’26 Rankings Update: Film Evals for New Additions, Part VII

<p>To the best of my knowledge, I know two things to be true when it comes to player rankings. First, Prep Redzone is the industry leader in state-by-state depth when it comes to rankings. Second, Prep Redzone New Jersey – <em>specifically</em> – is the unabashed leader in sharing our evaluation ranking notes.</p>   <p>In this series you will find our unedited, raw ranking notes for nearly 300 new additions to the class of 2026's final rankings. The notes are being rolled out alphabetically by first name, so stay tuned and be sure to follow as we release them.</p>   <p><em>*Please note that these notes are, indeed, raw and likely contain typos due to the volume of notes.</em></p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1476893' first='Jajuan' last='McIntosh-Ward'] 5'11" 190 LB/RB Cedar Creek</td><td>Quick when walked up at the line, hard for some guards to move their feet to cut him off; will asbsorb a blow and hang on for a tackle; when at linebacker depth, scrapes parallel, does not get down hill; very good pursuit speed to the sideline; want to see him break down, get low, drive a bit more when going for the tackle; when covering, looks as though he is unsure that it is indeed a pass</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1097477' first='Jake' last='Blum'] 6'1" 175 WR Mainland</td><td>No need for 8 minute film; receiver, snaps hips when breaking route to create space, can win tip drill to himself; safety who reads an d makes appripriate breaks; want to see him high point hte ball better; can make acrocabtic, redirective catches where he has to turn; can and will slow play his speed; often has to come back to the ball when thrown deep; good ball skills as a receiver; a lot of vertical routes, want a route tree with more variety; upside depends on combine scores</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1550963' first='Jake' last='Johnson'] 6'4" 225 DL New Milford</td><td>End, can run well in the open field; does not have much bend and plays high; faster than many of his opponents, particularly on punt; his speed is better than most of his matchups at his level/group size of ball - he closes in on quarterbacksand beats guys with speed off the edge; seen him dip his shoulder on one play; has hawed open-field ball carriers in pursuit, chasing from behind; want to see if he gets more technical as he enters his senior year; need to see more flexibility</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1551237' first='Jake' last='Long'] 5'11" 180 QB West Essex</td><td>Gets really good airtime on the ball; manipulates touch to get it where he wants leaeding receivers; plays with some moxie, moves arund, steps up in the pocket and can deliver a ball for YAC; tends to stare down his read; a throw-first, looks to scramble only when necessary type player; best throws might be actually against his body or not traditional; a gutsy player, challenges cover 2 safeties on fades, will also trust his guys to go up top; ball distances about 45 yards vertically; want to see him get the ball out a bit earlier to his receivers</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1515097' first='James' last='Giammanco'] 6'4" 255 DL Mount Olive</td><td>Tackle, pulls effectively and locks on, keeps his feet moving against matchups who cannot hold their own against him; gets movement on goal line and them seals second level well; need more immediate pop off the line when on-blocking; has an arm over move on defense; gets hands on, collides, and pursues/scrapes for the ball; good tackler, hard to block when he rips, knifes, scrapes down the line; can turn the weak shoulder when pass rushing; no technique when fighting doubles; gets ahnds on man in front of him often; very good player; can probably play either side of the ball in college</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1530236' first='James' last='Hirtes'] 5'10" 180 P Brick Township</td><td>Quarterback, willing to take a hit and throw while jumping with solid accuracy; can throw across his body when rolling out; steps up in the pocket well; has a little bit of moves when running midline veer; might be at his best when things break down; looks like he makes one read and throws; ball is not too accurate in terms of pin point placement; punter can kill the ball inside the 5 from when he is at the 45 yar dline or better; really like him as a punter</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1515075' first='James' last='Keneally'] 6'3" 230 TE New Providence</td><td>End, takes good angles of pursuit, excellerates when he sees things clearly, has good clsoing speed; tackles high, but really wrestles you to the ground - want to see better technique;tight end who uses his hands to catch; kind of runs kunkly, looks tought o bring down; seals the second level with free releases gets on his assignment, and keeps feet moving to be an effectively blocker; splits out at times; needs to sink hips when breaking his route; gets hands on the man in front of him when facing the reach; a good defensive end, kind of like him at tight end a bit more</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1623597' first='James' last='Rizzo'] 6'4" 280 OL/DL Mount Olive</td><td>Right tackle, seals second level, extends arms a bit early, want to see him work them into opponent and press; great movement off line on doubles, quick feet allow him to reach; pulls with high pad level, must be lower; played some guard; keeps feet moving, constantly looks for work; defensively want to see him use hands more; pulls a bit slow; gets off the ball high, not out; has some potential due to versatiity and quick feet; need to seehim bend a bit more</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1537305' first='Jameson' last='Hollander'] 5'10" 140 K Rancocas Valley</td><td>Right-center hash, ball on 28, clears upright by about 15 yards; ball on 11 yard line right hash makes with ease; can get a pooch kick off, want to see more backspin; gets ball to about the 2 yeard line on kickoffs, directions well enough, not in true corner though</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1538525' first='Jamir' last='Campbell'] 6'0" 185 DL JFK Iselin</td><td>Does not need a 17 minute MIDSEASON tape; edge player has a burst, want to see him break down when approaching the ball carrier to make better tackles; quick, will fight and set the edge in a hurry; put whiffs of tackles on his highlight tape; moves well keeping his zone in rollout - sometimes asked to drop and not rush; see him knife in with his shoulders, not finish with a rip; extends his hands, diagnoses, rather than winning the first matchup and then looking for the next</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1453908' first='Jaraiya' last='Jean'] 6'3" 220 DL Neptune</td><td>Interior lineman with a sudden get off; gets off high at times, but quickness allows him to make plays and get up blocked; tackling can improve by squeezing; quickness allows him to make plays in the backfield when pullers go away and hard to back block him; tackling improves, not much for driving, but more so kind of spears and dumps; twitchy</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1514620' first='Jason' last='Lajara'] 5'10" 175 QB Brick Memorial</td><td>Gets ball out in a hury, wants to get his playmakers the ball; reads read option correctly; has some speed to beat defenders up into the alley; can get the ball across the field, about 40 yards, although I am not a fan of that throw it did have distance; and interesting two-way player; trusted ball carrier and decision maker; I think much of his success is set up off of his ability to move, run, and create voids in the defense that way; not many straight drop backs</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1566516' first='Jaxon' last='Bastante'] 6'2" 210 LB DePaul Catholic</td><td>Outside backer that form fits tackles very nicely; reads and gets down hill, particularly on reach when he hits a seam full speed; gets over the top and steps up nicely when tackle goes down, evasive enogugh to avoid the secondary puller; early to run, late to pass in his diagnose step; walked on on the line fights reach and keeps outside arm free; hips are better than average in pass defending; have not seen him chase/show top-end speed on film; would like to see him bail to his drop a little bit quicker</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1276018' first='Jayden' last='Carter'] 5'10" 175 DB Hillsborough</td><td>Explodes down hill in short passing game; safety; good tackler, attacks at the thigh boards and wraps; hips can be quicker to flip; plays alley as a force player, funneling back to his help; hav eseen him roll tackle leverage; plays intermediate routes well; looks to play ball rather than the hands; casually pursues plays away from him, want to see more pure hustle from that; plays thed eep pass sufficiently; maybe a star or OLB, hips must improve to be S in college; very good tackler; uses hands on the perimeter for blockers, sheds sufficiently</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1538286' first='Jayden' last='Endaz'] 5'7" 180 LB Old Bridge</td><td>Wraps well when tackling; reads things well when at safety; want to see him form fit tackle better, specfically by driving his feet upon contact; can run with select matchups when walked up and pressing the line; has a little burst when closing in on the pass, enough to play it underneath against the right matchup; more of an ankle/shin tackler; alternated between safety and linebacker</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1569333' first='Jayden' last='Gatyas'] 6'0" 175 ATH/DB Saddle Brook</td><td>Edge player, can beat running backs in apss protection without creating separation; wing/h back that will enongate his track east/west and trust his speed to gain a step; does not have much hit force when tackkling; relied on as wildcat QB, will lower shoulder to break tackles, but not low enough; needs to keep contain when coming off of the edge; tracks the ball deep relatively well</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1476933' first='Jayden' last='Nigro'] 5'10" 160 WR Verona</td><td>Wildcat, able to gain the edge at times; receiver, sinks hips when running intermediate breaking routes; uses hands to receive the ball, can adjust to balls thrown behind him; has balance to tightrop ethe sideline; can hurdle a diving defender; does not pin the ball to his chest when running; moves whell and runs well when he has a head of steam</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1513545' first='Jaylen' last='McRae'] 5'7" 165 ATH Colonia</td><td>Receiver who has speed to press the seams; corner, gets lost in space at times in the endzone, plays too far up; used as a crosser; want to see him get ball to outside arm and pin it to chest; needs to get his head back to play the ball when on defense, only mierrors the receiver; despite speed recivers still manage to get behind him; stays in close physical proximity to his matchup when defending; only seen him catch with his hands, not body; does not use shoulder ot tackle; used out of the backfield as a swing back; has some fight, will not go down immediately; hips can flip well, not utilized much though; probably a better receiver than defender</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1027686' first='Jaylen' last='Robinson'] 5'9" 185 LB Washington Township</td><td>Full-force hitter, jable to jar the ball loose with his contact; also a running back who can separate from some matchups; very good at timing up and shooting the backside window, making plays underneath; absolutely playssdown hill; good tackler, does so with force; fast to beat matchups to the sideline; unsure if he is blitzing or just reading and going super quick and going; makes many, many tackles for loss; does a great job of pressuring backside, taking away cutbacks; not enough clips of him in coverage, but shows he can get to his drop, move well in it and laterally, taking away his repsonsibility - in a sprint out - need to see more;</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1557913' first='Jaylin' last='Jones'] 5'10" 150 DB Morris Knolls</td><td>Corner, not strong backepdal because he plays so far back; people can get behind him, but is in solid position; gives up force responsibilities at times when tackling, needs to key hip; want to see him squeeze receciever into sideline more when playing skate tech; better than average ball skills, can win tip drills and time things out; tackles high, need to be lower and through the man</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class of 2026 Rankings Update Coverage</h2>   <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-i"></a><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-i"></a><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-i">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-ii">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part II</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-iii">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part III</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-iv">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part IV</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-v">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part V</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-vi">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part VI</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/26-rankings-update-film-evals-for-new-additions-part-vii">Ranking Evaluation Scouting Notes, Part VII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/05/26-rankings-update-the-defensive-line-film-room-part-i">Defensive Line Film Room, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-the-linebacker-film-room-part-i">Linebacker Film Room, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-the-quarterback-film-room-part-i">Quarterback Film Room, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-the-wide-receiver-film-room-part-i">Wide Receiver Film Room, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-shake-up-within-the-top-150-ranked-part-i">Biggest Rankings Jump, Ranked Prospects, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/04/26-rankings-update-watchlist-prospects-that-entered-the-top-25">Watchlist Prospects that Entered the Top 25</a></p>

To the best of my knowledge, I know two things to be true when it comes to player rankings. First, Prep Redzone is the industry leader in state-by-state depth when it comes to rankings. Second, Prep Redzone New Jersey – specifically – is the unabashed leader in sharing our evaluation ranking notes.