Film Room: NJ's NEXT Prospects Balling Out in Week 1

<p>We officially entered the "in season" terrain. With a full season ahead of us, I will be focusing in on some of the top performers I saw from this past weekend from the NJ 2030 and 2031 classes. Each week I will be breaking down film from the previous week's stand out players, giving fresh insights into the talent pool our state has. </p>   <p><em>Make sure to check out the previous articles about the 2030-2031 classes and follow me on X at <a href="https://x.com/JonDavalosFB">@jondavalosFB</a> for up to date player evaluations!</em> </p>   <p><em>If you're a 2030 or 2031 athlete and trying to get put on the map, reach out!</em></p>    <p class="text-gray-700">A 2031 prospect that is catching eyes early in the season, [player_tooltip player_id='1589552' first='Nico' last='Carulli'] put on a show in his first game of the year. On the receiving end of multiple catches, Nico demonstrated all of the qualities you look for in a young, talented receiver. Finding himself completely alone on his scoring play, Nico made it an easy pitch and catch. He once again was an easy target coming across the middle in the back of the end zone to haul in a catch later on in the game, but the play was unfortunately called back. In his other catches on the day, Nico showed great hand skills and the ability to reposition for the ball mid-route to put himself in the best position to come down with it. After bringing in the ball, Nico delivered the hit to would be tacklers and was a YAC specialist for the day.</p>   <p class="text-gray-700">Nico continued his dominance on defense as well as he recorded a sack and a fumble recovery to round out the day. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/nicocarulli8/status/1962654769446629767 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">A player I recently highlighted in the preseason, [player_tooltip player_id='1506581' first='Brayden' last='Berkley'] balled out for the Jackson Jaguars this past weekend. Brayden has great film on both sides of the ball from the game. Receiving wise, Brayden proved to be a overpowering mismatch for the smaller DBs he'd line up against. In his 55 yard touchdown, Brayden not only showcased his break away speed after the catch but also his ability to shed tackles immediately afterwards and prepare incoming tacklers. Luckily with his size it's going to take a few of them to bring him down.</p>   <p class="text-gray-700">Brayden was a versatile player on defense in week 1 as well. Lining up on the edge, Brayden sprinted into the backfield with a full head of steam just to deliver a punishing blow to the opposing quarterback. He not only lined up on the edge, but also lined up in the middle of the defense where he found success covering sidelines to sideline to chase down the runner. Brayden plays with tremendous speed, which translates to both side of the balls in a dominant manner.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BraydenBerkley/status/1962629118110978248 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Another receiver that I covered in August, Freehold 14u's [player_tooltip player_id='1476964' first='Miles' last='Block'] put on quite the show in their lopsided 30-0 victory. Miles exceled in multiple ways that afternoon; he had two touchdowns in that game, with the most impressive one being a catch down the field where he tracked the ball well and repositioned his body to put himself in the best position to come down with it and keep it away from the defender. From there, Miles showed off his speed and acceleration by making a mad dash to the end zone and leaving the defender in the dust.</p>   <p>On Miles other score, he demonstrated great change of direction in traffic and was able to navigate between defenders with sharp cuts on his way to the end zone. What may stand out the most from Mile's highlights over the weekend is him including the blocks he made for his teammates. It shows that he is a true team player and puts in effort regardless of if the ball is in his hands. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MilesBlock2030/status/1962534993739039063 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">One of the top tight ends in the NJ 2030 class, [player_tooltip player_id='644561' first='Jake' last='Cipot'] proved to be a downfield threat in his first game of the season. One of his best highlights was a pass thrown slightly behind him where he was able to slow his route down and one hand the ball for the score. He has extremely strong hands, and that was demonstrated not only on that catch but throughout the game. </p>   <p class="text-gray-700">Jake caught another ball along the sideline with his arms extended out to prevent it from bouncing off his pads. Lastly, I was impressed with Jake's ability to feel the coverage. He was able to find the soft spot in the coverage on one of his catches and sit down to receive the easy catch. Jake is showing early signs of a high ceiling and football IQ to go with it.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JakeCipot4/status/1962547512469819853 </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1538024' first='Gavin' last='Anderson'] started the 2025 season off with a bang. Returning a kick for a touchdown in week 1, that play alone gives us a great sense of the player teams will be getting in the future. I had to watch the video a few times to confirm, but from what I saw, Gavin took it all the way to the house untouched. He was decisive in his path down the field, bouncing it to the outside as he tore by the kick team's players. Gavin is truly a natural born sprinter, and that was proven on that return to the end zone. He already has high school size and speed and Gavin continues to impress and gain more attention as his high school career nears.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GAnderson2111/status/1961992536169251011 </div></figure>

We officially entered the "in season" terrain. With a full season ahead of us, I will be focusing in on some of the top performers I saw from this past weekend from the NJ 2030 and 2031 classes. Each week I will be breaking down film from the previous week's stand out players, giving fresh insights into the talent pool our state has.