Central Valley's Top Five Freshman Phenoms

The central valley has long been known for elite athletes at the FBS and power four level, and have shown that year in and year out the top players are signing with next level programs. We have seen some great '26 and '27 prospects over the last couple of years, but now its time to focus our attention onto the next group of top prospects, the elite Freshman across the central section. Below are five names to note who are having stellar first year's for their respective schools and who should become household names sooner rather than later.    Lefotu is a very intriguing prospect that is still flying under the radar and is yet to pop but should become a national guy by the time this next off-season ends heading into his sophomore year. He has the ideal build/size and fluidity for the P4 level already and is a heavy puncher that has solid COD abilities and natural bend/movement in space. He has a rare combination of size, speed and overall agility with plenty of room to grow and develop and offers tremendous position versatility on either side of the ball. Look for the Freshman to gather his first offer soon and become a household name by this time next year.     Buckey is part of a long line of division 1 recruits in the family with his dad playing in the NFL and is the next up and coming star for Liberty. He is an elite athlete with the ideal frame/size for both sides of the ball but could grow into a stellar tackle prospect with his frame and plus athletic ability for the position down the line. He is a multi-sport athlete that should have a big off-season this winter and spring and is another prospect that will become a national guy by this time next year. He has a quick use of hands, good twitch off the edge and a powerful strike with the ideal starting tools already to also be a next level guy along the defensive front. Buckey should see a slew of offers come in this off-season once he gets on the camp circuit and schools visit campus.     Estrada has been on a tear so far in his freshman campaign and is one of the more explosive backs across the valley and across the state in his class. He has strong short area twitch, lateral movement in tight windows and start/stop abilities while showing home-run speed in the clear. In-between the tackles, he is tough to take down and get on the ground while also running behiend his pads with natural forward lean and leg drive through contact. So far this season he has rushed for 1,273 and 12 touchdowns and has been efficient catching the ball out of the backfield as well.     De La Mora currently leads all freshman across the valley in receiving and is a shifty and explosive player that can create seperation downfield, has strong hands in traffic and is a patient route runner that gets into defenders blind spots before breaking off his routes. He shows a very high route IQ especially for his size and has the body control and sudden twitch to get off man/press coverage. He should continue to stack on his impressive first year campaign for Shafter and be one of the top returning playmakers in the central section heading into next fall.     Paz is having a strong start to his prep career, showing he can spread the ball around to multiple weapons and displaying strong throwing mechanics, especially for his age. He can get the ball out quick, has arm strength to zip it into tight windows and shows he can throw with good touch over the top and drop the ball to throw his receivers open downfield. He is a true pocket passer with some movement abilities as well and shows he can throw on the run and across his body while having a strong pocket presence and escapability.

The central valley has long been known for elite athletes at the FBS and power four level, and have shown that year in and year out the top players are signing with next level programs. We have seen some great '26 and '27 prospects over the last couple of years, but now its time to focus our attention onto the next group of top prospects, the elite Freshman across the central section. Below are five names to note who are having stellar first year's for their respective schools and who should become household names sooner rather than later.