 portion of camp, but I didn’t see Towns engage in it once. He stayed quiet and simply delivered seeds on most reps.
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Walker Snee Walker Snee 6’0″ | 160 lbs | QB NJ is a name the entire state of New Jersey needs to get familiar with right now. The son of Chris Snee, a two-time Super Bowl Champion and member of the New York Giants Ring Of Honor and grandson of future Hall of Fame coach, Tom Coughlin, Walker Snee Walker Snee 6’0″ | 160 lbs | QB NJ is on his way to blazing his own path. The 5-foot-11, 160-pounder is a quarterback that already has most of the private schools in North Jersey already drooling over the current-seventh grade. Out of any of the non-eighth grade quarterbacks there, he threw the best deep ball. Obviously there’s a ton of time left and development needed, before we can realistically talk about the next level, but he’s an obvious candidate for the top 2029 prospect in New Jersey at this point. Buy stock in him now.
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The lone non-eighth grade running back to garner a spot on this list, Reaves celebrated this 13th birthday in fashion at the PRZ Next Middle School camp in New Jersey. I was able to get an appetizer of Reaves last month at AYF Nationals in Florida, so I had an idea of the type of player he was. However, getting to see him in a concentrated, non-game setting helped me see all that he has to offer–and it’s a nice combination. He was actually a little bigger than I had in my mind, coming in at 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds. Did a nice job at catching passes while coming out of the backfield. Needs to pick up the speed a bit if he wants to continue to stay a step above the competition. Defensively he plays linebacker and I’m not convinced that’s the better spot for him long term. Nonetheless, he’s a plus player right now.
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Like KOBE “ K3” TOWNS KOBE “ K3” TOWNS 6’1″ | 165 lbs | QB PA above, Chance is another prospect who made the trip to North Jersey from Pennsylvania. He was on the roster as a wide receiver but did the bulk of individual periods and live reps (if not all of them) with the defensive back–and it was a phenomenal choice. Played with exceptional quickness and great hips for a defensive back with at least another year of youth football. Had the best shuttle time of any 2029 prospect there registering 4.19–twice. One of the position coaches made it a point to come up and tell me that it was obvious Chance trains and is coached up. Played the position at an advanced level and should be considered one of the top 2029 athletes in Pennsylvania.
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One of three Virginia 2029 prospects to stand out on the defensive side of the ball, Butler had a nice day at linebacker at camp. Attended his first PRZ Next camp two years ago and measured in at 5-foot-3 and 135 pounds, but is now up to a solid 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds. He’s another prospect I saw just last month at AYF Nationals in Florida. Did a good job of using his length to his advantage. In a camp setting linebackers are often at a disadvantage because they do a lot of pass coverage, but Butler held his own. Has pretty good feet, plays on his toes and bounces nicely awaiting the back or receiver to make their move. He has some room for improvement in overall speed, but there’s a lot to work with here.
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If there was a defensive MVP award for non-eighth-graders at the PRZ Next Middle School Camp, it would have been hard to not give it to Koc. He was a teammate of Rahmir Rivera Rahmir Rivera 5’8″ | 170 lbs | QB NJ on the New Jersey AYF 14U All-Star team I saw last month and was a serious contributor on the defensive side of the ball for the National Champions as just a a 13-year old 2029 prospect. Koc measured in at 188 pounds, a solid 13 pounds heavier than when I last got measurements on him in September. Having seen him play live several times leading up to camp, I knew what to expect from the 5-foot-11 prospect, but he did surprise me a bit. He has spent some obvious time in the weight room and looks like he could start to make the transition from outside linebacker to inside. When he got a solid jam on running backs coming out of the backfield, you could hear the thud echo in the bubble. When starting to look at impact 2029 linebackers in New Jersey, the list has to start with the Toms River native right now.
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The Virginia prospect has all the makings of a very special prospect for the 2029 class, already standing 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds on the dot. The combination of speed, size and smarts made him a favorite of mine at the camp. During 1-on-1 drills he showed an advanced knowledge of defending the pass and knowing when/how to get physical as the backs get in/out of their breaks. Right now he’s somewhere in between an inside linebacker and outside linebacker, with the ability to play both at this level. Showed off very good straight-line speed with a 5.4 in the forty, finishing third among linebackers. However, to reach his potential, he needs to work on his change of direction quickness after an 8.31 in the L Drill, which was in the bottom two in the position group. That said, the positives far outweigh the negatives. He’s going to be a good one.
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The youngest prospect to make this list is class of 2030 (don’t rub your eyes, you read that right) prospect Mason Wattles out of New Hampshire. I almost never write about sixth-grade prospects for a number of reasons such as: the reclass factor, the (low) level of football, size or lack there of, the amount of time left until they’re in high school, etc. However, Wattles deserves some recognition. For a sixth-grader I’m sure there were a lot of nerves participating in a talent with a ton of future D1 talent, but the two words I jotted down about him and showed him after camp were speed and hustle. His effort was consistent and unrelenting from the opening whistle. There is a long way to go, but I liked what he brought to the field.
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At a position group that was dominated by the eighth-graders, Vasquez proved to be a standout in the 2029 class. He was significantly bigger than I thought he would be on film, as he measured in at exactly 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. I loved watching him compete as an interior defensive linemen where he uses his power and quick hips to punch, get skinny, and get by the offensive linemen tasked with blocking him. During 1-on-1’s it got really physical and he was up to the task. The Robbinsville, New Jersey prospect played made the 50-ish minute drive west to Pennsylvania and played for the North Philly Blackhawks 12U team this past season. He also wrestles and that couldn’t have been more obvious by the way he fought for hand placement once engaged with the offensive linemen.
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The younger brother of Offensive Line MVP Benjamin Havunen Benjamin Havunen 6’1″ | 275 lbs | OL VA , Adam Havunen Adam Havunen 5’10” | 175 lbs | LB VA showed me a lot. Between dad, older brother and himself, it’s easy to see that strength is a big plus while looking at him. As a pass-rushing defensive end, he did a good job of using his hands to swat down/past offensive tackles that over-extended their arms during a pass-block set. Right now he moves a little robotically and needs to improve his flexibility to become a more effective pass-rusher. You can see why he’s thought of as a must-see 2029 prospect in Virginia, given his upside and the physical traits he already possesses.
Rounding out the list of 2029s and 2030s that impressed me at the PRZ Next Middle School Camp in New Jersey, was wide receiver Myles Figueroa out of Massachusetts. Figueroa is a reclassed prospect due to his younger age, but talent is talent. He did a very good job of getting open deep and using his length and ball skills to haul in some passes. At this point Figueroa is significantly quicker, than he is faster. For example, his 4.56 in the shuttle was a top-4 time amongst all wide receivers but his forty time (5.5) was in the bottom third of times. For what it’s worth, all times were recorded with a stopwatch. Nonetheless, next year he looks to become the man at one of the most dominant middle school-aged programs in The Bay State, The Fessenden School.