Top Eight 2026 Prospects on Long Island

While I continue to work on rankings for the 2026 class, I am going to work on some regional content of some of the prospects who I have been impressed with and who make up some of the top players in their region. It starts off with this group of guys from Long Island, who I was very impressed with this season - I think this is a very strong year for Long Island prospects. I am not saying that years past have been down years, and although this may not be as top-heavy as 2024 when J. Brown and K. Duff Jr came out, I think there are multiple positions where we can see 3-4 players contend for FCS or higher spots as they transition to college. Also, we have a very good mix of private/public school prospects.   This group all were identified last season and all where a part of the rankings, A lot of these guys will make jumps in our soon update but for now - here are some initial thoughts on what they bring to the table as prospects.   *These prospects are not in order of current rankings - these prospects are listed alphabetically by last name*    Long Island Lutheran, one of the top producers of talent on the island, has one of NY's premier prospects in this class - Butler is a multi-year contributor and has been dominant as a receiver and returner for LuHi - it's what you see on film and the off-season track numbers that make him such a sought after prospect already.   Butler ran 22.02 200m in the Summer of 2024 on that AAU track circuit, which is good enough for the fastest 200m in the 2026 class in New York by a fair margin club or HS.   His verified speed shows up on tape, and he is one of the best deep threats in New York. However, he displays good quickness and twitch on tape, along with some of the best YAC in WR tape this class. He also does a great job of attacking the ball in the air - he can contort his body to make tough catches and consistently snatches the ball out of the air.   Butler also has a 4.0 GPA - on the field, the performance is there, and the athleticism stands out. Off the field, Butler checks every box a WR coach looks for.     In his first year as the full-time starter in what is becoming QBU on Long Island at Sayville, Coan exceeded high expectations, showcasing his athleticism and putting up incredible efficient numbers this season.   I'm impressed with Coan's tape overall; I think there is a very diverse set of throws on tape more than most quarterbacks, and the efficiency and decision-making for a first-year starter is very impressive. I was not able to see him live this year, but I have been impressed with camps in the past. I did catch a full game via broadcast in the playoffs and was very impressed with a full game body of work.   Coan has great size at 6'4 190, and he fits the prototype at the QB position. While he shows off some athleticism, he is not the type of QB to pull and run after his first read like many HS guys. Coan does a really good job of working in rhythm, you see at least 15 reps on film where you see an efficient dropback, read, and deliver on throws that cover every part of the field - he throws the out route extremely well which for me has often been a good indicator of QBs true arm strength.     The ideal long, lean tackle prospect that so many coaches are looking for is Martines, who is also a basketball player and has some of the best OT tapes in New York. He also has good quality endzone film, which is always a huge positive for OL evaluation - Martines moves guys more than most of the top OLs from the island. He also shows some quality pass set reps that some other OLs lack.   Athletically, he moves his feet extremely well; he stays square to guys trying to speed-rush him off the edge - fundamentally, he will have to make some adjustments to his pass set at the next level, but there are some quality reps on tape.   Martines best ability is that of moving guys, he plays with leverage, looks like he has good play strength, and blocks with a strong work rate not always finishing guys to the ground which is fine but sustaining and finishing blocks.     Miller, who is a guy I have seen both in a game setting and at camps, is one of the best blockers in the state and up there with some of the most violent interior OL prospects that come out of New York this season.   Miller is probably the best pulling guard I have seen this year. His ability to knock guys back with his initial punch was great - the Chaminade run game is a little more demanding of OL in the variety of blocks they execute, so Miller's tape has a ton of variety. He does a great job getting to the second level; I think there are some quality reach blocks on tape that showcase Miller's quick feet.   Miller plays with a violent punch and good leverage, and he is shown on tape and in person, he can execute a variety of blocks at a high level. Chaminade was a run-heavy team, but I think between camps and film, Miller shows the ability to anchor and hold ground in pass pro.     Moore is an intriguing prospect because the best version of him will probably end up in college once he hits the college meal plan and weight training routine - some prospects just have the physical ability above their peers, and Moore is one of those players. When I saw St. Anthony's play University Prep a game that should end up with 4-5 D1 players, Moore stood out as one of the most physically impressive players I saw this year.   Moore has a basketball background; I think there is some spatial awareness that translates to the safety position and his explosive movements you see both on football and basketball tape from this year. Moore has some length to his game; he excels more in Zone coverage based on what I have seen on him this year, I think he can cover a lot of ground and has his best reps when he can face everything in front of him. Additionally, as a tackler, Moore does a good job of breaking down and making tackles in space - he also flashed a few reps of some violence and physical finishing.     Olson is a prospect I probably will pound the table for come spring/summer when recruiting gets pretty hectic, and there are a lot of intriguing accolades, tape, and off-field boxes he checks.   Measurables - Olson fits what teams look for at 6'5 280   Accolades - 3x Champion, Has never lost an HS game, Al Martone Award Winner (Best Nassau County Lineman)   Off-Field - 28-7 Wrestling record, 97/100 Average (3.9 GPA)   Tape - For a player with the long, lean build Olson has played guard at the HS level, surprising, but I really like him at guard on tape where Garden City asks him to pull and move quite a bit - the movement skills are there, and you see a little of the wrestling background with his pad level and ability to strike - his DT tackle is alright, it displays more athleticism but his skillset projects to OL at the next level.     Take a highlight tape from any single game Thomas posted this year, and it is going to look better than a lot of RB's season tapes - Thomas was dominant for William Floyd, and while he was a player I was high on already, he took it to a new level this year. A very big back, Thomas, at 6'2 215, fits the profile of what a lot of coaches look for.   The first question from all coaches will be how fast he is, and as far as HS tape goes it is probably one of the few areas he can continue to improve. Thomas does show some good short-area bursts and lateral movements followed by explosive cuts. I like his patience and vision on tape; he is not just a big back who runs straight there is the ability to make guys miss but also drag defenders for yards.     White has about as many highlight runs as anyone in New York - I saw a good portion of a Hills East game this year when I was down in the NYC area for a weekend - White is the twitchiest slippery back in this class - coaches will question the size. Still, there are some very impressed RBs at the next level with similar size comps where the skillsets align kind of dispelling that size aspect every coach will think about.   White is very good at making guys miss with explosive jump cuts, the best part about his tape is how determined he is to get upfield; White won't dance around in the backfield trying to avoid tacklers, he can avoid defenders that get through, but his contact balance and explosiveness as he gets through to the second level are traits I really like both on film and from what I saw in person.

While I continue to work on rankings for the 2026 class, I am going to work on some regional content of some of the prospects who I have been impressed with and who make up some of the top players in their region. It starts off with this group of guys from Long Island, who I was very impressed with this season - I think this is a very strong year for Long Island prospects. I am not saying that years past have been down years, and although this may not be as top-heavy as 2024 when J. Brown and K. Duff Jr came out, I think there are multiple positions where we can see 3-4 players contend for FCS or higher spots as they transition to college. Also, we have a very good mix of private/public school prospects.