New England's Who's Next Exposure Camp: Top Performers

Prep Redzone held a Who's Next Exposure Camp in Marlborough, Mass., on April 25. The event featured some of the top middle school players from New England, as five of the six states in the region were represented. There were also athletes from New York and New Jersey in attendance. Some of these athletes will be on a high school sideline in the fall, others are in an earlier stage of development. Here are the players who stood out the most at the quarterback, running back and linebacker positions:    No player passed the eye test more than [player_tooltip player_id='1311144' first='Ben' last='Wood'], a Class of 2030 left-handed quarterback who's physical appearance (6-feet, 180 pounds) and performance would have allowed him to fit in at a similar event for high school athletes. Wood displayed excellent arm strength, touch and was accurate with short, intermediate and long passes. Very few of his passes in the one-on-one portion of the camp were not catchable balls. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.75 seconds and also cleared 9-feet in the broad jump, which was the second-best jump of the day. He was named the camp's top quarterback.     [player_tooltip player_id='1701139' first='Hunter' last='Ford'], a 5-foot-9, 165-pound running back in the Class of 2030, grabbed people's attention during the testing portion of the camp. He turned in the best time in the pro shuttle (4.35 seconds), the No. 2 time in the L-drill (7.06), and was third best in both the 40-yard dash (4.95) and the broad jump (8-10). He held the ball high and tight throughout the event and was fundamentally sound during drills in the "Indy" portion of the camp when he was grouped with other running backs. Ford also excelled when he was used as a receiver during one-on-one passing drills. He was selected as the camp's top running back and attends Malden (Mass.) Catholic High School.     You could make a strong case that [player_tooltip player_id='1371723' first='Darin' last='Shaw'] was the best player at the camp. He was certainly the most polished player among the linebackers. Shaw took good angles during tackling drills, but also stood out in pass coverage. He was able to stay with running backs and wide receivers, regardless of the route. He was also good when it came time to make a play on the ball. College coaches who worked the event called Shaw "very coachable." He was selected as the camp's top linebacker.     Banjamin Hauser was in the conversation to be named the event's best quarterback. He attends Xaverian Brothers High School and was one of the more athletic QBs in attendance. Hauser ran the 40-yard dash in 4.87 seconds. He also checked a lot of boxes when he was throwing the ball, as he had plenty of zip on his passes, showed good timing and rarely underthew a receiver. Hauser was also able to put the ball on receivers when he was throwing on the run. He stood out in what was a strong group of quarterbacks.     Although small, it would have been difficult to not notice Noah Robinson, a running back who will attend Gilford (N.H.) High School. Robinson excelled in the combine tests. He posted the best time in the L-drill (7.0 seconds), ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.932), had the fourth-best time in the pro shuttle (4.56) and cleared 7 feet, 7 inches in the broad jump. Robinson has a high compete level, something that was clear when was going up against bigger defenders during passing drills. He was very aggressive when he had to fight for the ball. Robinson may have been the most intriguing player at the camp and is someone who will likely get even better when he adds size.

Prep Redzone held a Who's Next Exposure Camp in Marlborough, Mass., on April 25. The event featured some of the top middle school players from New England, as five of the six states in the region were represented. There were also athletes from New York and New Jersey in attendance. Some of these athletes will be on a high school sideline in the fall, others are in an earlier stage of development. Here are the players who stood out the most at the quarterback, running back and linebacker positions: