(5) Names On My Radar for the ’24 Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glancing around at some of the preseason scrimmage highlights that have been posted this week and a few caught my attention. A couple of these players on this list we have written about in the past but feel like they need more attention. A few are brand new names to me and look forward to following their progress this Fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1258788' first='Evan' last='Jones'] - 2026 WR - Northwest Whitfield</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5'10 WR is not a new name to us at Prep Redzone. He was at our Spring camp and impressed the staff with his route running ability and good hands. Not the biggest guy in the room at 155 pounds but makes up for it with his instincts to get open and speed. He had some good clips from this weeks Spring game vs a very good North Cobb Christian squad. He made multiple catches in traffic, including one between 3 defenders. Good upside and one we will be watching closely this Fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colter Vera - 2025 ATH - North Forsyth</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vera is a coach's dream. The reigning Region 8-6A 2 Way POY is a "football player". He combines good athleticism and on the field instincts to impact both side of the ball for NF. Vera showed off his skills with an acrobatic dive for a TD in last week's scrimmage to go along with big stops on defense from the safety position. Multisport athlete that competes in wrestling and track in the offseason. He was an All State HM last Fall after racking up 72 TT with 4 INTs and forced 3 fumbles. A few scouts may overlook this guy because of his height (5'9) but he can play at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='618148' first='Rett' last='Thomas'] - 2028 WR - Appling County</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomas has all the natural ability to be a star at the high school level, all he needs now is the experience. The 5'10 WR has a high jump PR of 6'3 and has already been clocked at over 20mph max speed. The Freshman scored on a 75-yard TD pass in last week's scrimmage, outrunning the defense the last 50 yards. Huge upside that will work his way into the varsity lineup sooner than later. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Darian Edmond - 2026 DT - Kell </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'1 265 DT/DE had some very good film from last week's scrimmage vs New Manchester. Edmond is an agile 265 who gets off the LOS quickly. Disruptive from the DE position that has the quickness to get in the backfield and chase the QB around. He was able to elevate and get his hands in the passing lane on a couple of throws. Physical kid that likes to tackle and plays hard. That quickness serves him well when he shifts over to the DT spot, hard for the bigger OL to get a hat on him, stuffs the running lanes. One to watch this Fall as he gets some games under his belt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brayden Shingles - 2026 RB/SS - Hampton </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shingles is another guy that makes up for his lack of size with physicality and speed. The junior had a couple of impressive runs in last week's scrimmage. He has a good first step and changes direction quickly in traffic. What I liked about him was once he found a running lane at the LOS he turns on the jets and tries to run through any defender in his way. A physical tackler on defense with solid technical skills. One to watch on the Southside this Fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->