Breakout Stars in the OK-Conference (& RCA): Pt.4

<p>I'm back with six more breakout candidates in the OK Conference, with one bonus prospect from the River Cities Alliance. This article showcases four incoming Juniors, with two seniors looking to raise their stock as well. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'26 OLB/EDGE | [player_tooltip player_id='1253825' first='Jonah' last='Broemer']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jonah-broemer/"></a> | Grand Haven | <a href="https://twitter.com/jonahBroemer44">@jonahBroemer44</a></h2>   <p>Jonah just might take a leap forward next season. Last season, he served as a great gadget player while not yet earning a full-time starting role on Varsity. One giant green flag regarding Jonah's game is his physicality. He isn't the most fundamentally sound and he's not even physically dominant, but the effort and physicality are all there. I especially like his potential on the defensive side of the ball. If Jonah can work on his linebacker fundamentals while watching a ton of film, Jonah could take off as an all-conference linebacker. He'll also need to put on some muscle and be in great shape at the beginning of the season. That shouldn't be a problem, as I know he's a 3-sport athlete. I truly hope that Jonah is able to build off of last year's success and translate that into a starting Varsity role. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'26 WR | [player_tooltip player_id='1225707' first='Owen' last='Van Der Veen'] | East Kentwood | <a href="https://twitter.com/Owenvanderveen1">@Owenvanderveen1</a></h2>   <p>This might be my easiest breakout candidate of the series. I would be SHOCKED if Owen doesn't break out into being one of the best receivers in the OK Red this Fall. He hasn't been playing the wide receiver position for very long, but he's already making plays that well-repped high school veterans struggle with. I like his release, and his route running is solid as well. Though once he gets to the top of his route, Owen does a phenomenal job of boxing a defender out and earning contested catches. For someone as tall as he is, Owen has phenomenal body control. With a full offseason of work under his belt, alongside an incredible new coaching staff, Owen will thrive next season for East Kentwood. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Owenvanderveen1/status/1790012697083330614 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'26 LB | [player_tooltip player_id='1271065' first='Braylen' last='Haney']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/braylon-haney/"></a> | Grandville | <a href="https://twitter.com/BraylenHaney06">@BraylenHaney06</a></h2>   <p><br>There are a few programs out there that, time and time again, produce great LBs, and Grandville is one of those programs. Braylen was way ahead of the curve as a sophomore linebacker. His most notable defensive traits are his explosiveness and play speed. Lining up both on and off-ball, Braylen explodes out of his stance on blitz packages. He was sometimes prone to fast mistakes (i.e. over-run target), but I'd rather that than a timid player. It's notable that Braylen is quite a bit undersized for the linebacker position, especially at the MHSAA D1 level, but if he's a dwag, put him in! I'm very interested to see how Braylen has improved this offseason and I hope to see a jump in his production come next season. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 WR | [player_tooltip player_id='1291383' first='Brandon' last='Berry'] | West Ottawa | <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17381662/Brandon-Berry">Hudl</a></h2>   <p>Brandon was a few corrected mistakes away from an amazing 2023 season, and if he cleans those things up, he'll be a sure-fire breakout star. He served as a solid role-player and possession target for West Ottawa last season. Brendon gets a good amount of touches, yet didn't make the most of those touches last season. The play at the 0:50 mark in his highlights show a good catch, yet he fails to earn any YAC in the wide-open field. Just with a little practice keeping balance after the catch, Brandon can already be a much-improved player. It's just reps, reps, reps, and focus. If he puts in the work, his 2024 highlights will look much different than 2023. </p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'26 LB | [player_tooltip player_id='1291399' first='Sam' last='Cummings'] | Rockford | <a href="https://twitter.com/samc_8">@samc_8</a></h2>   <p>Sam is someone who plays with great IQ and play speed, just as I see with several other Rockford LBs over the years. He's a perfect example of someone who's not afraid to make a mistake at full speed. Against inside runs, Sam oftentimes reads the backfield extremely quickly before exploding through the gap, resulting in a TFL or minimal gain. Against runs outside the tackles, I like Sam's ability to scrape and explode toward the ballcarrier. There's awesome potential here as a sideline-to-sideline off-ball linebacker. I know that Rockford has about a million players on the roster, and earning a starting role is extremely difficult. He's also quite undersized for a linebacker, but that won't stop him unless he lets it. So, hope that Sam's put in the work to earn that full-time role, and I hope to see a longer highlight tape next season.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'25 QB | [player_tooltip player_id='286479' first='Beau' last='Harris'] | Coopersville | <a href="https://twitter.com/BeauHarris14">@BeauHarris14</a></h2>   <p>Beau is a Quarterback who's been working his tail off since his freshman season. From the weight room, 7on7, group training, etc, Beau is putting in the work to be a college prospect. His film paints him as a gunslinger who can also tuck it and run when it's asked of him. The gunslinger part is correct- as Beau has a few great highlights of deep balls. At his best, Beau gets the ball out quick while constantly making accurate passes downfield. At his worst, Beau lets go of an ill-advised pass and gets picked off. I've seen both sides of Beau, and the ladder sometimes shows up at camps, which, in my opinion, probably hurts his recruitment. Beau needs to work on his decision making and overall consistency as a quarterback. There are times when he looks like a legitimate D2 prospect, he just has to find a way to consistently play at that level against the best teams. The newly-formed River Cities Alliance will give Beau an opportunity to compete against new competition, and by the Winter, I'd expect him to have at least one MIAA offer. </p>

I'm back with six more breakout candidates in the OK Conference, with one bonus prospect from the River Cities Alliance. This article showcases four incoming Juniors, with two seniors looking to raise their stock as well.