Week Five Players To Watch

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   Every Wednesday on Prep Redzone Oklahoma, we're continuing our week of preview coverage by looking at this week's ten players to watch in some of the biggest games of the week. Whether it's offense or defense, these ten players should have significant impacts on what we see Friday night! And be sure to check out the PRZ-Oklahoma Preview Show on our YouTube Channel Wednesday night as we take a further look at this week's players to watch, including plenty of highlights. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day this week to get ready for week five!   [player_tooltip player_id='602991' first='Braeden' last='Baker'] - Junior Running Back - Lincoln Christian   Lincoln Christian junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='602991' first='Braeden' last='Baker'] will help lead the Bulldogs into their top five clash with undefeated Holland Hall. Baker, despite splitting carries, is off to a fantastic start this season. He's scored at least two touchdowns in every game this year. He has at least three touchdowns in three of the four games. On the ground, Baker has eight touchdowns and he's also added three touchdowns as a receiver out of the backfield. The junior standout knows how to get into the end zone. Lincoln Christian's offense is once again one of the most efficient and high-scoring units in the state. Last week, Baker carried the ball just two times and scored both times. Holland Hall is off to a great start this season but Baker and this Lincoln Christian offense will undoubtedly be their toughest test of the 2025 season. We're looking forward to seeing what kind of performance Baker has on Friday night.   [player_tooltip player_id='467141' first='Brayden' last='Hardwick'] - Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Pocola   It's the game of the week for week five as #1 Rejoice Christian heads east to face #3 Pocola. We can't wait to be there to see what senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='467141' first='Brayden' last='Hardwick'] does for an encore. Last season, these two teams played a back and forth and high-scoring affair, ending in a 47-40 Rejoice Christian win. But Hardwick was not stopped, slowed down or any other description for limiting production. Hardwick's performance against Rejoice Christian last fall might have been the very best from a wide receiver against any team in 2024. He had 20 catches for well over 300 yards and a touchdown. So needless to say, as we get the Pocola-Rejoice rematch, Hardwick is going to be a player to watch to see what he can do on Friday night. Odds suggest he's not going to go for 300+ yards again but it's crystal clear that he's going to be a big part of what Pocola does in all three phases of the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='434614' first='CJ' last='Turnbull'] - Senior Quarterback - Putnam City   Putnam City hosts defending champion and top-ranked Choctaw on Friday night in the marquee 6A-2 game this week. We cannot wait to see what senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='434614' first='CJ' last='Turnbull'] looks like against the toughest team that Putnam City has played so far. Turnbull is a four-year starter at the quarterback position. He spent his first three seasons at Millwood and so far this season, the numbers are off the charts good. He's thrown for 12 touchdowns while also adding seven rushing touchdowns. He had a game two weeks ago where he threw for over 300 yards with six touchdowns and ran for nearly 200 yards and had two rushing scores. Needless to say, Turnbull is off to a fast start this season and shows no signs of slowing down. But this Choctaw defense will be the toughest unit he's faced so far this season. But if he continues to perform at this level, the Pirates could pull off the big district win.   [player_tooltip player_id='1525562' first='Greydon' last='Howell'] - Junior Quarterback - Broken Bow   You can make the argument that Broken Bow junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1525562' first='Greydon' last='Howell'] belongs on this type of list every single week. We've already made this statement countless times but we'll throw it out again in case you're new here. Howell is the most electric quarterback in the state of Oklahoma and he's near the top of the list for overall players, regardless of position. Howell and the Savages will host Sallisaw in one of the marquee games in Class 4A this week. This district features four of the top six teams in Class 4A and they are all going head to head this week. Howell will look to put a dent in the Sallisaw defense that has been solid so far this season and can force turnovers. Howell looks like he's picked up right where he left off last season where he is an equal threat to beat defenses with his arm and his legs. If Howell has another big performance Friday, the Savages will be in good shape on the scoreboard.   [player_tooltip player_id='1293008' first='Jayden' last='Ellen'] - Senior Running Back - Checotah   Checotah is looking to crash the party in Class 3A for the second straight year. Last year, they made an unpredictable run to the semifinals and this year, they're looking to take that next step. The Wildcats might have one of the best running backs in the class with senior [player_tooltip player_id='1293008' first='Jayden' last='Ellen'] and he's been borderline unstoppable this season. Ellen is averaging over 200 yards per game. His season-low came in the loss against Seminole and he still ran for 171 yards. Last week, the Wildcats ran all over Locust Grove and Ellen could not be stopped. He finished with over 200 yards and five touchdowns. The Wildcats will face Muldrow on Friday night. This is a big game for district standings purposes. Ellen will be looking to continue his hot start to his senior season and if he can put up the kind of numbers he's put up so far this season, they'll have a good shot to pull off the win over unbeaten Muldrow.   [player_tooltip player_id='1206910' first='Landon' last='Kizzar'] - Junior Quarterback - Jenks   Jenks had a quarterback battle going all offseason and even into fall camp. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1206910' first='Landon' last='Kizzar'] eventually won the starting role and he's been playing very well through the first month of the season. And look, it's very clear that Kizzar has an advantage over a lot of quarterbacks across the state because of the legitimate skill talent that the Trojans have on the offensive side of the ball. But Kizzar has also played with a lot of poise and has helped Jenks out to their 3-1 start. The one loss was last week against Bixby but even then, Kizzar got off to a fast start. He had around 200 yards passing after one quarter of action. Granted there wasn't much defense being played in the first half of a game that had over 70 combined points by halftime. Kizzar had his fair share of big plays and the Trojans will be looking for him to have a similar performance this week, when they go on the road to face Norman.   [player_tooltip player_id='1179991' first='Tajh' last='Overton'] - Senior Defensive Lineman - Owasso   Owasso looks like they've turned things around after a tough 0-2 start against the top two teams in Class 6A-1. They've won their last two games and in both victories, the defense has looked really good. This was an Owasso defense that had to replace the majority of their starters but they knew they had the ultimate foundational piece in senior [player_tooltip player_id='1179991' first='Tajh' last='Overton'] on the defensive line. In our opinion, Overton is the state's best defensive lineman in the 2026 class and he's one of the best defensive prospects in the state period. Overton can absolutely set the tone on the line of scrimmage and we've seen that from him over the last two and a half seasons. Overton is your prototypical dominant defensive tackle. He's not going to wow you with stats but throw on the film and you see a player that's either making a play himself or he's preoccupying enough opponents to open the door for another Owasso defender to make the play.   [player_tooltip player_id='1035103' first='Titus' last='Hawk'] - Junior Tight End - Choctaw   Choctaw is right there with Bishop McGuinness under the "road warrior" label this season. The defending 6A-2 champs are going back on the road Friday night to face Putnam City. The Yellowjackets have several players that should be on the radar on both sides of the ball but none greater than junior tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1035103' first='Titus' last='Hawk'] as he's emerged as one of the top tight end prospects in the country. In his first two years, Hawk was known more for what he's able to do on the baseball field. In fact, when he entered high school, he was still working as a quarterback. But now, Hawk has firmly established himself as one of the top tight end prospects in the country's 2027 class and also one of the top overall prospects. In last week's district opener, Hawk caught a couple touchdowns in the win. Going against a Putnam City defense that also features D1 talent, it will be fun to see how Hawk performs against similar talent.   [player_tooltip player_id='1325101' first='Vann' last='Wildcat'] - Junior Running Back/Linebacker - Pawhuska   Pawhuska hosts Pawnee in a critical Class A-1 match-up on Friday night and junior running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1325101' first='Vann' last='Wildcat'] is going to have a very busy night. Offensively, Wildcat has been incredibly productive at the running back position. He's a physical runner that has the ability to be that workhorse running back for the Pawhuska offense. Defensively, Wildcat is one of the top defensive players for the Huskies. Simply put, he's a tackling machine and when you're going against a Pawnee offense that wants to run the ball almost every play and has a very physical running back themselves, we could see quite a few big time collisions on Friday night. Wildcat and the rest of this Pawhuska defense will need to continue playing their relentless style of pursuit defense but they also have to play smart and not get out of position. Wildcat might not ever come off the field on Friday night but he'll be ready for that challenge.   [player_tooltip player_id='1403519' first='Xavier' last='Okwufulueze'] - Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Rejoice Christian   We mentioned that Rejoice Christian-Pocola game earlier and another player to watch is Rejoice Christian standout [player_tooltip player_id='1403519' first='Xavier' last='Okwufulueze'] and he'll be playing on both sides of the ball. Committed to Oklahoma, Okwufulueze, also known as "ZiZi" around campus, is a complete two-way player. He has the potential to break a game wide open on the offensive side of the ball but he's also a terrific piece to a very talented Rejoice Christian secondary. And when you look at this match-up, that's the area to watch on Friday night. Pocola can throw the ball all over the field. Okwufulueze and the Rejoice secondary need to be ready to go to try and limit those big plays. There were plenty of them in last season's 47-40 victory for Rejoice Christian. But it's clear that Okwufulueze is one of the top overall prospects in the state's 2026 class and Rejoice will need that type of performance on Friday night.

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