Stock Risers: Athletes Who Moved Into The Top 100

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class of 2024 Prep Redzone Rankings were updated this morning.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are a few things to know about this batch of updated rankings. The class is now up to 480 ranked players with over 300 of them having committed to play college football. No players were removed from the rankings and there were no changes among the Top 50 ranked players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those players who saw significant drops were mostly players who relayed to Prep Redzone that they were not planning on playing college football and many of those are headed into the military ranks after graduation.  To those athletes who let me know they were joining the Air Force, Army, or Marines, I thank you for your service ahead of time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moving forward if uncommitted athletes commit to a program this spring then please email or DM on X to let me know. I will then update profiles in our rankings. More than likely this will be our last rankings update to this class unless there are a significant number of unranked players who make college commitments this spring.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is still a handful of in-state NAIA and JUCO programs who have yet to announce their official 2024 recruiting classes, so I am sure we have missed a few commitments, but efforts were made to contact college coaches via email and phone calls that were not all returned.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone scouts Matt Simpson and Wade Cargile will be providing scouting reports throughout the week. I will be scouting at State Girls Basketball Tournaments and Power League Volleyball this week, but have two reports highlighting players from this round of updates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is the first of two reports today. This one features the top rankings risers. Each of the 10 athletes in this report moved from outside the Top 100 after solid senior seasons and based on their final college destinations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262764' first='Tanner' last='Heckel'],</strong> QB, 5'11”, 165, Lyndon (Illinois)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state champion quarterback jumped from the 169 slot to the No. 55 position after signing with the Big 10 Program. the University of Illinois. I featured Heckel in a report just last week, but his ascension into the Top 100 is noteworthy. I have seen many highlights of him dunking in the past week and he has a chance to win a state basketball title this week to go along with his state football championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='414952' first='Ben' last='Wheeler'],</strong> QB, 6'1”, 180, St. James Academy (Kansas State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wheeler is now ranked No. 57 moving up for the No. 124 position. The St. James Academy product threw for 1,370 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior. He also scored seven rushing touchdowns and ran for 384 yards. Signing with the Division I Kansas State Wildcats helped push him into the Top 100.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105467' first='Judah' last='Jones'],</strong> RB, 5'8”, 190, Shawnee Mission North (Kansas)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones earned his rankings flowers after committing to Kansas University. He had a meteoric rise from the No. 249 ranking up to No. 68. Prep Redzone has had him listed as a linebacker, but after seeing him sign with the Jayhawks and locating his rushing stats from last fall it looks like he may play running back for KU. He rushed for 911 yards and eight touchdowns for a team that struggled to score points last fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='263240' first='Spencer' last='Dohm'],</strong> LB, 5'11”, 210, St. James Academy (Fort Hays State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dohm was just outside of the top 100 athletes heading into this update at No. 113. The Fort Hays State signee is now ranked No. 78 among his 2024 Kansas peers. He finished his high school career with back-to-back seasons of 100-plus total tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='826186' first='Cade' last='Brown']</strong>, LB, 6'1”, 220, Parsons (Central Missouri)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Parson linebacker moved up to the No. 85 position from No. 171 after signing with Central Missouri. He is a fast linebacker who accounted for 15 tackles for loss during his senior season. He finished with 100 total tackles for the Parsons Vikings in 11 games played last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='335816' first='Jamond' last='Lane'],</strong> DL, 6'0”, 280, Washburn Rural (Washburn)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lane parlayed a big senior season into a commitment to his hometown team Washburn and a new ranking at No. 86. The Junior Blue defensive lineman was previously ranked at No. 161. He is equally tough against the run-stopping and pass-rushing lineman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='259742' first='Tristan' last='Baker']</strong>, RB, 5'9”, 170, Mill Valley (Baker)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baker made a small jump from No. 100 to No. 87. The Mill Valley running back is one of many Kansas prospects to sign with the Baker Wildcats. Baker is an explosive back who scored 45 touchdowns on the ground throughout his final two seasons and rushed for 3,000 yards combined over those same two seasons. The big question now is does Baker plan to attend Baker to major in Baking? If so, I will be looking for some cookies or cupcakes the next time I am in the Liston Stadium Press Box!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='146117' first='CJ' last='Felder']</strong>, DB, 5'11”, 175, Maize (Nebraska Kearney)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fielder increased his position by almost 100 spots. The athletic defensive back jumped from No. 183 to No. 89 and has committed to play for MIAA program Nebraska-Kearney. Felder finished his senior season with 81 total tackles. He could play safety, corner, and return kicks for the Lopers based on the program's needs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='334730' first='Sam' last='Lough']</strong>, OL, 6'4”, 285, Basehor-Linwood (Northwest Missouri)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lough is a super-sized offensive lineman who moved up to the No. 95 position after signing with the Bearcats. The Bobcat prospect had been ranked at No. 143. I saw Basehor-Linwood play twice last season and he has the natural size and skills to do well at the Division II level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='415365' first='Nicholas' last='Ruth']</strong>, OL, 6'5”, 270, Newton (Pittsburg State)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> A second offensive lineman to make a nice jump is Newton's Ruth. Ruth is one of several linemen from Kansas that the Gorillas have signed from this class. He is now ranked No. 99 after being ranked at No. 162 before this month's update.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->