Class of 2026 Rankings Risers

This is a special group of athletes. They are athletes who clearly put in the work, proved that the work they put in translates to the field, and are seeing it pay off with a big rise up the Prep Redzone WI rankings. Moving up the rankings is no easy task. We saw a lot of improvement, and we also saw 150+ new athletes debut in the rankings. Despite the increase in competition this group of athletes still proved to be worthy of the big jump in their stock. Let's break down what they have to offer, and check out the jump they made!    Rankings Jump: 36 Spots   The northern WI standout proved to be an extremely versatile, and talented two way player for Prescott last fall. Kobe is a long-limbed DB/WR with an elite level of athletic traits. It jumps off the tape as Kobe seems to play the game at a different speed than everyone else around him. Closing burst, acceleration out of his backpedal, change of direction, route breaks, they are all examples of when we get to see his elite acceleration and balance/body control. Russell also has the game breaking speed and that second gear to pull away and not let any pursuit angles cut him off. Kobe is such an easy athlete and a fantastic playmaker. The tape is loaded with him making the most difficult plays look standard. You have to check out the kid's tape and see why he launched himself into the Top 10.      Rankings Jump: 33 Spots   The inside LB group in the Class of 2026 is one of the strong points in this Class. Despite the talent in the group, Brendan was still able to launch himself into LB2, a Top 15 overall spot, and 33 spots up from where he was preseason. The All State LB has what you look for in the QB of your defense. He has a high football IQ, is able to make adjustments and call things out pre-snap. He also is very talented at quickly diagnosing plays and triggering downhill to attack. The '26 LB is a nightmare to land a block on too. Because he is able to flow so quickly and pick through the trash in the trenches OL can't get to him before he is slicing through the line to make tackles. The junior brings the athleticism needed to thrive at the next level as well. Quick to close, sideline to sideline speed, and the ability to naturally drop into coverage. Brendan put out tape that proved he is a future three down LB at the next level. Check it out below.      Rankings Jump: 48 Spots   Over the past couple years it has been fun watching Semaji develop, grow, and put it all together into a great junior season. The edge defender/TE is an impact player on both sides of the ball for Pewaukee. The tape starts off with a lot of defense so we will start there too. Semaji took his strength and physicality to the next level this year. In the Classic 8 Conference he was able to set strong edges against the run that blew up plays even if he wasn't the one to make the tackle. He created disruption with his bull rush as well, and his strong hands were able to shed blocks aside very quickly. While I believe his future is on the edge it is also great to see him at TE. From there we get to see more of the athleticism in space as he attacks the seam or pulls away from LBs across the middle. Petzold is rapidly improving. Get him on your boards if he isn't already.      Rankings Jump: 45 Spots   Another great example of the talent within the inside LB position is [player_tooltip player_id='1220674' first='Jack' last='Murray'] out of Brookfield East. The 6'3" 215 lbs athlete looks like he is shot out of a cannon when coming downhill. It leads to a ton of highlights where Jack is flying through the line of scrimmage untouched for TFLs. Jack also brings the lateral agility to be able to move side to side while staying square to the line and meet RBs as they come through gaps. Murray is another standout defender who also plays TE. You see the same physicality on that side of the ball too. Especially after the catch where he is running over DBs for big chunks of yardage after the catch. Jack more than deserved the big jump.      Rankings Jump: 44 Spots   Shaundel is making a push for WR1 and might just get there before his senior season starts. The 6'3" 170 lbs WR has a great combination of length, soft hands, and ball tracking skills to present his QB with a big catch radius to target. The '26 WR dominates with route running. Shaundel has the body control to be accelerate out of breaks instantly to top speed. The junior also shows more of the savvy side as he sets up DBs with double moves or head fakes that force them out of position then easily flies by them. Shaundel is a WR that you can send deep to win the 50/50 ball then have him catch a bubble screen and create yards with his elusive running after the catch. Williams is building himself into a dominant weapon out wide.      Ranking Jump: 181 Spots   A big reason behind the HUGE rise of Luka is that during the preseason we had him listed at 6'3" 230 lbs. He is currently listed at 270 lbs and coming off a year where he dominated defensive linemen. Even at 270 lbs, the first thing you notice on tape is how light and agile Luka is on his feet. At tackle he is able to easily mirror edge rushers while staying square over his base so he is always in a position of strength to engage. Luka also does a great job transitioning that short burst and agility into power as soon as he makes contact with the DL. He has strong hands that deliver a hard punch and runs his feet through the block until he gets his man on the ground. He is a tone setter with excellent athleticism for the position.      Rankings Jump: 43 Spots   Zyon is an exciting playmaker out of Wauwatosa East who launched himself up the rankings with his junior season. The '26 plays RB and DB and thrives at both because of his athletic traits. You don't have to watch his highlights very long to see that he can change a game with one carry. The defense needs to contain him because the second he gets green grass Zyon quickly hits that second gear and is gone. Same is true on special teams. Let him get outside and you are going to pay. Zyon also creates plays with his slippery, elusive running through traffic. The '26 is so shifty and sudden that it is hard to wrap him up or land a squared up tackle on him.   Flip to the other side of the field and White is a DB that will use that speed to deliver hard tackles. Zyon also has good hands out of the backfield and roaming the secondary. I'm very excited to see him role continue to grow and watch him climb further up this list.      Rankings Jump: 66 Spots   During the preseason we ranked Landon as a punter who also played some DE. Fast forward to today and Landon is now ranked as an impressive DE with a heck of a leg as a bonus. The 6'5" 225 lbs DE was living in offensive backfields in 2024. He was as disruptive as you could hope for. Landon was able to use his length and power to leverage his way into the backfield. Plus any time he got a chance to use his speed Landon would burst into the backfield and close quickly on the ball. The big man is building up a great base of strength too. You will see him shrug off attempted blocks from TEs when teams try to collapse him down the line. I'm very excited to watch Landon continue to develop this summer and perform in front of coaches.      Rankings Jump: 54 Spots   Connor plays some QB and safety for Lake Country Lutheran. A big part of his jump was what the junior did as a safety this season. The 6'2" 175 lbs athlete has sideline to sideline range and can meet RBs at the line of scrimmage from 12 yards deep. Speed and range isn't an issue for the '26 DB. Neither is his football IQ. Connor seems to know where the ball is going throughout his highlights, usually getting a head start and arriving when the ball does to make a play on it. Lubbers does a great job at the catch point to break up passes without drawing flags on top of the athletic and mental tools. Teams definitely need to check out Lubbers at the safety position.      Rankings Jump: 53 Spots   We wrap things up with a big jump from a D4 State Champion. The All State DE was a force off the edge in 2024. His speed once in the backfield allowed him to make a ton of chase down tackles and sacks. Adreyan did well playing with his hands and using his quickness to slip past OTs as soon as he was able to create a bit of separation. The athletic DE also won with sudden lateral agility to suddenly gain position to defeat a block. I love the motor, quickness, and range the edge defender demonstrated in 2024. Excited to watch him prove to be a matchup problem on the edge more in 2025.

This is a special group of athletes. They are athletes who clearly put in the work, proved that the work they put in translates to the field, and are seeing it pay off with a big rise up the Prep Redzone WI rankings. Moving up the rankings is no easy task. We saw a lot of improvement, and we also saw 150+ new athletes debut in the rankings. Despite the increase in competition this group of athletes still proved to be worthy of the big jump in their stock. Let's break down what they have to offer, and check out the jump they made!