Four Underrated Freshman Rising Up Boards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The regular season has now reached its midpoint and several new young prospects are quickly emerging as players to know already inside the state of Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the level of young talent inside the state continues to improve, more and more underclassmen are becoming high impact playmakers immediately at the start of their high school careers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These four freshmen have done just that and are currently flying under the radar, but could be high-level players over the next four seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bradley Central RB [player_tooltip player_id='1596142' first='Hezekiah' last='Thomas']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1596142"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6abb41a78504f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1596142' first='Hezekiah' last='Thomas'] had to earn the trust of the coaching staff at Bradley Central early in the season, but that proved to be no challenge as he consistently stepped up in clutch situations and earned the starting job.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has a strong, compact build at 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds with smooth and natural cutting ability, making him tough to bring down as just a freshman. As he continues to add more size and raw explosiveness, tackling him will a tough task for opposing defenses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Additionally, he has flashed some good hands as a quick target in the passing game in both high school and 7-on-7 environments, suggesting he could develop into a dynamic and versatile running back prospect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/hezzi2029/status/2102512366873456872?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/hezzi2029/status/2102512366873456872?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Knoxville Webb WR [player_tooltip player_id='1553950' first='Malachi' last='Blake']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1553950"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6abb41a7850b3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1553950' first='Malachi' last='Blake'] has immediately made a strong impact on both sides of the ball for a young Knoxville Webb team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a receiver, he has a strong amount of long term upside as he continues to become more explosive. He has a strong frame at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds with intriguing start-stop ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The start-stop ability has made him very effective when working against zone coverage and in short yardage situations. Additionally, he has hit a couple of explosive touchdowns, showing the ability to win downfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With his natural movement skills, start-stop ability and versatility, he has an exciting amount of upside over the next several years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Maliblake1/status/2101153054535864667?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Maliblake1/status/2101153054535864667?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Boyd Buchanan IDL [player_tooltip player_id='2256785' first='Jacob' last='Adamson']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2256785"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6abb41a7850fe"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2256785' first='Jacob' last='Adamson'] has made his impact at the high school level along the defensive line and that is where he projects the strongest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has a good baseline frame to build upon at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds with the background of an elite wrestler that should get people excited.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He is a bit of a bull in a china shop right now, but he has excellent athleticism and can work open against multiple blockers even. As he begins to refine his game and add to his frame, he could be an exciting defensive line prospect in the long-term.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Battle Ground Academy SAF [player_tooltip player_id='2141511' first='Colton' last='Stanford']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2118204"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6abb41a785140"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2141511' first='Colton' last='Stanford'] has emerged to provide much needed secondary help for the reigning DII-AA state champions with a skillset that could develop nicely over the next several years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He has solid size for a young defensive back at 5-foot-10 and 162 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While he could stand to improve his initial explosiveness, he has good speed and that has been evident on both the football field (20.5 mph in game) and the track (11.61 100m time in eighth grade).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a two-way player, he has the ball skills to take advantage of opportunities he receives on the back end and the range to get to a position in which he can make a play on the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As he continues to grow physically, he will be a very promising young defensive back prospect to watch inside the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/coltonstanford_/status/2094210974542651418?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/coltonstanford_/status/2094210974542651418?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->