Rough-Cut Diamonds – Spring Watchlist Update

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Closing out March and we find ourselves three months deep into the 2025 off-season. With spring sports and warm weather ushering in the new off-season phase, it is usually perfect timing for shifting gears to outdoor workouts and blending more variety into training programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After multiple months of indoor sports and mounting cabin fever, it is finally time to take the training to the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the sunshine, thankfully...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The guys targeted below are well into their off-season training programs and are in the process of formulating spring and summer plans for college and university visits, camp and clinic attendance and optimizing their personal training and prep work so they are peaking in mid-August. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are guys who have run the gauntlet of varsity football and know the demands that must be met via the off-season grind.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And they have obliged...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this report we will take a multi-positional look at five guys coming up on junior and senior seasons, who have been flying under the radar somewhat, whether it was due to injury, playing in out of the way schools or just plain getting over-looked. Regardless of the situation, there is one thing they all have in common and that is they are getting ready for breakout seasons this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, without further adieu, let's take a look at some diamonds who aren't going to be in the rough much longer:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1113129"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67e8fb17a4b44"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1113129' first='Logan' last='Fulton']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/logan-fulton/"></a> </strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/logan-fulton/"></a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/logan-fulton/"></a> </strong>, 6'0”, 200, QB, <em>Wamego</em>, ‘27. He is one of the 2027 quarterbacks I have been following closely and am really impressed with his game. He is coming off a late-season knee injury that prevented him from playing 7v7 this spring but is almost healed and already working the off-season grind. Today he will be at Peru State, followed by Sharp Performance the end of May and then Washburn in June with more to follow. Coming off an excellent sophomore season as a dynamic dual-threat quarterback with a live arm, he put up mature numbers last year, completing 102 of 161 passes for 1,746 yards, 64% completion and 19 touchdowns. He already makes the difficult throws, from layering the ball in between defenders to rifling deep velocity bullets and throws well with accurate ball placement on the move. As a runner he is fast and elusive and particularly dangerous extending plays on the perimeter. Get your popcorn handy, this guy is going to put on a show this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1541138"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67e8fb17a4ba2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1541138' first='Carson' last='Bryant']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/carson-bryant-2/"></a> </strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/carson-bryant-2/"></a> </strong>, 6'0, 205, Edge/LB, <em>Goddard</em>, '27. After a solid sophomore season he didn't waste anytime getting back in the grind and has been hitting it hard all year. Camp season is going to be busy as he has already targeted going to Kansas University, K-State and Oklahoma State; and is also trying to shoe horn in some smaller camps later in the summer. He just wrapped up his last doctor visit with a clean bill of health after recent torn-labrum surgery, and is already grinding away. Coming off a good season last fall as a two-way baller, he really shined on defense as an outside linebacker or when storming the gates off the edge. He has good instincts and read and react skills to go along with his mobility, which enables him to shut down running plays from sideline to sideline or put heat on quarterbacks in the backfield. Now that he has the injury and rehab behind him it is full speed ahead as he puts the final touches on getting ready for a big 2025 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1403609"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67e8fb17a4bf4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1403609' first='Arley' last='Morrell']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/arley-morrell/"></a>&nbsp;</strong>, 6'6, 210, ATH,&nbsp;<em>Pratt</em>, '26. It is hard to believe that a 6'6 hybrid-TE/ATH who is a 1st-team all-state basketball player and actively pursued by D1 recruiters would <em>not</em> be getting more attention than he has. <em>A lot more.</em> In the last few days he received an offer from Texas State and has scheduled visits with Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky among others to be released later. He is coming off a solid junior year that hardly scratched the surface of his capabilities. With his elite-level catch radius, wing span and athleticism he is lethal in the endzone, as evidenced last fall when he set the all-time school record for two-point conversions. He was used in a variety of ways on offense, as a RB, split or in tight, in the slot, or lining up as an H-back. On defense he was a headhunter off the edge who piled up 49 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumble recoveries and had a blocked punt. This guy is obviously beyond a diamond in the rough and this fall he is going to dominate gridirons across western Kansas to prove it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["780131"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67e8fb17a4c35"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780131' first='Nick' last='Pittman']</strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/nick-pittman/"></a>&nbsp;</strong>, 6'2, 290, OL,&nbsp;<em>Bishop Carroll</em>, '26. After coming off an injury-shortened year he hit it hard once healthy and has his ears pinned back getting ready for a big senior season. It was frustrating when he was injured as he was playing some of his best football, but has effectively rechanneled that for an encore season this fall. With a full schedule planned for this spring/summer, he intends to go to camps at Western Illinois, KU, K-State, Army, North Dakota State and Missouri. Before getting injured last fall he had not allowed a sack the entire year. He has prototype size and strength for a next-level interior lineman and is versatile enough to play multiple positions in the middle. Once the ball snaps he transforms into an aggressive bulldozer of a blocker with power and agile feet and is effective pulling and leading on the perimeter or trapping across the box. This guy is going to go off in his senior season this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1403530"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67e8fb17a4c76"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1403530' first='Wyatt' last='Starns']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/wyatt-starns/"></a>&nbsp;<em>,<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/wyatt-starns/"></a>&nbsp;</em></strong>5'10, 250, OL/DL, <em>Cheney</em>, '26. With the Cardinal offensive line graduating some legendary lineman from the class of 2025, he is and his teammates are being counted on to step up to the challenge. Laser-focused in his off-season lifting and speed work, he has turned his sights to the next few months; as he is close to finalizing his spring and summer plans for camps, which so far includes Kansas State and locally at Butler County. He has ratcheted up his game over the last few seasons and is looking forward to supplying senior leadership in the trenches this fall. So far this off-season he has been working on his explosiveness and developing a quick-strike first step for getting leverage positioning. With his physicality, agile feet and low center of gravity, he is adept at delivering a blow blocking in space and walling off in pass pro. He has a busy schedule ahead working out in the school's top-notch off-season program and on his own and is looking like he is going to be ready to take his game to the next level this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In conclusion, these guys are going to be a pleasant surprise if you haven't already checked them out! And, as always, if you have run across ballers needing attention give me a shout on X.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Keep Grindin'...</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->