Final 2026 Player Rankings: Film Evaluation Notes, Part XVIII

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After much anticipation, tedious note taking, scrupulous attention to detail on a spreadsheet with massive amount of datasets on it, and hours of film watched, the time has come to release Prep Redzone's final player rankings for the class of 2026. The rankings release is <em>tentatively </em>scheduled for this coming Monday; however, here are a few quick footnotes to consider:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>With 830+ players ranked, the industry rumor is that this is the largest rankings update for the state of New Jersey, on record, throughout any media outlet.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Prep Redzone continues to be the industry's leader in terms of state-by-state depth when it comes to player rankings. Nobody has deeper rankings.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Prep Redzone New Jersey,&nbsp;<em>specifically,</em>&nbsp;is the unabashed leader in transparency, as we share our raw, unedited, and unfiltered ranking evaluation notes.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Ranking evaluation notes are being rolled out alphabetically by first name and include 200+ new additions to our final rankings.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Please be aware that due to the volume of work required for this, there will be typos throughout the notes.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td>Player Information</td><td>Film Notes</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1691952' first='Najay' last='Best'] 5'9" 150 DB Piscataway</td><td>Corner, takes chances, abandons his assignment if he sees something; tackles low, but might lose force leverage; competes for the ball at its apex; will press lesser opponents, can run stride with pesser opponents; does not wrap well; adjusts hands appropriately to low/high passes</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1692603' first='Nathan' last='Lelionis'] 6'1" 245 OL Haddon Heights</td><td>Wrestles and slams defenders; gets too much extention early; must move feet and then separate; ok movement on doubles, not sudden or stark; does a good job of staying locked on to his matchups; shows moments of slow feet; does not get a pop at the line</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1958053' first='Nazeer' last='Whittaker'] 6'0" 180 RB Brick Memorial</td><td>RB with good vision, can cut back immediately; has a burst and can get to separation speed in his first 3 steps or so; appears a little light, can get takend own easily; wants to work to outside as soon as possible, not after hitting the hoie though; runs with low pad level</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2004698' first='Nic' last='Carlucci'] DB Arthur L. Johnson</td><td>Corner, his can get turned; large body, not a corner in next level; will wrap decently; reaches over the top to make plays on deflections; not particularly fast or quick</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1891855' first='Nicholas' last='Dragone'] 5'11" 145 P Passaic County Tech</td><td>Punter, heels on 11, gets ball to opponent's 41 yard line; own 30 - to opponent's 26; can creeate a high bounce on on side kicks; middl emake with ball on the 15 yard with ease;</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1939125' first='Nick' last='Curreri'] 5'8" 175 QB Eastern Regional</td><td>Hustles on turnovers, takes a good angle; ball sort of stays up in the air a long time it feels; A lot of the throws are baith-based in his receiver; one read and flick it type of player; too many deep balls; receivers have to slow down and adjust to the deep ball, never purely in stride</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1893369' first='Nick' last='Pean'] 5'7" 170 RB Delran</td><td>Hard, violent runner; gains a lot of ground on each stride; runs behind pads as he gets through the trenches; initial burst is good, seems to flame out the longer the run; hits hole full speed, almost too quickly for his offensive linemen; has not shown a lot of moves on film; capable of making a jump cut when necessary</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1974902' first='Nick' last='Pfenning'] 6'0" 185 LB Ridge</td><td>Does not need a 16 minute film, especially one where he does not highlight himself at all; cannot evaluate</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2045245' first='Nico' last='Ragozzino'] 5'7" 145 RB/DB Becton</td><td>Good vision to cut across the formation when running split zone; corner who can slip around blockers and stackt o make tackles; physical despite haing a small frame, sticks his nose hard in the ally and will lower a shoulder to opponents; uses shoulder exceedingly well when tackling; takes too long for him to come to a stop before eaccelerating</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1969738' first='Noah' last='Billeci'] 6'0" 155 WR Morris Catholic</td><td>Extends for the ball well, maximizes his catch radius; high pointing skills can be better; difficult to create space for him, but has shown to recognize and capitalize upon his defender's leverage;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Final 2026 Player Rankings Release</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-i/">Film Evaluation Notes, Part I</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-ii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part II</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-iii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part III</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-iv">Film Evaluation Notes, Part IV</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-v">Film Evaluation Notes, Part V</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-vi">Film Evaluation Notes, Part VI</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-vii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part VII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-viii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part VIII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-ix">Film Evaluation Notes, Part IX</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-x">Film Evaluation Notes, Part X</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xi">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XI</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xiihttps://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xviii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XIII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xiv">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XIV</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xv">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XV</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xvi">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XVI</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xvii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XVII</a><br><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/01/final-2026-player-rankings-film-evaluation-notes-part-xviii">Film Evaluation Notes, Part XVIII</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->