Stock Risers: 2028 ATH’s From The West That Climbed Up
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There was no shortage of talent from around the country at AYF Nationals in Naples, Florida last month. Some of the biggest names and teams in pre-high school football were on hand, with the action rolling non-stop. Many athletes played…
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Continue ReadingThere was no shortage of talent from around the country at AYF Nationals in Naples, Florida last month. Some of the biggest names and teams in pre-high school football were on hand, with the action rolling non-stop. Many athletes played all over the field, with some even playing multiple positions on the same side of the ball. Here’s a few athletes out of California, Washington and Colorado that sat their stock rock
– Shined it in all three phases of the game for the 14U D2 AYF National Champion 5280 Jr. Buffs out of Colorado
– Put on a clinic at the wide receiver position in the championship game, with a number of great catches. Showed off the ability to highpoint the ball and catch passes away from his body, better than most high school kids out there
– Defensively he is a sideline-to-sideline tackler as a linebacker, but also can drop and play the pass well. Bigger than I anticipated before watching him play live. Also handled kicking duties for the champs
Highlights
– If you’re going to rock a jersey with a Roman numeral on it instead of a number, you better be able to back up your play, because all eyes are going to be on you. Rest assured the kid wearing “X” for the O.G. Ducks 13U team–Malaki Davis–lived up to the hype
– The eventual 13U D1 AYF National Champion O.G. Ducks, have been getting many of the top players in So.Cal for a decade now and Davis fits the bill for this year. Fast, explosive, plays with an attitude/chip on his shoulder and gets the job done all over the field
– Davis has played a lot of running back during his youth football career and has made a name for himself back there. At AYF Nationals he was moved around a bit and played a nice amount of wide receiver, too. He’s a dynamic kid that provides a ton of versatility
– Coming into the week, I had thought of Carter as strictly a wide receiver. However, after watching him multiple times throughout the week, I think the ATH (athlete) distinction works out well, here
– Showed off, without question, the most varsity-ready body on the Heir 13U team. Broad, capped shoulders, more than adequate muscle mass and obvious strength and athleticism were a notch above
– Carter was put in motion a lot and at times was bumped inside. Displayed a lot of short-area bursts of power and strength. He’s not slow by any means, but if he can improve his straight-line speed it’ll catapult him onto a lot of recruiting boards even earlier
– Out of all the O.G. Ducks I saw down at AYF Nationals, Modkins may be the most intriguing 2028 prospect I saw on the team. I can see his future in the game going multiple ways, which is why I feel the distinction of ATH (athlete) is best
– Right off the bat, I noticed his build. Modkins is on the shorter side, but has a lot of muscle and thickness on his frame. He’s thick everywhere a good football player needs it – hamstrings, quads, butt. I also noticed he seemed to run routes with the anticipation of a player who knew/wanted the ball to come to him–probably because he’s played some QB before
– While mentally trying to compare Modkins to another athlete, I immediately thought another former O.G. Duck, Re-Al Mitchell. Mitchell also was shorter, played QB and had the same strong build. Mitchell, who was originally a quarterback before switching to WR/ATH, recently concluded his college career at San Diego (before stops at Temple and Iowa State) and is eligible for the NFL Draft, this year
– Via the naked eye, Horn appeared to be one of the fastest athletes I saw at AYF Nationals on the 14U level. He used his speed from multiple positions to affect the game throughout the tournament, when the 5280 Jr. Buffs needed it most
– For example, in the championship game against the Old Town Ducks (Michigan) he had multiple quarterback sacks and tackles for loss. Earlier in the tournament against the Springfield Tigers (Massachusetts), he blitzed off the edge as an outside linebacker and annihilated the quarterback–who lost his helmet on the hit–and caused a fumble that the 5280 Jr. Buff’s scooped up
– Offensively there was no shortage of fire power, even with a smaller roster, and Horn got his touches there too. Made a couple nice grabs to keep drives alive throughout the week, highlighted by a touchdown grab against Mattapan (Massachusetts) in his first game of the tournament
Highlights
– Affectionately nicknamed Moose, he’s another kid from the Heir 13U team that looks like could play varsity right now. Masaniai was also a treat to watch
– I’ve had him listed as an ATH (athlete) for about a year now, but seeing him play in person made it all so much clearer. He’s going to be one heck of a football player at whatever position he ultimately ends up as
– For the Heir 13U squad, he has lined up at linebacker, safety, wide receiver, tight end and more during the season. I’m starting to like what I see from him as an outside linebacker the more I watch him play. He’ll be fun to watch develop over the next four years
Highlights
– Another intriguing athlete off the O.G. Ducks 13U roster, Wilmot is a prospect who may be ready to really take off, as he gets set to enter high school
– His build and frame are promising. Has some length in his lower half and passes the overall eye test as an athlete. Plays on his toes at all times and his excellent quick-twitch movement
– Phenomenal hands at this point. I didn’t see him drop a ball throughout warmups or in-game. He has room to improve in terms of flexibility, speed and fluidity. When he opens up full throttle, he tends to run stiff at times–almost as if there’s a hitch in his running movement. If he can stretch and get a bit looser, he’ll see his speed and overall movement improve tenfold. Don’t get it twisted, he’s a very good football player and is still a tier above most other 2028s in the country