Tight Ends 1-5 in the Virginia Class of 2026 Rankings

Our Virginia Class of 2025 rankings are here, and we have included over 700 prospects ranging from Division 3 through Power 4 projections. I will be breaking down the TEs we have ranked in the class of 2026 in a three part article series. Be sure to be following <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzoneVA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prep Redzone Virginia</a> for continual coverage of this class of prospects.      Sam is ranked as our top Tight End for the Class of '26. He is a good prospect with Division 1 upside. At 6'5” and 195lbs, he has good height for a TE at the next level but will need to add some mass to his frame. He displays good athleticism with very good balance, good lateral agility, change of direction, flexibility, and explosiveness, with solid foot speed and acceleration. He displays excellent processing of the game, understanding his assignment within the scheme, and putting himself in a position to make a play. Good Zone blocking footwork allowing him to fit his block with good leverage to sustain it. Good Gap blocker showing good strength at the Point of Attack (POA) against DL and LBs, and he can lead block out of the backfield in an H-Back position. Solid block finish, would like to see him drive his feet and impose his will on defenders to take his blocking to the next level. Good receiver, displaying good route running with good ability to find the hole in the coverage to create a passing lane for the QB. Good adjust to throws and utilizes his size to put himself in the best position to secure the catch with his very good hands. Solid after the catch showing solid ability to quickly turn up field showing good physical toughness and strength to create positive yards through contact.   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16715516/Sam-DeFrancesca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> / <a href="https://x.com/Sam_DeFran2026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X</a>     While we have him listed as a TE in our rankings, William is utilized as a WR, and his skill set is best utilized split out rather than inline. He has good height at 6'4" and has room for mass on his 195lbs frame. He is a good athlete displaying very good change of direction (COD), explosiveness, with good foot speed. He displays good release off the line of scrimmage accelerating quickly into his route. Does show the ability to change his release speed to keep defensive backs off balance throughout a game. He shows good route stem and utilizes his very good COD, and explosiveness at the top of the route to create separation. On film, you see his very good ability to adjust to throws and high point the ball displaying very good hands. After the catch, his good athleticism allows him to make defenders miss, and he has the physical toughness and strength to lower his shoulder and breakthrough contact, showing very good balance to keep his feet and continue the play. William's receiving ability gives him Division 1 upside. There is no blocking film available on him to evaluate.   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17832628/William-Butler" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> / <a href="https://x.com/williambut15812?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X</a>     Aidan has good height and elite size for a TE standing at 6'5” and 270lbs. Good athlete displaying good lateral agility, bend, explosiveness, foot speed, acceleration, and change of direction. Very good run blocker in Zone and Gap schemes. In Gap blocks, he comes off the ball with very good pad level and engages at the Point of Attack with good explosiveness and strength, displaying the ability to turn defenders and drive them out of the gap. He displays a good understanding of Zone blocking, utilizing his good athleticism to position himself with good leverage and displays very good block sustain to create a cutback lane for the ball carrier. As a receiver, he shows good route running and hands. He is a physically tough runner, and his size makes him difficult to tackle. Overall, he is a good prospect with Division 1 upside, and he has received an offer from Central Michigan. He is the best blocker of the class of '26 Tight Ends in Virginia and shows ability as a receiver as well. He has the height and size to possibly move to offensive tackle at the next level, and I believe he would be successful in that transition if it happened.   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17735200/Aidan-Woods" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> / <a href="https://x.com/AidanWoodsy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X</a>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AidanWoodsy/status/1798462897020084493 </div></figure>     Brady lists himself at 6'6”, 230lbs giving him very good height and good size. He has an athletic build with room for muscle mass to be added and not lose his athleticism. He has good athletic ability displaying very good explosiveness, with good foot speed, acceleration, change of direction, and solid lateral agility. He is a balanced Tight End who excels in the receiving game and is a willing blocker. As a receiver, his size makes him a mismatch on the field. He displays good route running, with good field awareness to find the hole in the defense to create a throwing lane for the QB. He has good adjust to throws and can high point the ball with his good hands, even through contact. As a blocker, he displays very good aggression and block sustain in Gap and Zone blocks. He has the athleticism to make downfield blocks and will look to make multiple blocks downfield when he finishes his initial block. I would like to see him develop his initial footwork more to create better block fits at the Point of Attack. Overall, he has FCS upside. He currently holds two non-Division 1 offers, but there is too much to his game to be ignored at the D1 level.   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16406571/Brady-Owens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> / <a href="https://x.com/Brady_owens84" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X</a>     I have done an offseason evaluation on Hayden that you can view <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/01/prospects-to-know-from-twitter-film-analysis-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>. He has good height and size. He is a balanced TE who is a threat as a run blocker and receiver. He is a good athlete displaying good explosiveness, foot speed, acceleration, and lateral agility. He can line up inline, split out, or in the backfield. He is a good run blocker with good explosiveness at the Point of Attack and displays good leg drive. His size makes him a mismatch against LBs as a receiver. He is a solid route runner with good hands and a physical runner after the catch. We believe he has FCS upside to his game, and he is still looking for his first offer.   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/18638860/Hayden-Phelps" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> / <a href="https://x.com/haydenphelps_" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">X</a>    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   Click <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> to claim your Prep Redzone Prospect Index profile. Follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/GoLions1934" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@GoLions1934</a> for further content | <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneVA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@PrepRedzoneVA</a>, and <a href="https://x.com/PrepRedzone" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@PrepRedzone</a> | Virginia Scout <a href="https://twitter.com/carljfred" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@carljfred</a> | View my previous Prep Redzone articles <a href="https://prepredzone.com/author/cole-laing-author/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />

Our Virginia Class of 2025 rankings are here, and we have included over 700 prospects ranging from Division 3 through Power 4 projections. I will be breaking down the TEs we have ranked in the class of 2026 in a three part article series. Be sure to be following Prep Redzone Virginia for continual coverage of this class of prospects.