2026s in Line for a Varsity Breakout Season

Sometimes it takes until the senior year for an athlete to truly breakout. Maybe they were behind a lot of seniors until their final season. Perhaps they had to split reps or touches. Maybe there was an injury that forced the breakout back a year. A lot of unpredictable things can happen in a season, but looking into the future there are several juniors who look like they are in position to have their chance at a dominant breakout season for their teams. Let's take a look at the scenarios.    The injury bug showed up early in the 2024 season for stud RB [player_tooltip player_id='533154' first='Anthony' last='Liggins']. Hopes were that 2024 would be the season we saw him show off his rare playmaking abilities as a runner and receiver. Instead we had to wait a year, but things may look even better for a breakout now than they did in 2024. The offensive line in front of him will still be strong. Plus Anthony won't be expected to carry a huge workload. The RB room has proven to be deep as others stepped up in 2024 to pick up the slack and help Case get to a historic season. 2025 is going to be fun for the Case offense, and for [player_tooltip player_id='533154' first='Anthony' last='Liggins'] as he gets back to where he left off.     Another postponed breakout due to injury was [player_tooltip player_id='205544' first='Joshua' last='Ziebell'] of Waukesha West. Josh is the epitome of the ATH position. He plays WR, DB, and also is a returner. If the injury bug didn't bite, Josh was poised to be the go to guy in the passing offense while also handling the return duties. Basically a bunch of chances for him to show his playmaking abilities and the mismatch athleticism he has within his impressive 6'2" 190 lbs frame. As far as recruitment goes, we may only have to wait until summer camps for him to prove he is ready to play and earn offers. Then we will get to the fall and the real fun will begin. I'm excited to watch Ziebell in his senior season.     Aydon was able to put together a strong first half of the season in what could have been his breakout year. However, a torn ACL/MCL ended his year early. Before the injury, Aydon was a force on defense. He was all over the backfield disrupting plays from the DE & LB positions. Aydon is a strong athlete who is able to power through blocks and closes quickly when he gets a free run. If he gets close to doubling his numbers while working towards doubling the games played then Aydon is going to have a year to remember.     The ACL injury bug hit both Fickell athletes in 2024. It actually hit Ashton first in the Week 1 game. We were hoping to see Ashton bookend his brother on the Edgewood defense. Also be a very effective run blocker at the TE position. Ashton flashed the talent to do that as a junior during their scrimmage and some of Week 1 prior to injury. We may have had to wait a year for the breakout of the Fickell duo, but I have a strong feeling it is going to be well worth the wait. Expect big things from Ashton on both sides of the ball.     Kayden had a very strong junior season, flashing big play potential and playing all three facets of the game. In 2024 Kayden averaged almost 25 yards per reception. A huge number, but because of his big play threat we could see even bigger numbers in 2025. I expect the '26 to step into the WR1 role and earn a few more targets per game. Meverden won't need many chances to create big plays, so we could see a lot of fireworks in 2025. Plus I'm sure he will still be back as a return man as well. Things are shaping into a big role for the explosive athlete in 2025.     Another strong 2024 producer who looks like he is about to really blow up is Racine Horlick's [player_tooltip player_id='1228041' first='Jaydan' last='Ponder']. Jaydan broke 700 yards in 2024 while handling the second most carries on the team. However, despite the solid numbers he was still 100 carries behind the team's RB1. With Fletcher graduating we have almost 200 carries available. I don't expect to see Ponder take all of them, but he doesn't need to. Ponder is a physical runner who plays behind his pads and will wear down defenses as games go on. The tough runner is going to be given a chance for a big senior season. Pumped to watch it unfold.     I was just made aware of Mickey this week from a coach. The junior LB has had to wait his turn on a loaded Verona defense. Now 2025 will be his time to take over games from the LB position. Mickey got a taste of it last season when he was able to make 20 tackles in a single half. An insane rate, but it shows his instincts, tackling, and ability to find ways to get to the ball quickly. I can't imagine what he might do with 9+ games under his belt. I've got high hopes for Mickey, and college recruiters need to tune in this fall, if not before.

Sometimes it takes until the senior year for an athlete to truly breakout. Maybe they were behind a lot of seniors until their final season. Perhaps they had to split reps or touches. Maybe there was an injury that forced the breakout back a year. A lot of unpredictable things can happen in a season, but looking into the future there are several juniors who look like they are in position to have their chance at a dominant breakout season for their teams. Let's take a look at the scenarios.