2024 League Preview: OAA Blue

For decades, the OAA has produced some of the best football in Southeast Michigan. In fact, the only conference that can rival the OAA in terms of top-to-bottom quality is the OK Conference out in the Grand Rapids area. Only in the OAA conference will you see four great leagues, separated in part by team success. In the Blue, you'll find seven programs that have found amazing success in the recent past, and ALL have the potential to make a playoff run in the near future. Even better, this is one of the most challenging leagues to predict. In this league preview, I'll take a crack at predicting this league alongside highlighting the players who'll lead their team to victory.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2023 Standings</h2>   1. Seaholm (9-2)   2. North Farmington (4-5)   3. Oak Park (3-6)   4. Troy (5-4)   5. Athens (3-6)   - Farmington (2-7, OAA White)   - Bloomfield Hills (1-8, OAA White)   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2024 Prediction</h2>   1. North Farmington (8-3)   2. Oak Park (6-4)   3. Farmington (6-4)   4. Seaholm (4-5)   5. Troy (3-6)   7. Athens (3-6)   6. Bloomfield Hills (2-7)   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team-by-Team Analysis</h2>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Farmington</h2>   Team Ceiling: 9-2, District Champion   Team Floor: 5-4, Fringe Playoff Team   Prediction: 8-3, District Finalist   I believe that North Farmington has the best odds to win the OAA Blue. Now is their time. With the mass exodus of talent from Seaholm, alongside major question marks with every other program, North Farmington has an incredible opportunity to make some noise. Even better, North Farmington has a very favorable schedule. They should win their first two non-league contests against Livonia Stevenson and Ferndale. Further into September, they'll have a huge Week 3 rivalry against Farmington, followed by contests against Bloomfield Hills and Athens. There is a GREAT chance that this team starts 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in League play. Starting Week 6, they have a few potential trap games with Oak Park and Seaholm. Considering most of their toughest games lie at the end of the season, I expect this team to gain a ton of momentum early, and take that momentum into the postseason.   Key Players   DT | [player_tooltip player_id='899576' first='Brendon' last='Rice']   If North Farmington wants to win the Blue, they need to dominate the trenches. That all starts with defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='899576' first='Brendon' last='Rice']. He's a Division 1 prospect who's able to near-eliminate the inside run against teams with weak offensive lines. Unless he's facing a college prospect, Brendon should dominate every offensive lineman he faces.   ATH | [player_tooltip player_id='1148721' first='Terrance' last='James']   Terrance is a phenomenal athlete who showed a ton of flashes last season. This season, we could even see him at QB. Wherever he plays, I expect Terrance to have a massive impact to the success of North Farmington.   DB | Tray Woods   Tray seems like a guy you'd love in any locker room. His biggest strengths seem to be his smarts and leadership- which is something most athletes lack. For any program to win their league and make a run in the postseason, they have to have leaders. Tray is one of those leaders who will also put up great numbers on defense.   Other Impact Players   – [player_tooltip player_id='899558' first='Dezmon' last='Blanch']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/dezmon-blanch/"></a>   – [player_tooltip player_id='899562' first='Trey' last='Thomas']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/trey-thomas-4/"></a>   – [player_tooltip player_id='1298644' first='TJ' last='Alexander']   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Oak Park</h2>   Team Ceiling: 7-3, District Finalist   Team Floor: 4-5, Miss Postseason   Prediction: 6-4, 1st-round exit   I've said it so many times, but Oak Park is the most inconsistent program in Michigan. There was a time when Oak Park was an extremely respected and feared program, but those times seem to be passing. Still, Oak Park possesses some incredibly good talent. If they can put it all together this season, Oak Park could very realistically win the OAA Blue. This season, Oak Park kicks things off with a critical matchup against Farmington before easier games on paper against Royal Oak and Athens. Oak Park could be a good playoff team this season, but they HAVE to show up week after week and prove it.   Key Players   DB | [player_tooltip player_id='1148702' first='Ron'Dre' last='Austion']   Ron'Dre has had a really great offseason. Over the past several months, he's trained his technique and speed a ton. This will be a huge season for Ron'Dre's recruitment, and he could play an insanely important role in the Oak Park defense. I have no doubt that he has the athleticism to cover practically every WR in the Blue. However, I'm looking for great performances against the run and against the more pass-heavy teams on Oak Park's schedule.   DE | [player_tooltip player_id='1298746' first='Aaron' last='Paymon']   Aaron brings a ton of physicality to the football field. This season, I'm expecting him to take a step up. If Oak Park wants to win the OAA Blue, he'll need to lead this defensive line. I really like Aaron's physicality and play speed, and he could absolutely transform his game if he develops his motor and IQ.   RB | [player_tooltip player_id='1298748' first='Michael' last='Jones Jr']   Michael is one of my biggest breakout candidates in Michigan. Last season, he flashed great explosiveness plus good physicality and contact balance. Can Michael break out into the #1 Running Back in the OAA Blue? I sure hope so.   Other Impact Players   - [player_tooltip player_id='1298716' first='William' last='Reed']   - [player_tooltip player_id='1289676' first='Quinton' last='Blakely']   - [player_tooltip player_id='247635' first='Norman' last='Adams']   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Farmington</h2>   Team Ceiling: 9-2, District Champion   Team Floor: 4-5, miss postseason   Prediction: 6-4, 1st round exit   Farmington is the first big wildcard of this league. Last season, they struggled quite a bit in the OAA White. However, to be fair, they earned their spot in the White after rolling through the Blue in 2022. Now back in the Blue, it's going to be extremely interesting to see how Farmington fares, especially after their disastrous 2023 season. Last season, they stood little to no chance against many of the playoff teams they faced. In 2023, Farmington faced two state champions, one semifinalist, and a top-3 Ranked team in Division 1. This season, their strength of schedule is significantly downgraded. Will this result in a BounceBack season for the program? Only time will tell.   Key Players   LB/TE | [player_tooltip player_id='1298732' first='Carter' last='Kulinski']   Carter is one of my top breakout candidates in the Blue. He may not be Farmington's most impactful player on paper, but he's a presumptive varsity starter who showed great flashes last season. With the opportunities he earned last season, Carter played with confidence and decisiveness. If Carter can be the great Varsity starter that I expect him to be, then Farmington should win plenty of games this season.   RB | [player_tooltip player_id='1248612' first='Trenton' last='Darden']   The Farmington offense needs to show some life this season. In order for that to happen, Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1248612' first='Trenton' last='Darden'] needs to have a good season. I'm quite optimistic, as he's had one heck of an offseason. He's very quickly become a highly sought-after D3 prospect. His testing numbers hover around average across the board, but his twitchiness and IQ show up a lot more when partaking in drills. Coming off a great offseason and heading into an easier schedule, Trenton should have his best season yet.   Offensive Line   You won't get very far with a poor offensive line. Last year, against some great defensive lines, Farmington was torn apart. The easier schedule should help a ton with the spotty OL play, but I'm still looking for this unit to take a big step up.   Other Impact Players   - Vaughn Hoffmeyer   - [player_tooltip player_id='1298738' first='Julian' last='Johnson']   - [player_tooltip player_id='899572' first='Daniel' last='Vukaj']   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seaholm</h2>   Team Ceiling: 6-4, 1st-round exit   Team Floor: 3-6, Miss Playoffs   Prediction: 4-5, Miss Playoffs   I'll be honest- this is looking like a re-tool season for Seaholm. Frankly, I've rarely seen a program lose as much talent as Seaholm has in their 2024 class. Seaholm has always been a pretty inconsistent program, but they've been playing a tad better since their breakthrough state semifinal appearance in 2019. In 2019, Seaholm finished 9-4. Then 5-3 (2020), then 1-8 (2021), 8-3 (2022) and 9-2 (2023). While Seaholm's ceiling was a playoff win or two from 2010-2019, their ceiling seems considerably higher since 2019. Still, I'm expecting a near .500 season from Seaholm this season before hopefully catching their stride again in 2025 or 2026. As for 2024, it'll be all about giving their young players some much-needed Varsity experience.   Key Players   ATH | [player_tooltip player_id='1298735' first='Will' last='Forberg']   Although I'm not absolutely certain that [player_tooltip player_id='1298735' first='Will' last='Forberg'] will start Week 1, I'm quite confident he'll contribute this season. I absolute love his Freshman season tape, and he has the chance to be an all-time great slotback for Seaholm's Veer offense.   DL | [player_tooltip player_id='1298755' first='Max' last='Kruger']   Max is another guy who I'm expecting to perform well on Varsity after some time on JV. Although not the most physically gifted, Max is strong, physical, and has a great motor. He brings that Maple physicality that Seaholm lives and dies by, and he'll be a key piece on the D-Line (and maybe O-Line) moving forward.   Other Impact Players   New Varsity Starters   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>This is a re-tool season. I'm expecting this team to be primarily made up of first-time starters. It goes without saying that giving those young players experience and development is paramount to Seaholm's future success. </li> </ul>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Troy</h2>   Team Ceiling: 5-4, 1st-round exit   Team Floor: 1-8, miss playoffs   Prediction: 3-6, miss playoffs   It's difficult to be optimistic about Troy Football. They're a big school that always seems to have a few legit prospects, but they've failed to make any sort of run in the postseason since *checks notes* 2007. It has been a LONG time since you could consider Troy an above-average team in Division 1. Sure, they've had "winning" seasons in the recent past, but this is also a program that tends to schedule other struggling programs for their non-league matchups. This season, their schedule is admittedly a tad tougher than usual. Outside of OAA Blue competition, they'll travel to Lake Orion, then play host to Notre Dame Prep and Pontiac. This Fall, we could legitimately see Troy take a step up. Though they are still extremely far from challenging any MAC Red or OAA Red team they'll likely face if they make the postseason.   Key Players   QB | [player_tooltip player_id='411891' first='Noah' last='Oury']   Noah has been solid as QB1 for Troy. This season, I'd love to see him take care of the football better while staying consistently accurate.   ATH | Jailen Peacock   This is Troy's most dymanic player. Jailen is polished at both WR and DB, and should put up amazing numbers this season.   T | [player_tooltip player_id='899503' first='Lucas' last='Tic']   Lucas is someone who's been on my radar for quite a while now. I pinned him as a future D2 prospect a while ago, and he's perfectly met my expectations and is now committed to Grand Valley State. His hard work seems to be paying off, and I'm expecting dominance against the OAA Blue competition.   Other Impact Players   First-time Varsity Starters   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Athens</h2>   Team Ceiling: 5-4, miss playoffs   Team Floor: 1-8, miss playoffs   Prediction: 3-6, miss playoffs   I could easily see Troy Athens taking a step up this season. If they want to do that, they'll have to beat a few teams they've struggled against. On paper, the talent and the scheme are there to take that much-needed step up. But I'm not going to be very high on this team until they can prove to be competitive against the best teams on their schedule.   Key Players   ATH | [player_tooltip player_id='1298753' first='Nathan' last='Piggott']   Nathan is Athens' all-around best player right now. It helps when you're 6'5" 200lbs, but he's also someone who gives high effort on both sides of the ball. On top of that, he's had a phenomenal offseason, having earned several Division 1 offers. I'm expecting an absolutely phenomenal season from Nathan!   LB/RB | [player_tooltip player_id='1148733' first='Cainan' last='Hanbury']   Cainan is going to be an incredibly important part of this 2024 Troy Athens team. As a Wing-T running back, I want Cainian to continue bursting through his holes while doing his best to fall forward on every down. Defensively, he showed solid stuff last season, but I'd love to see Cainan play with a little extra edge. If Cainan is able to break out, Athens may reach their ceiling.   Other Key Aspects   Top-to-bottom team cohesion   I like that Athens has adopted the Wing-T. You don't see it much with larger schools, but programs like Grandville prove that you can do it well, even at a large school. If everyone on offense focuses on the scheme and stays disciplined, the Wing-T will be difficult to stop. It doesn't hurt to have a group of running backs who know how to earn a few extra yards, either. As for defense, I'm looking for Athens to be more physical at the line of scrimmage. If their front 7 can come together, the rest may fall into place.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bloomfield Hills</h2>   Team Ceiling: 4-5, miss playoffs   Team Floor: 1-8, miss playoffs   Prediction: 2-7, miss playoffs   Key Players   ATH | [player_tooltip player_id='1185143' first='Mason' last='Hitchcock']   All signs point to Mason having himself a great season. Cracking the Varsity lineup as a freshman is never easy, and Mason did just that. He's had a good offseason, has extremely high athletic upside, and should be someone Bloomfield Hills leans on this season.   Everyone   I honestly don't know who's up and coming for Bloomfield Hills. Obviously, they'll need to find an offensive and defensive identity. Both sides of the ball need to lean on their strengths and work on developing some of the less experienced players. Though, the two position groups that I want to see significant improvements from are the offensive and defensive lines.

For decades, the OAA has produced some of the best football in Southeast Michigan. In fact, the only conference that can rival the OAA in terms of top-to-bottom quality is the OK Conference out in the Grand Rapids area. Only in the OAA conference will you see four great leagues, separated in part by team success. In the Blue, you'll find seven programs that have found amazing success in the recent past, and ALL have the potential to make a playoff run in the near future. Even better, this is one of the most challenging leagues to predict. In this league preview, I'll take a crack at predicting this league alongside highlighting the players who'll lead their team to victory.