Sophomores Who Had an Early Season Breakout

We are three weeks into the 2025 season! Things are moving quickly as we enter the midseason stretch. Teams are jockeying for early leads in conference standings and we are seeing a ton of under the radar athletes making a name for themselves that exceeds the expectations many had for them coming into the season. Those breakout seasons are always noteworthy, but most importantly for the underclassmen as they look to separate themselves among their classes early in the recruiting class. In today's article we have 7 such athletes who, no matter where they were ranked, have come out and surpassed where we thought our hoped they could be early in their sophomore seasons. We need to talk about these kids, and coaches make sure you have your eyes on them as they continue to make impacts on their varsity teams.    It is hard to say that a kid that is Top 2 at his position and Top 25 overall after already being a varsity starter since his freshman year is a breakout performer. That is what Bode has done. As a freshman we got so excited from the athleticism. He could torch defenses with his legs and blend of pure speed and power to gain yards. What has set him apart this fall is the passing has noticeably improved. He is now completing 63.3% of his passes through three games and is averaging 13.2 yds/comp. He also has 4 TDs to 0 INTs. The way Bode understands how to deliver the ball jumps off the tape too. He knows when to loft it into a spot for his man to run underneath it. He knows when he needs to get torque from his body into the ball to fit it into spots. This season the athletic QB is proving to be a promising QB recruit with his arm and legs.     I was very excited to see Toay take the field this season. It looked like he would be playing two ways and making his offensive impact as a dual threat QB. But until it actually happens you can never know what to fully expect. Toay has delivered and gone above and beyond with his talent. He is completing an elite 66% of his passes for 514 yards and 3 TDs. He has ran for 229 yards and 4 additional TDs. Then on defense he flies around and has made 11.5 tackles with 1.5 TFLs so far this season. Toay is big, he is physical, and his conditioning and motor this early in the season are fantastic. The rising sophomore is so versatile and has that size/speed/power blend that can open up doors for him to play several potential positions at the next level. Don't sleep on this kid.     What a start to the season for Taft! 12 tackles, 2 sacks, and 5.5 TFLs in three games is outstanding for a sophomore on varsity. Even more impressive, Taft is doing that damage while playing a ton of IDL at 190 lbs. The size deficit hasn't cost him, though. The sophomore explodes off the line with next level quickness and also constantly has his speed paired with devastating power. Over and over you see Taft quickly muscle his way through gaps as OL struggle to get any sort of angle on him. Taft plays with violence too. Every movement he makes comes with that mean intent needed to survive on Friday nights. Big things are ahead for Taft.     Oregon is putting together one of their better seasons in recent history and a big reason why is the success of their run game. A run game that is being spearheaded by sophomore RB Jayce Oparie- Addoh. Jayce has already gained 210 yards and scored a TD on the ground through three games on 37 total carries. Watching those carries, you get a sense that Jayce plays with a sense of experience and maturity even though he is only a 2028. He is decisive, attacks the hole and is usually at top speed by the time he is flying through the opening. The kid sticks his foot in the ground and attacks. No hesitation. The vision and athleticism he plays with constantly help him make the most out of every carry. I'm very excited for what the future holds for Jayce. He is definitely an RB to know in this Class.     DB [player_tooltip player_id='1570855' first='Colton' last='Wall'] is off to a hot start for the Pewaukee defense. He is Top 3 in tackles on the team with 13.5 while also adding a sack and a TFL. I love the versatility that Colton has shown with his alignment. You will find Colton playing off the edge or back at the traditional safety spot. His speed shines throughout his first three weeks highlights. He can cover ground and disrupt plays in the backfield even if he doesn't get all the way home. Wall has also flashed that he can play man to man coverage against a slot WR and make plays to break up passes. Colton is definitely trending up in this Class.     Monona Grove is putting together an outstanding season. Their defense has come to play every week, and their offense has been able to produce plenty of big plays. What I wasn't expecting was to see a productive offense being led by a sophomore QB. That is what Jaxon Zukowski has been doing. Jaxon has completed 52% of his passes for 324 yards and 5 TDs in three games. Equally as important, Jaxon hasn't thrown a single INT on the season. Jaxon looks the part at 6'3" 185 lbs and has the range with his arm to force a defense to cover the entire secondary. The sophomore has a great command of the offense and leads the team with confidence. I'm very excited to see more highlights from him and get him in the rankings at the end of the season.     Mace is brand new to my radar, and has put himself on it with his impressive breakout sophomore season. Mace leads the team in receiving as a sophomore. 12-245-4 to start his the season is outstanding for any athlete. Mace has also contributed 3.5 tackles and half a TFL on defense. The '28 is a monster after the catch. Whitefish Bay does well to get him the ball quickly so that he can really do damage by making defenders miss 1 on 1 or outrun pursuit angles with that second gear. When he does attack further downfield you get caught off guard with the catch radius Mace has. The kid can elevate and high point the ball with the best of them because of his leaping ability. The kid is a playmaker that is quickly taking over games. Get this dude on your radars.

We are three weeks into the 2025 season! Things are moving quickly as we enter the midseason stretch. Teams are jockeying for early leads in conference standings and we are seeing a ton of under the radar athletes making a name for themselves that exceeds the expectations many had for them coming into the season. Those breakout seasons are always noteworthy, but most importantly for the underclassmen as they look to separate themselves among their classes early in the recruiting class. In today's article we have 7 such athletes who, no matter where they were ranked, have come out and surpassed where we thought our hoped they could be early in their sophomore seasons. We need to talk about these kids, and coaches make sure you have your eyes on them as they continue to make impacts on their varsity teams.