Who’s Next New Jersey Camp: Most Valuable Players

The pipeline of MVPs from the Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camps to perennial Top-10 New York program, St. Anthony's, is alive and well. Maurino was "special" throughout the camp. Shaking hands with him, it was obvious he was a different cat. Big, strong hand kids. Dominated for most the of the camp, yet didn't say a word and carried himself with a silent, confident swagger.

His MVP selection puts him in the company of former and current St. Anthony Friar greats:

Following a Defensive Back MVP performance last year, Redman joined the record books by becoming the 5th New Jersey prospect to win back-to-back MVPs at the New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camps. The son of former Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back, Isaac Redman, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in terms of ability. He was locking more dudes down than the East Jersey State Prison. I'll go on record to say, that I think he has the potential to be No.1 overall 2030 prospect in the state when all is said and done.

His back-to-back MVP selections puts him in the company of impressive company:

For the bulk of the previous two years, I've considered the Carteret, New Jersey native to be one of the more elite athletes in the Tri-state area. This past Saturday at the New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camp he was able to show off the significant progress he has made as a Quarterback. After leading The Sho Hurricanes to deep runs to consecutive deep runs at AYF Nationals, he proved he's ready for the challenge of the next level.

A product of the Southern Rams AYF program, Smith was an unknown to me until earlier this season when we saw him at tryouts for the 14U Jersey Shore AYF All-Stars. Smith exploded onto the scene with an excellent tryout there in mid-September and hasn't looked back. The Running Back position group had several very capable backs that shined in multiple areas. It was an extremely close call, but Smith took the MVP after a lot of conversations post-camp.

For the second straight year, Mason O’Brien Mason O’Brien 6'0" | 180 lbs | WR/TE NJ lined it up at the New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camp and was dominant. While he impressed last year as a seventh-grader, this year he brought home MVP honors as eighth-grader. From the first time I saw him play two years ago, I've said he may ultimately end up as a Tight End depending how big he gets. He's a broad-shouldered, 6-foot, 180-pound playmaker with soft hands and can move (5.1 in the forty). He also happened to be teammate with Jus’sir Smith Jus’sir Smith 5'10" | 172 lbs | RB NJ this season, making for a scary duo.

Like several other MVPs in this writeup, this was Steinhandler's second New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camp. He was an obvious standout from the moment he walked into the facility. Standing just a hair under 6-foot-2 and weighing a strong, stour 273-pounds, he has a body already ready for the pounding of varsity football underneath the Friday night lights. The two-time Jersey Shore AYF All-Star has played Offensive Tackle during his youth career but looks like a kid who will be playing on Saturdays in the next 4-5 years on the interior Offensive Line or Defensive Line.

His performance can be summed up with one word: Woah.

Santiago was one of several member off the Deptford Spartans 14U team this past season, a team that was one of the best on the youth level that I've seen in quite some years. Speaking of his teammates, Santiago was neck-and-neck with Haiden Redman Haiden Redman 5'11" | 166 lbs | DB/RB Deptford | 2030 NJ for the Overall Defensive MVP throughout the entire camp. Already claiming an offer from Syracuse, it became evident very quickly that it wasn't hype -- it's for real. He used some ungodly strength coming off the edge to push over and through would-be blockers on the Offensive Line.

As alluded to in my Linebacker Review of the New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camp, it was a very deep Linebacker group -- with 14 prospects catching my eye at the position. Similar to the Running Backs, the Linebacker MVP could have very well gone to several different players, but when the smoke cleared Mazzetti earned the nod. In my 5-hours of interaction with him, he seems like a coach's dream. He was attentive, asked questions, helped out other LBs and when it was his turn for a rep -- he shined bright. We'll see how he develops, but he could be a future standout for SJR.

Rounding out the MVPs was Brice Johnson Brice Johnson 5'11" | 146 lbs | DB/WR St. Joseph Regional | 2030 NJ at Defensive Back. Hailing from Morris County, the same County I grew up in, I can confidently say he's the top player coming out of the North Jersey county for the class of 2030. He was very close with Haiden Redman Haiden Redman 5'11" | 166 lbs | DB/RB Deptford | 2030 NJ when it came looking at the Defensive Backs that impressed. I absolutely love Johnson's length at this point and he plays the Corner position with a similar style to Sauce Gardner -- completely engulfing most WR's and battling hard for each ball in the air. Just two days after the camp, he announced he'll also be attending SJR next season. Head Coach Auggie Hoffmann and the defending Non-public A State Champions are picking up a pair of New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Exposure Camp.