Rankings Risers: Ranked Prospects Whose Stock Shot Up, Part I

Due to no fault of their own, when rankings are updated prospects stock usually fall because of the influx of new prospects discovered. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.   Whether it is due to graduation, injury, or a monster offseason, there are always a handful of prospects who still manage to have their stock increase as they seize and maximize their opportunities.   Below are a handful of prospects who did exactly that last season.    Prior Rank: 368 New Rank: 241 Increase: +127   [player_tooltip player_id='1216636' first='Antoine' last='Blount']'s playing time in 2024 took a big jump after he said "congrats" to 3 seniors ahead of him to graduated that same year. With Blount we see a prospect whose run blocking prowess is elite. Whether it be driving opponents down field or into the sideline, Blount has a nasty streak to him that likely gets under the skin of his matchup. Despite his height, Bount does a great job of adjusting to balls that are thrown high and wide, sacrificing his body in order to come down with the grab. A reliable target both long and short, he possesses big-play potential in both situations. His speed and open-field vision makes this possible. Blount also played defense this year where he came up with big stops both in run support and pass defense.     Prior Rank: 128 New Rank: 69 Increase: +59   Camden earned South II's #1 seed in the playoffs last fall and [player_tooltip player_id='822785' first='Azir' last='Lee'] was a big part of it. A corner, we see Lee play at the line on a consistent basis. Lee's confidence in his ability to turn-and-run enables him to do this, adding an extra element of run support. Additionally, Lee has another gear he hits and is blessed with recovery speed and hops to break up pass attempts if he should bite on fakes. His speed and burst is put to good use as he will hustle to save touchdowns on the other end of the field; while his technique compliments this nicely as he takes the air out of routes by influencing his matchup toward the sideline, limiting their space to make plays.     Prior Rank: 299 New Rank: 263 Increase: +36   A second Elizabeth Minutemen makes the list today in defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1185933' first='Bryce' last='Cabbell']. Despite having more prototypical defensive end size, Cabbell found himself playing a 3/4i this year. Cabbell was best utilized slanting and ripping. His gangly length made him a hard matchup to block, especially when he was sent in the correct direction. Religiously, Cabbell recognized when he was getting washed and would spin back to the play. Similarly, he recognized double teams and would spike a knee. Lastly, Cabbell excelled at getting into the hip pocket of pulling guards later in the season.     Prior Rank: 67 New Rank: 45 Increase: +22   From the first time he was ranked to this update, [player_tooltip player_id='321783' first='Bryce' last='Kania'] seemed to have cleaned up many of the parts of his game I mentioned. Kania's releases became more quick and explosive, putting defenders on their heels as he pushed upfield. When blocking Kania got his elbows together more and got into his assignment tight. Ball protection remained a prority as he holds it tight and to his body, while he still high points the ball well and finds subtle ways to create separation, particularly atop his route.     Prior Rank: 73 New Rank: 60 Increase: +13   This season [player_tooltip player_id='1023090' first='Charlie' last='Wingfield'] showed that he truly is one of New Jersey's elite tight ends - and he did not have to go to a post-grad or private school to show it. A master of exploiting his size, Wingfield uses his length to create separation and high point the ball. In a related fashion, we see him use his body as a weapon to bowl over defenders. Not lost in Wingfield's athletic ability is his agility and balance. We see him tightrope both the sideline and endzone, while making a move or two to shake-and-bake defenders in coverage. Wingfield seems to gain more speed the deeper his route is ran.I do not recall him using his body to receive the ball, exclusively using his hands and maximizing his catch radius    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class of 2025 Final Rankings Coverage</h2>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/03/film-evaluation-notes-for-2025s-new-additions-part-i">Film Evaluation Ranking Notes, Part I</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/03/rankings-risers-ranked-prospects-whose-stock-shot-up-part-i">Ranking Risers, Part I</a>

Due to no fault of their own, when rankings are updated prospects stock usually fall because of the influx of new prospects discovered. There are, however, exceptions to this rule.