Top Emerging Receiving Talents Heading into Week 4

Having played about a quarter of games of the high school football season, there have been some real head turners at the WR and TE positions racking in a tremendous amount of receiving yards on the field. Some we had expectations that they would do great things, others have come as some surprises so far. Here are some top receiving talents to keep your eyes out for heading into Week 4.    2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id='1276253' first='Sam' last='Barnard'] through his first four games of his senior season has made headlines as the state's top leader in receiving. It started with his first game playing Kofa, where he brought in 8 catches for 188 receiving yards and 4 TDs. Most recently, he put up 11 catches for 275 receiving yards and 4 TDs versus Marcos de Niza. Barnard's vertical route tree puts cornerbacks in a bind as he is so versatile in what he can run. He can run out and ups, posts, and even just a simple go route and always have a chance to take it to the house. When he gets to the red zone, his focus at the catch point is even more impressive as he attacks it with great leaping ability to snag that ball out of the air for the touchdown. He plays all three phases of the game for his team: wide receiver, kick returner, and even outside linebacker for Fountain Hills. They have a tough road test coming up going to Payson High, but it will be exciting to see how Barnard can light up the field versus his next opponent.      2025 Tight End Arthur Murphy has really taken his game to a whole new level in his senior season, as he is the state's leading receiver among listed TEs at the position. Managing to snag 24 catches for 464 yards and 8 TDs is incredible at his position, especially when you consider he had 7 catches for 146 yards and 4 TDs versus Carl Hayden High. His presence and ability to occupy the middle make him an easy target for his QB, as they are able to connect with Murphy's outstanding catch radius. Once he gets into the open field, he does not move like a tight end as he displays excellent agility and even better balance when he has tacklers diving at him to attempt to bring him down. A big-time target for Tempe, he has genuinely let the state know that he is a dangerous receiving threat. His next opportunity to put these talents on display will be against Odyssey Institute in Buckeye.      2025 Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1353892' first='Aeneas' last='Redmond'] has blown away his preseason expectations as he is the leading receiving yards leader among all 6A receivers. On the season so far, he has 25 catches for 448 receiving yards and 6 TDs, with his biggest performance coming in his most recent game, where he put up monster numbers of 11 receptions for 272 receiving yards and 4 TDs. Being much more heavily utilized in the slot in his first three games, Redmond's yards after catch ability has been something else, exhibiting outstanding burst and open field speed blowing past defensive secondaries with electric acceleration. His short range route running over the middle causes safeties to be cautious about how they approach tackling him, otherwise he will pop one to the endzone. He is becoming a more well-rounded receiver by the week, making himself a reliable option for his offense. He will have a true test in front of him against a stout Hamilton secondary this week, but Redmond is ready for the challenge.      2025 Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='369023' first='Kemon' last='Jackson'] has taken 5A by storm, as he is now the leader in receiving yards in that division thus far. Through three games, he has 20 catches for 476 receiving yards and 9 TDs on the year, with his biggest performance coming from his first game, where he had 8 catches for 245 receiving yards and 4 TDs. Jackson's speed is in a league of its own, as you are not going to catch him once he gets past you. Pair this with excellent deep ball skills, able to track the ball and adjust his body to get the completion downfield. In space, he shows great change of direction and acceleration as he carves his way around defenders, moving past them with ease. They will welcome South Mountain for another home game this week, allowing Jackson to continue putting up incredible numbers like he has so far this season.      2025 Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='501624' first='Julian' last='Stubblefield'] is a big play waiting to happen. Through three games, he has managed to put up 27 catches for 374 receiving yards and 4 TDs while having 16 catches for 224 of those receiving yards coming in on his last performance versus O'Connor. Stubblefield makes so many contested catches downfield with his strong hands, high pointing the ball with good position and violently coming down with the catch for a big play. His speed and craftiness in the open field are a problem for defenders, as he can easily make one to multiple defenders miss with his nice juking ability. A great receiving talent who is able to line up wide or in the slot receiver for his Cactus squad. They will host Desert Mountain this week as they come in undefeated. Stubblefield will need to have a great game for his team to take them down.     <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other Notable Players:</h2>   Preston Brown, WR Paradise Honors - 21 receptions, 503 receiving yards, 5 receiving TDs   [player_tooltip player_id='1258663' first='Leonard' last='Walker Jr']., WR Perry - 18 receptions, 431 receiving yards, 4 receiving TDs   Miguel Fierro, WR Browne - 27 receptions, 458 receiving yards, 2 receiving TDs

Having played about a quarter of games of the high school football season, there have been some real head turners at the WR and TE positions racking in a tremendous amount of receiving yards on the field. Some we had expectations that they would do great things, others have come as some surprises so far. Here are some top receiving talents to keep your eyes out for heading into Week 4.