2025 Prospects New to the Top 150 (Pt. 1)
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The Spring 2025 Rankings have been updated with many new prospects making their debut. The 2025 rankings have been expanded to 150 total prospects since our winter update. Here are the prospects who debuted inside the Top 150 of the…
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Continue ReadingThe Spring 2025 Rankings have been updated with many new prospects making their debut. The 2025 rankings have been expanded to 150 total prospects since our winter update. Here are the prospects who debuted inside the Top 150 of the 2025 rankings.
There are still plenty of spots left for our Combine coming to Morgantown, WV on May 4th! Code WVHSCombine24 will get you a discount if you’d like to attend! For more information please click this link.
Mingo Central LB LeQues Strother LeQues Strother 5’11” | 190 lbs | LB Mingo Central | 2025 State WV was a great addition to the Miners’ program after he returned home from a stint across state lines in Kentucky at Belfry. Strother was the second-leading tackler for the Miners last season totaling 91 tackles, 6 TFLs, and 5 sacks as a junior. He’s your classic downhill physical Mike linebacker who can also get out in space and use his athleticism in the open field. Listed at 5’11 190, Strother still has room to grow physically, but from seeing him in person at a 7 on 7 event earlier this year, he has an athletic build that can add size to his frame and moved well in that environment. If he takes the next step in his development over the off-season and into his senior season, Strother can improve his ranking and make a big jump into the Top 100 in the final update after the 2024 season.
Highlights
Poca running back Preston Bonnett Preston Bonnett 5’11” | 165 lbs | RB Poca | 2025 State WV burst onto the scene during his junior campaign for the Dots in a big way and debuts in our 2025 rankings as the #16 RB and a Top 150 player in the class. Bonnett totaled over 1,600 all-purpose yards in 2023 as he rushed for 1,200 yards and 6 touchdowns and showed his versatility in the passing game catching 22 balls for 321 yards and 3 more scores. Bonnett is an athletic specimen who is a touch undersized at 5’11 165 but would likely test off the charts in a combine setting for a rising senior in high school. He lists himself as a 5-sport athlete who also plays basketball, soccer, baseball, and is a runner on the track & field team. I could see him playing in the slot at the next level if he chooses the football route in college and is a natural with the ball in his hands regardless of position. The more mass he adds to his frame the higher his ceiling will rise, but Bonnett has all of the athletic tools to be a scholarship-level college prospect.
Roane County’s Shay Harper Shay Harper 6’1″ | 175 lbs | RB Roane County | 2025 State WV was an unfortunate injury situation last season and missed his entire junior season but showed a lot of great things as a sophomore for the Beavers. Harper is someone who could skyrocket up the rankings with a healthy senior year and can get back on the path he was on two years ago. For now, he’ll still rank in the Top 150 and a Top 20 running back in the 2025 class who may eventually move to LB in the rankings depending on his senior film. Harper was very productive in his sophomore season on both sides of the ball as a running back and defensive back while earning WVSWA Second Team All-State honors. He’s someone who can add a lot of size to his frame, and if he’s able to keep the athleticism he had before his injury, his ceiling can be very high as a prospect.
Woodrow Wilson defensive lineman Drake Bowling Drake Bowling 6’0″ | 250 lbs | DL Woodrow Wilson | 2025 State WV makes his debut in the 2025 rankings as the #19 DL in the 2025 class. Bowling was a top performer at our Ohio Stock Up Showcase Tour back in January where he impressed our scouts. A touch undersized at 6’0 250 for an interior lineman, Bowling makes up for it with physical strength and power and is someone who spends ample time in the weight room. Bowling is a highly physical player who is a havoc creator in the interior that can disrupt running lanes. He sees time along the offensive line too for the Flying Eagles but we really like his potential and future as a defensive lineman. I think he has a chance to climb up our rankings with a strong senior season and as he continues to build off of the success he had as a junior and throughout the off-season so far.
Highlights
A new name on our radar who posted film for the first time and immediately entered the rankings is Point Pleasant’s Connor Buckle Connor Buckle 6’2″ | 240 lbs | OL Point Pleasant | 2025 State WV . He has plenty more room to continue adding size at 6’2 240, but Buckle is a very physical blocker who plays above that size. Buckle has the frame to eventually grow into prototypical guard size but plays tackle in high school where he proved to have the athleticism and footwork to play there. A three-sport athlete who also plays on the Big Blacks’ basketball and baseball teams, you can understand why he’s able to move as well as he does at his size on the football field which greatly benefits him as a football prospect. Buckle is a physically stout athlete who also has the strength and power to pair with his athleticism. He’s tasked with pulling from his tackle spot often in their scheme and did so impressively as he showed quick feet and low leverage coming through the hole. Buckle may just find his way inside the Top 15 in the final rankings update after the 2024 season with another strong year and some added size.
Roane County TE Cobun Cottrell Cobun Cottrell 6’2″ | 220 lbs | TE Roane County | 2025 State WV was a great find after our winter rankings update and debuted in the 2025 rankings as the #7 rated tight end in the class. Cottrell was an impressive pass catcher for the Beavers last season in a scheme that focuses on the running game much more. He was second on the team in receiving with over 200 yards and three touchdowns as a TE/H-Back. Cottrell could possibly play defense at the next level too as an Edge or DE type player where he was also productive as a junior last season. We’d like to see some film on his blocking ability to better gauge his ability as a complete TE next season, but Cottrell has all of the athletic tools and ability to be a scholarship TE/H-Back in college.