2027 Rankings Debut: 41-50 Ranked Prospects

For a discounted subscription to view all of our content, use Code PRZWV30 at checkout for 30% off!   The 2027 rankings have made their long-awaited debut with an initial list of the Top 60 rising sophomores in West Virginia. While these rankings will greatly change over the next three years as more athletes emerge and more information and film becomes available, these are the 2027 prospects who have proven to be some of the best at this time. Here are the 41-50 ranked prospects in the 2027 class in our eyes at this early stage.    The Parkersburg South Patriots have had a run on talented skill players in recent memory and that looks likely to continue with 2027 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1260055' first='Kooper' last='Jackson']. Jackson was a PRZ WV Combine participant earlier this year and is an impressive-looking athlete for his age. He tested very well for a freshman with a 4.8 40, 4.22 pro shuttle, and 7.53 L Drill with a great early combination of size and athleticism that will pay dividends for him in the future. We expect Jackson to be a varsity contributor this season for the Patriots after being a standout for their younger team in 2023. Game film from him is limited right now, but Jackson looks to be a natural and fluid athlete which is backed up by his Combine testing numbers.   We'll learn a lot more about Jackson's play on the field this season on the varsity team and expect him to begin making his name more known during his sophomore year.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JACKSONKOOPER9/status/1779341272349577714 </div></figure>     Film and info are limited on 2027 Bluefield running back [player_tooltip player_id='1154894' first='Willis' last='Wilson'] at this time, but we're confident he'll be a top running back in this class in time. Wilson was a varsity contributor for the Beavers as a freshman last season and is poised for his breakout season in year two as a sophomore. We'll learn more about him this season with more available film and expect Wilson to back up our #3 RB ranking with a potentially strong sophomore campaign.   This is a pure projection ranking for Wilson until we get more information on him, but don't be surprised to see his name a lot over the next three years with the potential to rank much higher in time.      2027 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1161083' first='Phillip' last='Shields'] will be another strong addition to the Washington program after making the move over from Musselman for his sophomore year. Shields was a very good player for the Applemen's JV team in 2023 and showed early signs of being a dynamic playmaker. Shields is very quick with quality speed that should allow him to develop into a dangerous route runner with high potential as a slot receiver. He has great feet and is a fluid athlete who has YAC ability and is a threat in the open field. Shields also has DB versatility and could contribute on that side of the ball as a sophomore.   We're expecting him to be a varsity impact player this season for the Patriots and could make a nice jump in the rankings after the season from varsity film.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Phillipshi3/status/1766275914462048268 </div></figure>     We're expecting 2027 Nitro LB [player_tooltip player_id='1128467' first='Braylon' last='Price'] to take a step forward this season for the Wildcats as a sophomore and put more on film to back up his #5 LB ranking. Price contributed to the varsity team as a freshman and was a productive young player who should see an increased role in 2024. He's been working hard over the off-season to get bigger and stronger and is developing well physically to put himself in the position to have a breakout year. With just a two-game sample size of highlights available from his freshman season, a full evaluation of Price's game will come in the future with more film, but he flashed the potential last season to be considered one of the top linebackers in the 2027 class at this early stage.   We'll be keeping a close eye on Price this season to see if he takes that step forward in his second year and shows more of the potential we see in him.      University 2027 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1271395' first='Harrison' last='Helbig'] could end up being a big stock riser in our winter rankings update after this season. He's currently battling for the Hawks' open QB1 spot and would speak highly of his talent if he's able to take over the offense as a sophomore. Even if he has to wait his turn for at least one more year at the varsity level, Helbig showed a lot of potential and upside on his freshman film to one day be considered a top quarterback prospect in the 2027 class. His footwork in the pocket looked good with scrambling ability to extend plays and escape pressure when needed. Helbig throws an accurate ball for his age and executed an RPO system well on the Hawks' younger team which speaks to his early development. He also has a big 6'4 frame that he'll fill out over the years and gives him a leg up on fellow 2027 quarterbacks.   Helbig appears to have an exciting future at the position that could be on display at the varsity level as soon as this season.      We're high on 2027 Winfield quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1154688' first='Jared' last='Miller']'s future to run the Generals' Wing-T/Option offense, and he appears to be the perfect type of athlete to execute it at a high level. Miller showed that potential on their JV team last season as a true dual-threat QB who can run an advanced offense well at a young age. Miller is a playmaker at the quarterback position who is a threat with his arm and his legs and a very good athlete for his age. He's a natural playmaker with the ball in his hands who can make defenders miss and has the speed to break loose in the open field. Miller could've been considered an ATH prospect with how many plays he made on film with his legs, but he flashed the arm talent to stick at QB for now. He's also a standout baseball player for the Generals and earned Second Team All-State honors as a freshman.   He'll be an exciting prospect to watch over the next three years and has a lot of potential in a specialized offense well-suited for his skillset.      The Bigelow brothers made their way to WV from Maryland this season to team up with cousin [player_tooltip player_id='487106' first='Trevor' last='Bigelow'] at Fairmont Senior as younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='1087022' first='Parker' last='Bigelow'] joins older brother Hunter in our rankings. We got to see him live at our Combine in May where he stood out as a young athlete with early potential and upside as a linebacker prospect. Bigelow may have to wait his turn for a year on his new team with a loaded roster, but we could see him contributing on special teams as a sophomore with some spot duty at linebacker mixed in. He was a physical young player for St. James (MD) as a freshman last season with OL reps which bodes well for his future outlook and what we love to see in young linebackers.   Bigelow's best football is ahead of him and should make steady progress each year while finishing as a well-developed prospect by the time he's a senior.      A small school linebacker prospect to know for the next three years is Tug Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='1155296' first='Cane' last='Thompson']. Thompson led the Panthers in tackles as a freshman in 2023 with 106 including 14 TFLs and 2 sacks. he earned WVSWA Class A Honorable Mention All-State for those efforts and has a bright future as a prospect. Thompson plays the game well above his age and is a high-effort player which was emphasized by his play on special teams. He's a downhill physical player who gets behind his pads well for his age while welcoming contact. Thompson is at 100% effort on every play which led to his team-leading tackles stat and read plays well as a freshman. He's a quality athlete who can play in coverage as well and is a rangy linebacker who can cover a lot of ground and pursues the ball quickly.   Thompson has some of the better freshman film in our rankings and will raise his ceiling as a small school player the more he grows physically.      Getting the ball to 2027 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1161083' first='Phillip' last='Shields'] last season was quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1154709' first='Ty' last='Ricketts'] who is now with the state champion Martinsburg Bulldogs program. He'll need to keep getting bigger to raise his ceiling as a prospect, but Ricketts flashed some very good arm talent as a freshman on the Musselman JV team. He throws a pretty ball and has nice touch on his passes that makes it easy for his receivers to make a play. Ricketts has shown he can hit on corner, post, and go balls accurately and on time which is great to see for a young QB. He was another participant at our Combine in May and one of many talented 2027 prospects we got to see in person who now rank among the best in the class at this stage.   It'll be interesting and fun to watch him compete for the starting varsity job down the road with fellow highly-ranked 2027 QB/ATH [player_tooltip player_id='895900' first='Brian' last='Dick'] as both prospects have shown great early potential.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Ty_Ricketts3/status/1783903848123281611 </div></figure>     [player_tooltip player_id='1154702' first='Isaiah' last='Heflin'] is a good athlete playing quarterback for the Liberty-Harrison Mountaineers who hurt defenses with his arm and his legs as a freshman varsity starter. He may one day be ranked as an ATH depending on how he develops as a passer and the athleticism to play multiple positions which gives him options on where he can play. Helfin produced a very good freshman campaign as a QB and DB and earned All-Big 10 honors as a defensive backing his first year at the high school level. He has great scrambling ability and is a threat to take off and run on any given play which makes him tough to defend against. Heflin can execute QB-designed runs and has the speed and quickness to bust open a big play with his legs. He's still developing as a passer but has the potential to steadily improve in that area over time to make him a more complete quarterback prospect.   Liberty-Harrison will be merging with Robert C. Byrd after this school year so it will be interesting to watch where Heflin ends up in the future and the role he plays on his new team in time.

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