Class of 2027 New Faces of the Midwest

Prep Redzone takes great pride and finding athlete's that deserves to be talked about more. In the Midwest region of the United States there is so many young football players that need to be mentioned more among the top athletes' in high school football.   Theses six highly talented upcoming junior football players had phenomenal sophomore seasons and are gearing up to have even better junior and senior seasons.      A hard-working, bell-cow back from the Midwest.   Mostafa is dependable as they come, he always seems to find a way to get you at least 5 yards a tote. Youssef falls forward with every carry he gets, giving you those extra two to three yards that is so important to keep an offense on track.   But Mostafa is so much more than a yard-turning type of back; he is a highly explosive runner with an impressive burst. Keeping his shoulders square to the line, Mostafa possesses great contact balance that is second to none.   Look for this young man to put up great numbers for Chaminade in his junior season.        A super versatile athlete that loves to compete.   You can usually find Jaxon Scherffius in the offense's backfield. Usually lining up at OLB for North County High School, Scherffius is a fast, twitchy football player but always seems to stay in control. When he's rushing the passer, he has a speedy first step with exceptional hand usage.   In pass coverage, he reads the quarterback's eyes and drops into his zone and seems to always be in the right place at the right time.   I'm going to keep a very close eye on this young man in 2025.      A complete running back that excels in both the run and passing game.   Cruse has already cemented himself as one of the top backs in Missouri. His sophomore season he made his presence felt exploding on the scene and helping St.Pius X to an 8-1 regular season record and making a great run in the class 5 playoffs. Cruse is a tackle breaking machine, even when the defense seems like they have him bottled up he finds a way to get himself free for positive yards.   In all three phases of the game Cannon can contribute to your offense. He can run exceptionally well in between the tackles, he's a very underrated receiver out of the backfield, and his most undervalued asset is his blocking. Realizing that Cruse has such a complete game and is only a Junior makes this even more impressive.   Year 2025 is going to be a huge year for Cruse.      One of the most consistent offensive linemen in SWMO.   Lightfoot has been on a great summer prospect camp tour this year. I was able to see him play last year for the Willard tigers and at the Missouri state prospect camp. In both games and prospect camps Lightfoot is just a super consistently good offensive tackle. For any quarterback sitting behind this super athletic 6'8 330 "dancing bear" you are in great hands with Lighfoot blocking for you.   For being such a tall player Lightfoot moves very gracefully. His kick step is way above average, and he's also paired with super long arms that he uses to fully extend and control defenders. You could imagine that Brody is also a road grading run blocker as well with the size he has.   This is just the beginning of a long football career for Lightfoot, colleges are going to love this young mans game.       A very intelligent linebacker with a nose for the football.   College football programs love to have a leader on the defensive side of the football. Earning the leader role on defense is not an easy task, you have to be able to have a voice, be very intelligent and bring a tough presence to your defense. Dickerson definitely checks all the boxes of what you want as a leader for your defense.   Dickerson is an extremely technical and intelligent football player, it seems like he is always one step ahead of the offense. I could tell that Dickerson loves his film sessions and is a student of the game, if he doesn't watch much film that's even more impressive.   Thomas racked up a team leading 68 tackles and 2 sacks in 9 out of 11 games before injury. I would bet those numbers are only going to increase the next couple years.      Physical imposing, pass catcher with a very high upside.   Ozark likes to use Haymes as a H/back type of role, he runs a lot of flat routes, and they utilize him a lot as a lead blocker. Haymes is a very, very good at this role and he does thrive at this position. Although I do believe Haymes can offer a lot more as a receiving threat playing the inline tight end position. Haymes proved that by stepping into the Lindenwood mega camp and earning a college football offer from Lindenwood University.   Haymes had a fantastic camp that day showing how well he could run nice crisp routes exceptionally well for a young man that stands 6 foot 6 inches weighing 230 pounds. Not only did he show he has the capability to get separation on routes, but he understands the leverage and body control game as well.   I predict Haymes is going to put more college programs on notice the next two years of high school football.

Prep Redzone takes great pride and finding athlete's that deserves to be talked about more. In the Midwest region of the United States there is so many young football players that need to be mentioned more among the top athletes' in high school football.