Week Zero Players To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 football season kicks off this week and every Thursday, we'll take a look at ten players to watch in some of the best games across Oklahoma. Earlier this week, we <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/08/week-zeros-ten-best-games-2/">broke down some of those top games</a></strong>. We also put out a <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/08/newcastle-practice-report/">practice report on Newcastle</a></strong> and had an in-depth breakdown of the <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/08/scene-setter-elgin-at-lawton-macarthur/">Elgin-Lawton MacArthur showdown</a></strong>. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day throughout the season for new content! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1083187' first='Barrett' last='Mullen'] - Junior Quarterback - Cascia Hall</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The annual "Hall Brawl" with Cascia Hall and Holland Hall will take place on Friday night. The Commandos will look to dominate this rivalry clash and junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1083187' first='Barrett' last='Mullen'] is a big reason why. He put up big numbers last season as a sophomore and he has two wide receivers returning that could each go for over 1,000 yards this season. With the firepower Cascia Hall has coming back, it wouldn't surprise us at all if Mullen becomes one of the top passers in the state, regardless of class. His first opportunity to sling the ball around will be on Friday night and it comes against the rivals from Holland Hall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1056543' first='Blake' last='Doles'] - Senior H-Back/Linebacker - Guthrie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday night, Guthrie will host Tuttle in a fantastic non-district clash to open the 2024 season. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1056543' first='Blake' last='Doles'] is one of several players to watch from Guthrie going into this season. As we've written about before, the Blue Jays are reloading after a special senior class graduated. But with Doles returning, Guthrie gets a player with a wealth of experience on both sides of the ball. Whether it's on offense or defense, Doles is the ultimate hybrid player for the Blue Jays. He can be moved around and plugged into several different places. Doles and the Guthrie defense will try to slow down Tuttle's high-powered offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1096189' first='Blake' last='Hogshooter'] - Senior Wide Receiver - Bixby</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bixby Spartans begin their defense of the state title by going on the road to face Owasso. The Spartans will be tested by a very talented Owasso defense that has multiple guys that hold D1 offers. But the Spartans aren't lacking offensive talent that will end up at the next level. Senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1096189' first='Blake' last='Hogshooter'] is one of those guys that we think will be primed for a monster season this fall. Hogshooter had a fantastic offseason and every time we watched him in person, he was one of the best players on the field. If he continues that trend on Friday and dominates once again, he'll be on his way to a big year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='593641' first='Caleb' last='Hawkins'] - Senior Athlete - North Rock Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Rock Creek senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='593641' first='Caleb' last='Hawkins'] is one of the best two-way players in the state. He's an All State player and he's primed for a monster senior season. Hawkins helped North Rock Creek make their first ever playoff appearance in 2023 and now he's hungry to help them go to another level in 2024. Fresh off their first ever playoff appearance, North Rock Creek will open up the 2024 campaign against a very tough Marlow team. Whether it's on offense, defense or special teams, Hawkins could end up changing the game in the blink of an eye. We're looking forward to seeing what kind of impact he has on Friday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='294445' first='Cash' last='Jacobsen'] - Senior Defensive Lineman - Jenks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On paper, the Jenks Trojans look like they could be the best team in the state in 2024. On Friday night, we'll get a chance to see what the 2024 Trojans will look like when they host Edmond Santa Fe. Senior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='294445' first='Cash' last='Jacobsen'] bounced back from an injury in his sophomore season with an outstanding junior campaign. Now, he is the unquestioned leader of the Jenks defensive line and could have a big senior year. And on Friday, we'll see Jacobsen and the Trojan defense going up against Santa Fe, who has one of the best running backs in the state. If Jacobsen and this Jenks defense dominates, 2024 could be a special year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209872' first='David' last='McComb'] - Senior Quarterback - Edmond Memorial</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edmond Memorial begins their pursuit of a return to the playoffs with a road test against Del City. Senior quarterback and Kansas commit [player_tooltip player_id='209872' first='David' last='McComb'] is one of the very best in the state of Oklahoma. And it's been that way since he broke out during his freshman season. Now, he is firmly established as one of the top quarterbacks and this is going to be a very fun match-up to watch. Del City has talent returning from last year's team that made it to the 5A state championship game. If McComb produces at a level similar to how he started the 2023 season, we could end up seeing some fireworks this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] - Senior Quarterback - Deer Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deer Creek senior quarterback and Georgia Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] will open the 2024 season on the road against Bishop McGuinness. Like McComb, the Deer Creek signal caller has been considered one of the very best quarterbacks in the state for a while now. Adamson has put up some monster numbers and we're looking forward to seeing what he does this fall. The jump that Adamson made from his sophomore to junior year was a massive step. So now, we can't wait to see what kind of jump he makes this fall. Adamson and the Antlers look to start their season off with a big win over Bishop McGuinness. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473952' first='Joseph' last='Graves'] - Sophomore Defensive Lineman - Booker T Washington</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Booker T Washington is looking to bounce back in a major way in 2024 but it's a tough season opener. They'll go on the road to face defending 6A-2 champion Muskogee. The Roughers are once again the favorites to win 6A-2 this season but the Hornets will look to slow them down with a strong defensive line. The Hornets have two outstanding sophomore defensive linemen but [player_tooltip player_id='473952' first='Joseph' last='Graves'] is a guy that could end up being the top overall prospect in the state's 2027 class. Simply put, Graves is an absolute monster on the defensive line and he had an immediate impact as a freshman. He looks to have a similar impact in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867298' first='Mason' last='Torres'] - Senior Linebacker - Lincoln Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defending 3A champion Lincoln Christian opens up their 2024 campaign by going across town to face Victory Christian. The Bulldogs definitely have a team capable of repeating but we think it will be the defense that steals the headlines early on in the season. The Bulldogs are absolutely filthy on that side of the ball and specifically in the front seven. Senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='867298' first='Mason' last='Torres'] has been a guy that has impressed us both in camp settings and with the pads on. He was one of the team's leading tacklers last season. And that front seven will be tested this week against a very good Victory Christian rushing attack. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='898116' first='Nate' last='Neal'] - Senior Quarterback - Bartlesville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Thursday night showdown will see Bartlesville going on the road to face Newcastle. Bruin senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='898116' first='Nate' last='Neal'] comes into this season as one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the state. Neal brings a ton of experience as a multi year starter for Bartlesville. And it's no secret that the Bruins lost a big part of their offense this offseason. But with Neal coming back at quarterback, they are in good hands to make some noise in 2024. We like the overall production and talent that Bartlesville brings back in the passing game and they'll need them to be clicking as they face a tough Newcastle defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->