Spring Tour: Winter Haven Blue Devils- Rising Talent on a Mission

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As spring practices emerge for high schools around the state of Florida, I wanted to highlight some of the local schools in the Polk County area which has been a known hotbed county in producing athletes and talented football players. Our third spring tour stop features third-year head coach Carl White and the Winter Haven Blue Devils who finished 7-4 last season but return a number of college prospects who have a chance to make some noise in the 863. Prep Redzone scout Drew Johnson will turn to his backyard to attend one of the first week's spring practices.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='829494' first='John' last='Kostuch'] | 2025 | QB| Winter Haven | @JohnKostuch&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Made my way over to Winter Haven to get a look at rising 2025 QB [player_tooltip player_id='829494' first='John' last='Kostuch']. If this kid had another two inches of height college coaches would be in touch daily. He has an athletic frame and build to play a skill position but has developed the mechanics and arm talent to be deadly through the air. He has some weapons to work with I'm interested to see how much more he can develop until fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RB:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Malachi Carter | 2025 | ATH | @xxxmalachii</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carter is a nice addition to this offense as he can be versatile and line up in the backfield or spread out to the receiver position. He looked solid at practice today and was used as a utility piece.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cassidy Ervin | 2026 | WR | Winter Haven | @CassidyErvinn&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My DOG of the Day on offense was rising 2026 WR Cassidy Ervin who had potential to shock some people this season. He's an electric athlete that can be used all over the field. I'm interested to see how many touches HC Carl White can get him. Look out for Ervin and Kostuch to build chemistry and be a nice connection.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jordan Tarver | 2026 | WR | Winter Haven | @Jordantarver100</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tarver was inactive today at practice to prepare for postseason track action. The 6-1 rising 2026 WR will be a must-watch this off-season as he can combine that speed with a solid catch radius. He's the downfield threat and a really nice addition to the speed Ervin brings. These two will be a nice duo in the fall period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Najeh Miller | WR | 2026 | Winter Haven | @najeh_miller</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>People better watch out for this kid to be a solid WR 3 and complete this receiving core. He's another athlete with good size and physicality and the coaches can use him as a tight-end flex piece or push him outside. I liked how Miller performed at practice today as he competed well and caught a few passes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defense:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>James Tilus | 2026 | DE | Winter Haven |&nbsp; @JamesTilus8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Telling you now folks, if this kid can put it all together with technique, and experience, there's no way he doesn't land at a P4 university. Kids are afraid to get hands on Tilus at 6-3, 215-pounds with plenty of potential to add even more size to the sophomore. This is a hidden gem in the Polk area who will get his coming soon.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Arquan Glanton | 2026 | DB | Winter Haven | @D1Jak&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No doubt, Glanton is one of the better athletes in the county. He's a decent framed rising sophomore with 6-0 height and decent speed to make plays on the ball. I was excited to see how he competed against his peers and was not disappointed. He has the frame and skills to play the safety position and has developing coverage skills to go with the DOG Mentality.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chad McClain | 2025 | LB | Winter Haven |&nbsp; @Chad_mcclain07</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McClain made the play of the day to kick things off at practice with a crushing helmet popping hit that had coaches and players jumping around. This kid is another under the radar physical linebacker with good size and decent coverage skills. He was my sleeper of the day who I was not aware of but had circled before I left practice.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Robbie Gaskin | 2025 | LB | Winter Haven |&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the more versatile athletes has found a home at the linebacker position where he'll look to be a leader and set the tone with his physical play. Love the attitude of this kid though he did not compete today at practice. Ready to see him back in the pads to make some noise for the Blue Devils.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Best of the Rest:&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cedric Nelson | DB | @C6faprezz</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->