5 Sophomore Newcomers To Know After Week 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have a love-hate relationship with the leadup to Week 1 of the high school season. We do as much work as we can to be accurate, but without official depth charts, we're often left guessing about who might start on a team. This is especially difficult when teams are trying to replace past production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So, without fail, Week 1 becomes the premier "Where did he come from?" week. Part of me hates that we didn't correctly predict some of these breakouts. But the other part of me loves that after an offseason of deep research, a guy can come out of nowhere to put up huge numbers. Here, I'm taking a look at five sophomores who broke out in their first extended varsity action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sophomore Newcomers To Know</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1852696"],"_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-68aca79e8b1da"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Davidson played in parts of four games last year, flashing potential in mop-up duty. However, he took over as the lead back this year and literally ran with it, averaging 16 yards a carry in an impressive shootout win over East Rutherford. He's slippery and bounces off would-be tacklers, while always falling forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1849424"],"_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-68aca79e8b244"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I had an off-hand mention of Brooks in my <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/3-things-we-learned-in-week-1/">"What We Learned"</a> piece for Week 1, but wanted to give proper attention and an evaluation to the speedy sophomore. His vision and burst stood out most. He wasn't simply running through holes made for semi-trucks, he was hitting his cutbacks and creating space by putting his foot in the ground and getting downhill, something we love to see.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1852705"],"_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-68aca79e8b294"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Parson played at the varsity level as a freshman, but mainly as a kick returner and rotational corner. Friday was his first taste of varsity football as a receiver and he did not disappoint. The speedy track star caught 10 passes for 181 yards, showing opponents that he has the receiving ability to make teams pay for coverage mistakes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1687769"],"_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-68aca79e8b2e0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">We wrote about Jarrett as a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/08/2028-stock-risers-defense/">Stock-Riser in our 2028 rankings</a> last week, so his breakout shouldn't be much of a surprise. However, I was impressed at exactly how well he performed against an excellent Shelby team on Friday. He has three sacks, multiple tackles for loss and consistent pressure. That's not bad at all for a guy who had four total tackles last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1687747"],"_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-68aca79e8b32b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It feels like a technicality to put Walden on this list, but technically the second-year starter saw his first varsity action in a 50-6 win Friday night as Lincoln Charter played its first varsity game. I was most impressed with his rushing ability, as he put up over 100 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. That feels significant for a guy who has already proven he has the arm talent to be a top recruit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Who did we miss? We can't cover the whole state without your help; send highlights and stats to @<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">whelms21</a> on Twitter.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->