Deck’s Deep Dive: Unranked 2026 Playmakers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Happy New Year, Prep Redzone Nation!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last night the world celebrated the ringing of a new year, and I turned another year older in my sleep.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yep, this New Year's Baby had a birthday, and Prep Redzone begins its sixth year of coverage today.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone Kansas grew in the number of athletes featured last season and in the number of subscribers. It was a banner year in which we added three Kansas scouts to our roster.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I thought I would begin by outlining what you might see from Prep Redzone Scouts this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First, the Class of 2026 rankings will be updated dramatically late this month or early February. More than 60 athletes have already been added to the rankings, and we will keep looking for a few more weeks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will continue to examine some of the state's top defensive players, first focusing on the Class of 2027 and then the Class of 2028.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone scouts will continue to share accolades of players from last fall, feature players in their respective areas, and feature players at their positions of expertise.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My first report for 2025 shines the light on 10 athletes who can expect to be added to the Class of 2026 rankings when they are next updated.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Profile for these athletes have been created on Prep Redzone and can be claimed by using the following link <a href="https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/#claim-profile-anchor">https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/#claim-profile-anchor</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585739' first='Dontrail' last='Fox'],</strong> QB, 6'1”, 170, Highland Park, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fox threw for 1,175 yards in nine games. He threw 12 touchdowns and rushed for two. He carried the ball 22 times for 183 yards for the Scots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585747' first='Carston' last='Simmons'],</strong> QB, 6'1”, 175, Colgan, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simmons had a solid junior season for the Panthers. He threw the ball for 973 yards and 16 touchdowns. He toted the rock 61 times for 230 yards and nine touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585750' first='Jordan' last='Miller'],</strong> QB, 6'3”, 175, Spring Hill, &nbsp;‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>During his junior season, Spring Hill's Miller threw for 884 yards and five touchdowns in eight games. He rushed for one touchdown and 126 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585755' first='Gavin' last='Rosa'],</strong> QB, 6'3”, 185, Rock Creek, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rock Creek's Rosa threw for 12 touchdowns an 781 yards in nine games for the Mustangs. He carried the ball 30 times for 104 yards and found the end zone three times on the ground.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585766' first='Brody' last='Thelen'],</strong> ATH, 5'9”, 180, Jefferson West, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thelen has the speed and athleticism to play multiple positions. He threw for 707 and four touchdowns in eight games last season. He also rushed for 138 yards and made five receptions. He also recorded two interceptions on defense for the Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585770' first='Armond' last='Graves'],</strong> RB/LB, 6'0”, 198, Wellsville, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Graves rushed for 1,240 yards in 11 games for Wellsville. He scored 25 touchdowns on the ground as a junior and made 31 tackles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585776' first='Logan' last='Osner'],</strong> ATH, 6'1”, 165, Conway Springs, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Osner too snaps at quarterback for Conway Springs, but he is a run-first option who can play multiple positions. He rushed for 1,238 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games. &nbsp;He completed 11 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He also made two receptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585782' first='Timothy' last='Edwards'],</strong> RB/LB, 5'7”, 150, Christ Prep Academy, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edwards rushed for 1,065 yards for the Patriots in 11 games. He scored 11 touchdowns on the ground and three on pass receptions. He caught nine total balls for 212 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1585783' first='Jaelen' last='Douglas'],</strong> RB/DB, 5'10”, 168, Olathe Northwest, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Douglas rushed for 927 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games for the Ravens. He was also a threat in the passing game grabbing 13 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1591838' first='Mason' last='Sterling'],</strong> ATH, 5'8”, 170, Humboldt, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sterling is another player who can make plays from multiple positions. He rushed for 903 yards and caught 21 balls for 381 yards. He accounted for 20 total touchdowns including one touchdown pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->