Region IDs: Knoxville Area, Part I

Here are a few eye-catchers from the Knoxville area to track over the next few years.    Pyatt is a highly productive two-way player for Anderson County who has all-region honors under his belt and a state championship ring on his finger. He has a high-accolade high school career, but his traits and tape are exciting as well. He is an inside-out threat at receiver who plays with good contact balance after the catch and is efficient in his routes. Pyatt impresses me most as a corner. He plays with good footwork at the LOS, gets his head and hips around when opening up, and plays with good ball skills at the point of attack. It's like he's tied to receivers with a rope, doing a great job of mirroring their move and staying around the ball. Pyatt is a fun watch and is worthy of D1 recruiting attention.     Hayden is a rare body type who is shockingly under-recruited given his traits. He is a towering basketball prospect with a massive catch radius at 6'5 180. He is light and soft on his feet, skating around the field. He drives hard off the line with his long strides and quickly gets DBs vertical, which opens up opportunities to work back towards the QB, box out, and reel in the ball. Hayden isn't receiving much recruiting buzz at this point, giving small school programs access to a body type they don't get often.     As it relates to his size and position, Norman is one of the more explosive prospects I've seen on tape in the 2026 class. He is all of 6'4 210, and plays on both sides of the ball. At LB, he comes downhill hard and closes space quickly while supporting the mass to battle blockers. He is capable of dropping back into coverage as well, where his 6'4 frame clouds passing lanes and cancels out large zones of the field. He is receiving most buzz as a TE. He is quick out of his stance and athletic enough to be trusted after the catch. You can flip the ball to Norman in the flat to give him blockers and space to run, where he can barrel downfield. That's how I'd aim to use him early in his college career. He holds D1 offers, but is still underrated nationally.     Rogers is a productive two-way player listed at *6'1 190*. Rogers is an adequate athlete with good size and elite production against the ball, finishing his junior season with over 1000 receiving yards and double-digit INTs on the year. His ball skills are truly elite. It doesn't matter if he can only get one hand up or two, he can pluck the ball out of the air and do so in traffic. He has a few offers under his belt and looks like a trusted, reliable player when the ball goes his way, regardless of what side of the ball he's on.     Brasfield is coming off a breakout sophomore season at the EDGE spot and is looking to translate that success to his older HS years. Brasfield is a compact, muscular 6'2 225. He might not have the length or bend to consistently win around the arc, but he plays with relentless effort and projects as an edge-setter. He keeps his eyes locked on the ball and doesn't lose it through chaos. His initial explosiveness off the line allows him to shoot gaps and pull himself into the backfield. He has strong, active hands and constantly keeps them firing to aggressively break down blockers. He boxes at a high level. I'll keep an eye on Brasfield going forward, who will presumably receiving recruiting attention at this rate.     [player_tooltip player_id='1104268' first='Kaden' last='Long'] is a traitsy QB prospect who I think has a chance to develop well. He is a lean, cut 6'2 170 with room to add more mass. He is a good athlete who can keep the offense ahead of the chains with his legs and can move the pocket. He is a long strider who is tough against contact. He will need to become more efficient as a passer and speed up his delivery, but he has an elastic, almost side-arm style release that allows him to bend the ball around traffic and place it into awkward spots on the field. Long is a good athlete, and I think he has the tools to develop into an electric passer. He has two years of HS development left in the tank and I will revisit his tape later this fall.     Rogers is an intriguing prospect who could see his development take him a few ways. He can either stick at QB or make a move to TE. Given his combination of size and speed at 6'3 240, many will point immediately to a position change. However, Rodgers has the tools to at least make the case to stay at QB. He is a really durable presence who will push piles in short-yardage situations and run through people in the open field. He generates easy life on the ball as a passer thanks to the horsepower in his lower body. He does an excellent job of mixing up touch and trajectory when making the layer throws. Regardless of where he sticks long-term, Rodgers is a dynamic size-speed threat who can inflict damage with the ball in his hands.     This was my first look at [player_tooltip player_id='1031949' first='Brooks' last='Johnston'], who has made quite a name for himself early on at Knoxville Catholic. He is a size-speed prospect who is big, but also a smooth athlete. At receiver, he has a large catch radius and plays with good patience in his routes. So far, I am most intrigued with how he projects to DB. He has the size, speed, and ball skills ot patrol large areas of the field and play the ball efficiently. However, he will come downhill and run through a brick wall if needed. He strikes hard and brings the energy, which raises the floor of his game. He holds P4 offers and should continue to develop well, regardless of what position he sticks at long-term.     Rogers has already emerged as a premier 2028 prospect in Tennessee and holds P4 offers. He comes in at 5'9 180 with a low center of gravity. He still has some room to grow into his lower body, which will only add more horsepower. Rogers is light and soft on his feet, running on his toes and maintaining his top speed as he trots away from defenders. He flashes sudden, sharp change of direction, helping him locate green grass and take advantage of it. Rogers is a master at creating his own yards and has the long speed to carry away from defenders. Expect to hear his name a lot over the next three years.

Here are a few eye-catchers from the Knoxville area to track over the next few years.