2028s in Position to Earn a Varsity Spot

The first year of HS football is in the books for the Class of 2028. It is now time for the real work to begin. Hitting the gym hard, staying or improving flexibility, working on mobility and agility all while sometimes participating in a winter/spring sport. What also comes with the offseason is the graduation of seniors, and with the graduation of seniors comes open jobs on the varsity team. I decided it was time to research through our 2028 list of athletes that will be in our debut rankings for the Class and identify athletes that are in position to make that leap to varsity because the opening is there and they have the talent to do so. I'm very excited for this Class and the athletes within it to really start making their mark on Wisconsin HS football. We start with a potential new starter at a traditional powerhouse school.    2028 QB Dalton Steiner is in a great position to earn the starting varsity job at Catholic Memorial. The two seniors that were ahead of him in 2024 will graduate this summer leaving him as the next man up to lead the unit into 2025.   Dalton has the talent to win the job and get the job done as a sophomore. The '28 looked great at the Elite QB Camp last weekend. He is building a frame that can handle varsity action, the ball jumps out of his hand and can carry its velocity to most levels of the field. Plus he has already developed the consistent mechanics to allow him to have very good control over his ball placement. I'm excited to see if he wins the job. Three years of Dalton leading this team would be very fun to watch.     Gavin is one of only a few 2028s who does have some varsity action under his belt already. He finished 2024 with a 11/276/1 stat line, but there is going to be room for a lot more than that in 2025. Only one athlete on the team with more receiving production than him that returns in 2025 is the starting running back. So Franklin's offense is going to be looking for a lot of new playmakers out wide.   Gavin is right at the top of the list of athletes who I expect to see vying for a starting spot. The 6'1" 185 lbs freshman has the size of a lot of varsity receivers that we see across WI with 3 years ahead of him to grow and get stronger. Along with the varsity size, Gavin has a varsity-ready skill set. The athlete has natural ball skills, both making the catch and tracking it while it is in the air. He has the speed to force teams to keep a safety over the top of him, and the second they don't he can take it the distance. I'm getting ready for a breakout year from the sophomore WR when this fall comes around.     Jayson was an unexpected inclusion in this article if you would have asked me to write it a couple weeks ago. Back then it looked like he would be learning behind '26 [player_tooltip player_id='700017' first='Brayln' last='Albritton'], but the junior QB announced he is heading down to Georgia to finish his HS career. That leaves '28 [player_tooltip player_id='1192952' first='Jayson' last='Jefferson'] in position to win the varsity job.   If the job is his, Jayson will be ready. The 5'11" 170 lbs '28 has a live arm. He showed it off during our December Showcase, earning a spot as a top performer among the group. In 2024, Jayson carved up lower level defenses with quick decisions, accuracy, and some timely scrambles/designed runs. This will be a kid to keep an eye on this fall.     Hunter is an athlete that I'm just starting to learn about. It is looking like we are going to have a great chance of learning a lot about him this fall, though. Hunter is the only other athlete to attempt a pass for Grafton outside of prolific starter [player_tooltip player_id='262094' first='Brady' last='Hilgart']. With Hilgart headed for graduation and college football it looks like Hunter will be the next man up. Or at least is in a great position to win the battle when the season starts. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for Hunter this fall and the Grafton starting job.     Dane is another one of the few freshmen that saw action on Friday nights. He finished 2024 with an 11/110/1 stat line while playing in 6 games. On tape we see Dane out of the TE position primarily, and looking at the roster has me excited for 2024. The TE1 for the past couple years was manned by [player_tooltip player_id='383722' first='Rocco' last='Orlando'], a senior set to graduate this summer. That positions the 6'2" 190 lbs freshman as the next man up for the job.   I expect/have high hopes for Warren to win the position of TE1. He is already such a smooth athlete on tape. He glides through routes, has reliable hands that catch the ball away from his body, and the freshman wasn't afraid to finish off his touches with some physical running. Keep a close eye on the talented athlete as he continues to grow, develop, and pile up varsity experience.     This is a fun one. I don't necessarily see an exact spot for Jack to take a starting job on varsity, but his talent level as a freshman and offseason development/growth should have him in position to start playing under the Friday night lights. If you have been a long time reader of Prep Redzone WI or a fan of Sun Prairie football, then the last name Ostrenga is nothing new to you. The last two with that last name are playing D1 football at North Dakota and Iowa.   So we know the bloodline is strong, but what does the freshman tape show? In 2024 Jack played WR and OLB and was an impact at both. On offense, Jack is a smooth athlete with the body control to always find a way to get his hands on the ball to make the catch. The '28 also has an impressive second gear in the open field. He is also a willing and able blocker out in space. On defense, he showed versatility at OLB. His first step quickness gets him into the backfield quickly to disrupt plays. Jack also looks comfortable playing out in space over a slot receiver. I'm excited to see Jack's time come, whether it be in 2024 or beyond. He is at a great point athletically with so much time ahead of him to continue to develop.     Looking through the Oconomowoc roster, they had 9 OL listed on the 2024 roster. Five of those nine will be graduating this summer leaving room for open competition for starting and backup jobs across the line. An athlete I expect to be right in the middle of that battle for a starting spot is 2028 OL Jacob van der Kooy.   The first reason why I have high expectations for Jacob is the size and mass he brings to the field. He has varsity size at 6'4" 285 lbs with 6'7" wingspan and hands that measure almost a foot wide. In the tape available you can see that Jacob is able to use that size to his advantage as he controls where his opponent goes after the snap. I'm pumped to see how Jacob develops this offseason and what he looks like as we approach the 2025 season this summer/fall.

The first year of HS football is in the books for the Class of 2028. It is now time for the real work to begin. Hitting the gym hard, staying or improving flexibility, working on mobility and agility all while sometimes participating in a winter/spring sport. What also comes with the offseason is the graduation of seniors, and with the graduation of seniors comes open jobs on the varsity team. I decided it was time to research through our 2028 list of athletes that will be in our debut rankings for the Class and identify athletes that are in position to make that leap to varsity because the opening is there and they have the talent to do so. I'm very excited for this Class and the athletes within it to really start making their mark on Wisconsin HS football. We start with a potential new starter at a traditional powerhouse school.