Freshmen With Early Varsity Experience

With the inaugural 2028 Rankings debuting on Prep Redzone Wisconsin we have spent the week diving into the new talent that college coaches and recruiters are going to want to know about. Many in the Top 10 have varsity experience already under their belt. You can read about them in our Top 10 Breakdown article. In this article we are going to go beyond the Top 10 and look at the tape of other athletes who were able to earn time on the varsity squad in their first year of HS football. Athletes that can crack the lineup this early a well worth having on your radar early on. Let's get into this group!    One of the top up and coming two-way athletes in this Class is Arrowhead's [player_tooltip player_id='627633' first='Jacob' last='Downing']. Downing was able to earn time on the varsity at FB during Arrowhead's playoff appearances. A great stay to get some high level experience for the impressive '28. In that varsity action Jacob was utilized as a lead blocker at FB and spent a lot of time at TE on the freshman team. The kid made a big impact too. Jacob is explosive out of his stance and would get into the chest of his man and drive him off the line, opening up a big hole for his RB. Plus at DE Jacob was a menace off the edge. He can transition that quickness into power when he is bull rushing or shedding a block and also can win with his quickness and agility. I'm excited to see what role/s he grows and develops into at the varsity level over time.      [player_tooltip player_id='1284953' first='Marvin' last='Jones III'] is an exciting skill player who was able to earn his way to varsity action as a safety. The freshman also dominated at the JV level as a WR along with safety. The freshman was used in different ways. He was a reliable safety blanket over the top. Reading and reacting quickly and showing off the burst and speed to be able to roam a deep half. Marvin also flashed the ability to provide 1 on 1 coverage over a receiver with his quick twitch react agility. Knowing that he ended the year on varsity has me excited for this year ahead as I hope to see him out there from the start as a sophomore. Definitely have this kid on your radars early on.      [player_tooltip player_id='1570930' first='Malik' last='Collins'] was able to earn himself a starting varsity job on one of the state's top D1 teams as a freshman. A great sign for what is to come to the 6' 265 lbs guard. The kid clearly belonged too. Watch the highlights and you will see a kid with strong hands that at times was able to simply toss IDL around. Malik also provided a strong anchor in pass protection, giving his QB a place to step up and deliver passes. The freshman IOL never seemed to be overmatched at the varsity level. He is putting in the work this offseason too. I'm excited to see how he comes back in 2025.      Elias saw quite a bit of varsity action in his first season of high school football. He actually earned time at both RB and LB on Friday nights. Right from the start of Week 1 Elias proved to be an instinctive LB. He quickly mirrored ball carriers and met them in the hole for tackles. The freshman is a natural sliding around the trenches avoiding blocks while also coming downhill to close on the ball. At RB the freshman is a one cut runner who runs angry once he sticks that foot in the ground and gets upfield. The young playmaker also showed off the vision to find blocks or cutback alleys to utilize. I'm looking forward to seeing his role expand at the varsity level.      Bode came in and pretty quickly proved that he needed to be on the field on Friday nights for Mondovi. The freshman signal caller is an electric dual threat QB who moved his team consistently with both his arm and his legs. Looking at the arm, it is developing well. He can push the ball downfield confidently with touch. His command over his ball placement gives his guys the best shot at the catch. He also has smooth, natural, efficient mechanics. On the ground is where he dominates, though. Give this kid an alley and he has the acceleration and second gear to take any carry 75+ yards to the house. He makes great decisions on whether to give or take it himself. Bode also brings excellent vision with the ball in his hands to the field. Finding ways to contain him will be a problem. Keep an eye on this kid.      At just 5'11" 220 lbs [player_tooltip player_id='1627999' first='Julian' last='Aranda'] was able to work his way onto the varsity field and into the interior of the DL. You don't see many kids that young, with that size playing on Friday nights, but Julian dominates with his quickness off the snap. His tape has plenty of examples of that excellent first step that slips him through gaps before OL can get their hands on him. What surprises is that Julian also shows some strength to hold the line of scrimmage at that size when he does engage with the OL. We will be keeping an eye on this kid over the years to watch him continue to develop into even more of a mismatch.      We stay on the same team for our final athlete of the article. This time we go out to the skill positions for [player_tooltip player_id='1289624' first='Myles' last='Bunch']. While Myles is definitely undersized at 5'7" 145 lbs you can't deny that he is a playmaker at both DB and RB. Myles brings game breaking speed to the field that help him create a lot of his big plays. On offense the RB is utilized heavily as a receiving threat out of the backfield. Getting him the ball in space allows him to see the field and use blockers to create big plays with that speed. Myles has natural hands making him a reliable target. That vision also shines as a returner on special teams. As he continues to grow the '28 is sure to make a bigger and bigger varsity impact.

With the inaugural 2028 Rankings debuting on Prep Redzone Wisconsin we have spent the week diving into the new talent that college coaches and recruiters are going to want to know about. Many in the Top 10 have varsity experience already under their belt. You can read about them in our Top 10 Breakdown article. In this article we are going to go beyond the Top 10 and look at the tape of other athletes who were able to earn time on the varsity squad in their first year of HS football. Athletes that can crack the lineup this early a well worth having on your radar early on. Let's get into this group!