PRZCJ's Spring Tour: Phase 1 Hidden Gems

Phase 1 of my spring tour is complete. Here are some of my favorite hidden gems from my first round of stops.    Haiden Gibson is a physical standout already, and he has yet to play a snap of varsity football. He already checks the frame boxes and still has time to get bigger. He comes in at 6'0 190 with some mass and broad shoulders. I didn't get a chance to really see him open up and run, but contact bounces off of him and he drives through contact despite standing straight up. Gibson is just getting started and is one of the more impressive 8th-grade RBs I've seen up to this point. I wouldn't be shocked to see him contribute this fall.     Thus far, Marshall Leonard is the most shockingly underrated prospect I've seen on my spring tour. He comes in at a cut 6'2 215 and instantly caught my eye at practice. So much so that I got him confused with other prospects on his team who are loaded with offers. That's a compliment to Leonard. To pair up with his impressive frame, he has desirable initial burst and explosiveness. When you turn on his sophomore tape, he flashes his bend and consistently darts past blockers. Leonard was sidelined all of 2024 with a knee injury, putting him behind the 8-ball in his recruitment. Regardless, there should be a D1 program willing to take a chance on him.     Kalil Mazone was an instant eye-catcher at North Gwinnett. He is a tall, lean, cut RB prospect who has played both ways in his career. Despite battling through unfortunate injuries recently, he has tacked on a few D1 offers. Mazone is bouncey and mixes up pace in his footwork, allowing him to either accel or decel to attack running lanes and open grass. He plays with good vision, patience, and gets skinny to pierce the front. Mazone will project best as a Kerryon Johnson archetype RB, where he can leverage his vision, patience, and bounce with his big frame.     10.96 is fast. 10.96 at close to 210 is almost wicked. Haertel is finally receiving some D1 attention, but is still underrated on a broader scale. He is a burner, has some twitch, and is built with muscle from the top down. He plays both ways for Forsyth Central and is trouble with the ball in his hands. The only question is, where will he play? RB and DB are possibilities, and I am even intrigued to see how he would do as an LB if he continued to pack on weight. Still, he is a "take now and figure it out later" guy with his combination of physical gifts and versatility. If I were an in-state GO5, I would struggle passing up on a size/speed combo with high getability.     From a pure traits and eye-test perspective, [player_tooltip player_id='950971' first='Mason' last='Freeman'] is as impressive as it gets for a middle school DB. He is all of 6'0 180 and has grass-scraping length. He is still refining as a mover but possesses more mass than most DBs at his age. Coaches say he isn't afraid of contact and will come downhill and hit just fine with the older guys. I was enamored with the traits and size for his age and am excited to see it all come together.     Champagne is a 9th-grade 300-pounder for Creekview who could play on both lines of scrimmage this fall. He is listed as a NT, but could see him getting some buzz as an IOL projection as well. Either way, he is beyond his years play strength wise and isn't heavy-footed. He is a breakout candidate this fall and will get a re-eval from me at a later date.     Nick Peal is a long-limbed RB prospect who is cut with muscle from head to toe. He only has one D1 offer at this point, something likely to change in the coming months. Peal played both ways for Roswell last year, but projects at RB long term. He is equipped with desirable burst and speed. He couples that with subtle shifts in his run path to avoid traffic. I wouldn't consider him a bruiser, but he runs hard and drives his feet against contact, which stuck out to me on tape.     [player_tooltip player_id='1634700' first='Lawson' last='Estes'] doesn't have the recruiting attention that some of his Milton teammates have, but he is a good prospect in his own right and was a physical standout in the DB group. He not only looked the part, but he did a good job using his length to crowd the catch point and tie up receivers. Estes is headed to state for the high jump, adding more context to his athleticism. He projects best as an S, but has been moved around in the secondary. On tape, he is a willing engager in contact downhill and produces against the ball.     Aedyn Meintzer was a tower in the Milton WR group. Some of that initial quickness and separation skills are still developing, but he is a large target who made some tough catches in traffic at practice. He tracked the ball well and really impressed me by going up and adjusting in the air through contact to reel in a back shoulder ball. I will keep an eye on Meintzer thanks to his traits.     Quentavious Price is a gigantic second-level defender. He is still raw and growing into his frame, but the sheer presence of this guy is intimidating in the second level. He keeps his feet active and works hard to get involved. He carries 193 well, so there's a chance he fills out and slides into more of an EDGE guy. Regardless, he is an eye-catcher and is someone I will circle back to later this fall.     Gray comes in at 6'4 225 and carries his weight well. He is a good enough athlete to vacate space as a receiver, but also built enough to hold his own as a blocker. His coaches raved about his hands, and he proved that throughout practice, plucking the ball away from his body. Gray was one of the most talented players on the field at North Hall, now he just has to tie everything together and prove it on the field. He has D1 TE tools.     Alex Schileman is part of a two-headed monster at QB for North Hall. I would be excited to work with that room for the next few years. Schlieman comes in at a stout, compact 6'0 200. He consistently and effortlessly buzzed the ball around the yard. He touched every area of the field with spin and velocity. It is going to be a slower burn on this kid as a prospect, but I found myself just sitting there watching him throw for a lot of the practice. It was pretty when it clicked.     Carlton might not initially catch your eye, but he is a highly productive player who won region player of the year last fall. He has a wrestling background as well. Stout player with a low center of gravity. He pairs that with impressive short-area quickness, making him tough to tackle in the more congested areas. He follows his blocks and plays patiently as well. Carlton is an explosive back with production who should get some small-school recruiting buzz.

Phase 1 of my spring tour is complete. Here are some of my favorite hidden gems from my first round of stops.