Five Skill Players that Caught My Eye

As I continue with my series on players that caught my eye this fall, we continue on the offensive side of the ball. Tuesday, I looked at five quarterbacks that caught my eye this season. If you haven’t seen that, you can read it <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/12/five-quarterbacks-that-caught-my-eye/">here</a>. Now, we turn to the skill players on offense -- the running backs, receivers and even tight ends that had strong seasons and put themselves on my radar. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144712" first="Javonte" last="Vereen"], 6’4 205, TE, 2023- Havelock</strong> About two years ago, I was scouting Havelock quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="44988" first="Andrew" last="Frazier"] and kept seeing No. 11 pop up. He was an athletic freak that stood out not only on his own film, but on the film of other players as well. Maybe my standard was too high, but I wanted more production out of the 6-foot-4 pass catcher. As a junior, the production matched the potential, as Vereen put up nearly 1000 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging over 30 yards a catch. He high points the ball as well as any receiver I’ve seen and is a matchup nightmare. Get ready for his recruitment to blow up. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="217336" first="Marqies" last="McCombs"], 5’10 180, RB, 2023- Chase</strong> McCombs led the state in rushing yards per game, averaging -- yes, averaging -- <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GPBvQ">over 240 yards a contest while putting up 38 touchdowns.</a> He was a workhorse, carrying the ball over 300 times in 11 games. He runs with excellent pad level and doesn’t lose forward momentum when running through arm tackles. It’s obvious why he makes this list, as he entered the 2021 fall season with just 55 career touches. Now that people might know who he is, he could see his recruitment explode this offseason, as it should. <strong>Kanye Roberts, 5’10 185, RB, 2022- Wallace-Rose Hill</strong> For some guys, team performance can really help individual players put themselves on the map. For Roberts, a 4-year varsity contributor, this was the case. Roberts entered the 2021 fall season with over 3500 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career on three decent to good WRH teams. It wasn’t until the Bulldogs started blowing out every team they played that Roberts began to get proper recognition. Appalachian State stepped in with an offer and Roberts suddenly began to get the recognition he deserved. After a 7000-yard career, he’ll go to App State with the talent to become a first-year contributor. <strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/anthony-quinn-jr/">Anthony Quinn Jr.</a>, 6’0 190, RB, 2024- Seventy First</strong> Last fall, Quinn’s 7-on-7 coach texted me and told me to "Follow Anthony Quinn and thank me later". Well, he was right. Quinn has elite size and strength for the running back position and we’ve been on him for a while. I wasn’t surprised by his breakout sophomore campaign, but haven’t had many opportunities to promote his play. He’s big, fast and has great vision. As a 2024, he still has time to improve and put himself on the radar of colleges, though a few local Power Five teams have been keeping tabs on him for a while. He’s about to blow up. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144700" first="Jashawn" last="Middleton"], 6’1 170, WR, 2023- Cleveland</strong> Like Vereen, Middleton popped on quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="130376" first="Skyler" last="Locklear"]’s film last season, but took his game to another level as a junior. His acceleration and ability after the catch really stand out, especially for a guy that also has great size. He’s growing as a route runner and with a full offseason to work on it, that’s a part of his game I expect will continue to improve. He’s electric with the ball in his hands and put up a great season as a junior.