Notable New Jersey Prospects Headed Out of State for High School

New Jersey is not often mentioned in that top tier of states when discussing where the country's top high school football talent comes from -- but the talent is certainly present. For better or for worse, New Jersey is also located in the heart of the Northeast and sits atop the list when ranking states by population density. Below you'll see a number of prospects who played their final season of pre-high school football in the Garden State, but have opted to take their talents outside the state borders for high school next year.    In my opinion, and presumably the opinion of most Non-Public A & B programs in the state of New Jersey, the biggest stunner of this off-season transition for 2030 prospects has to be [player_tooltip player_id='2072614' first='Jordyn' last='Johnson']'s commitment to Erasmus Hall. The Middlesex County native is/was my highest rated 2030 Running Back in the entire state of New Jersey after watching what he did for The SHO program over the last two years. The do-it-all RB opted to take his talents to E-Hall in New York (ranked #1,029 nationally per MaxPreps), somehow avoiding many of NJ's most elite programs such as St. Joseph Regional #31, Don Bosco Prep #45, and Bergen Catholic #69. But hey, spread love -- it's the Brooklyn way, right?       [player_tooltip player_id='1401046' first='Elijah' last='Santiago'], an elite Edge rusher who already holds offers from Akron and Syracuse, will be headed to Roman Catholic in Philadelphia this fall. A native of Blackwood, New Jersey in Camden County, the reigning Defensive Line MVP of the Prep Redzone Next Middle School Camp will be taking his talents across the Delaware River. Following a tremendous youth career with the Deptford Spartans, he had a number of potential suitors but ultimately ended up joining the Sons of Cahill.     Running Back [player_tooltip player_id='2043868' first='Asher' last='Siplin'] and his powerful running style will be leaving Gloucester County in South Jersey, and will be suiting up for national powerhouse St. Joe's Prep in Philadelphia. The Hawks are coming off a 5-5 record in 2025, only the second time they've lost five games in a season in over 20 years. Siplin wrapped up his final year of pre-high school football by running over anyone that stood in his way for the GA Academy TMU 13U squad this year and had a very nice showing at the PRZ Next Middle School Camp in New Jersey this past January.     In one of the most surprising moves of this off-season transition for 2030 prospects, Jersey City's [player_tooltip player_id='2072050' first='Xaidyn' last='Hill'] will be headed to national powerhouse IMG Academy. The son of former St. Peter's Prep standout Will Hill, who went on to win an NCAA championship at Florida and play over a decade of professional football after a stellar high school career in New Jersey, will be leaving the concrete jungle of Jersey City and head to the beaches of Bradenton, Florida.     Roman Catholic did a tremendous job of getting many of South Jersey's top kids to cross the Whitman and Benjamin Franklin bridge(s), respectfully. Elite Football Prep's (EFP) [player_tooltip player_id='1855304' first='Daveon' last='Shaw'] will be joining [player_tooltip player_id='1396266' first='Anthony' last='Santiago'] in purple and gold next fall. A physically impressive athlete who shined primarily as a Linebacker and Wide Receiver for EFP, Shaw established himself of the top 2030s in New Jersey. Next year the Sicklerville (Camden County) native will have his opportunity to do it in the City of Brotherly Love.     If you're thinking to yourself, "Hold up, you mean to tell me there's another Santiago off the Deptford Spartans team? He also Defensive Line and he's going to Roman Catholic in Philadelphia for high school too?"   You better get familiar with [player_tooltip player_id='1401046' first='Elijah' last='Santiago'], who is the cousin of [player_tooltip player_id='1396266' first='Anthony' last='Santiago'], listed above. Elijah doesn't have the frame and length of Anthony at this point, but he's an absolute boulder on the interior line. At the PRZ Next Middle School Camp, coaches had him take reps on both sides of the ball and affectionately gave him the nickname "trunk" because of his massive 311-pound lower half.     Staying on the Defensive Line, another massive South Jersey kid headed to St. Joe's Prep in Philadelphia is [player_tooltip player_id='2121461' first='Bryce' last='Green']. Green currently lists himself at 6-foot-3 and 275-pounds and was the top lineman on the Elite Football Prep (EFP) 13U team during the 2025 season. A big, strong two-gap interior D-Lineman, he has also shined on the Offensive Line during his youth career as well.     This writeup comes off the heels of [player_tooltip player_id='1583397' first='RJ' last='Finlaw'] announcing his first verbal offer from Syracuse University, he marks the third member of the Deptford Spartans 14U team from this past fall to set up show at a school outside his home state of New Jersey. Finlaw is set to line it up at Archbishop Carroll in Radnor, Pennsylvania this upcoming season. Finlaw is a powerful athlete that has played Quarterback at a high level during his pre-high school days, but also has the athleticism to play Linebacker. He's also played in the defensive secondary at times too.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Additional 2030 Prospects Confirmed To Be Headed Out of State</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='2121371' first='Justin' last='Madden'] | Offensive/Defensive Line - Roman Catholic (formerly: Deptford Spartans 14U)   [player_tooltip player_id='1402465' first='Nasir' last='Bond'] | Defensive Back/Wide Receiver - Roman Catholic (formerly: Elite Football Prep 13U)   [player_tooltip player_id='2121162' first='Jaiden' last='Harper'] | Athlete - Roman Catholic (formerly: Elite Football Prep 13U)

New Jersey is not often mentioned in that top tier of states when discussing where the country's top high school football talent comes from -- but the talent is certainly present. For better or for worse, New Jersey is also located in the heart of the Northeast and sits atop the list when ranking states by population density. Below you'll see a number of prospects who played their final season of pre-high school football in the Garden State, but have opted to take their talents outside the state borders for high school next year.