15 Prospects I'm Excited To See At The All-Delaware Bowl

The All-Delaware Bowl is now its seventh year of operation and after attending the event last year, I'm excited to get back there the first week in April. To the common football fan, the state of Delaware doesn't exactly scream excitement when looking at football talent. However, if you peel back the layer a little bit more, you'll see that The First State is the actual home of several big time prospects--they just often ship out to the more well-known private schools in Maryland, New Jersey or Pennsylvania. For an example of this, look no further than Wilmington-native Marshawn Llloyd. Lloyd left Delaware after middle school and attended DeMatha in Maryland years before being voted Top Running Back at the Reese's Senior Bowl earlier this year. With enough work, maybe one of the 2028 prospects below can mirror that success. Let's take a look.   When looking up and down the rosters of talented eighth-graders, one of the first names that jumped out at me was the returning Nahjee Williams (ATH). I don't know/can't recall if there was an MVP in the seventh-grade game a year ago, but if there was, it had to be Williams. His game-high 93 rushing yards placed him fourth all-time in single game history, and in the process he also scored both a rushing and receiving touchdown. Defensively, Williams also chipped in with two tackles for loss in the contest. As mentioned in the intro above, Williams is one of the homegrown Delaware prospects that is fixing to head to Pennsylvania for high school.   A returner from last year's game on the seventh-grader level, Isaiah Muhammad (ATH) is one that should have an impact on both sides of the ball. A year ago showed off his versatility by finishing with 59 rushing yards (10th all-time in single game history) offensively, while also tallying a pair of tackles for loss and a forced fumble as a defensive back. The City Life prospect has played some quarterback before, and while I don't think his QB services will be needed in the 2024 All-Delaware Bowl, he could offer up some trickery.   Speaking of quarterbacks, Cam Gardner is another prospects returning from last year's game. The former St. John The Beloved signal caller has recently announced that he'll be off to St. Mark's for high school ball, but not before one more showing in the All-Delaware Bowl. Gardner was excellent a year ago, passing for a game-high 79 yards and tossing two touchdown passes. The pair of tudds put him atop the All-Time Passing Touchdown list in single game history.   Jeremiah Swift at wide receiver is a 2028 prospect I'm very interested to see in person. Like the three prospects above, Swift also played in the game a year ago but wasn't much of a factor in the contest. The dual-sport athlete (basketball) has stretched out a bit more and is now listed at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, which is great size for this level. Look for him to be a redzone target given his catch radius and likely size avantage.   On paper, the biggest prospect in the game is 6-foot-2, 270-pound Matthew Stanley. Stanley was the Lineman MVP of the seventh-grade game last year and looks bigger and even more powerful this year. There's buzz about him as an offensive tackle after last year's pancake total tied him for first all-time in single game history. That said, I'm interested in seeing him as a defensive tackle this year. With his mass and strength, blocking him on the interior will be quite the day at the office for the opposition.   I have seen [player_tooltip player_id='1133321' first='Nehemiah' last='Coston'] play live several times in the last calendar year and whether it be an All-Star Game setting, post-season setting or even just in practice, he's been very fun to watch. Most recently I caught him this past December as a member of the 215 Extreme out of Philadelphis at AYF Nationals. A true athlete, the Dover Middle School prospect has shown the ability to get it done on offense, defense and in the return game--he legitimately can impact the game in all three phrases of the game.   Running back/athlete Arric Dawkins is no stranger to the All-Delaware Bowl and is back again as an eighth-grader. After getting noticeably thicker in his lower half, Dawkins had a spectacular 2023 campaign for the Delaware Wildcats with multiple 100-yard games and countless game-altering runs. A year ago Dawkins tallied 54 rushing yards in this game and had anther 50+ yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty. He's the only "true" running back listed on his team's roster and I expect him improve upon last year's totals, but there are a lot of talented mouths to feed.   Out all the 2028 prospects in this game, the prospect I can unequivocally say the prospect I'm most excited to see, is Tysir Young out of Smyrna Middle School. Young, like most of the prospects in this writeup, played in this game as a seventh-grader last year. However, he looks like a totally different animal in 2024. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185-pounds, I'm looking for big things from him. He's on the roster as an Athlete and I can see him playing wide receiver and/or tight end on offense; Then flipping and playing defensive end our outside linebacker on defense. In a small state like Delaware, I'm not sure how many eighth-graders are throwing down dunks in middle school basketball games...but this freak is.   Ay'Din Bellamy is a prospect that can make life miserable for the opposing offensive line. A wide-bodied, interior defensive lineman, Bellamy looks like a classic two-gap defensive tackle (or nose) that digs his feet in the ground is difficult to move. He was part of a Delaware Wildcats team this year, that has nine athletes selected for the the All-Delaware Bowl--with four of them being linemen. If literally nothing else, expect Bellamy to draw a double team on inside runs which should free up linebackers behind him.   Rounding out this portion of the writeup is offensive lineman Drake James, who has since reclassed to 2029, after the rosters came out. James is a big, tough interior lineman on both sides of the ball at 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds. He has spent much of the last few seasons playing with the Maryland Heat and Bowie Bulldogs, two of the top travel teams in Maryland, in addition to Woodbridge Middle School. Also a heavyweight wrestler, James has developed that mean streak coaches love to see in a lineman. A year ago in this game, he finished tied for first in pancake blocks--what will 2024 bring?   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Five More That Have My Attention</h2>   Isaiah Fountain | Defensive End | Sussex Elite Legends   Brendan Zuka | Offensive/Defensive Line | Holy Angels   Max Phipps | Quarterback | Caravel Academy   Ray Maldonado | Athlete | MOT Steelers   Alec Elwood | Defensive End | Smyrna

The All-Delaware Bowl is now its seventh year of operation and after attending the event last year, I'm excited to get back there the first week in April. To the common football fan, the state of Delaware doesn't exactly scream excitement when looking at football talent. However, if you peel back the layer a little bit more, you'll see that The First State is the actual home of several big time prospects--they just often ship out to the more well-known private schools in Maryland, New Jersey or Pennsylvania. For an example of this, look no further than Wilmington-native Marshawn Llloyd. Lloyd left Delaware after middle school and attended DeMatha in Maryland years before being voted Top Running Back at the Reese's Senior Bowl earlier this year. With enough work, maybe one of the 2028 prospects below can mirror that success. Let's take a look.