Pennsylvania 2027 Ranking/Watchlist – Final Middle School Version

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Across the Commonwealth high school football teams are preparing for the upcoming season. For the majority of the class of 2027 athletes, they will be getting their first taste of high school ball in just a few short weeks. Prep Redzone Next is here to help shine a light on some of the freshmen to know about in Pennsylvania this upcoming season. Not all will play varsity right away, and some of the athletes below may have already peaked athletically in football. On the other hand, there may be (probably will be) glaring omissions from the list below–and that's the beauty of it.&nbsp;<strong>This is a Watchlist&nbsp;</strong>based off athletes we have either&nbsp;<strong>watched</strong>&nbsp;on film or in person during their pre-high school careers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The only player officially ranked in every state will be who we perceive as being the top prospect in the state for the class, coming out of middle school. In Pennsylvania, that 2027 prospect is&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='415124' first='Roman' last='Thompson'].&nbsp;All other players will be listed as WL for Watchlist. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The first comprehensive and official Pennsylvania High School rankings for the class of 2027 will be released in late August by Prep Redzone Pennsylvania's [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'].</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pennsylvania's #1 2027 Prospect: [player_tooltip player_id='415124' first='Roman' last='Thompson'] - Pittsburgh Central Catholic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["415124"],"_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_0_evaluation":"As these 2027 kids are about a month away from starting their high school career, [player_tooltip player_id='415124' first='Roman' last='Thompson'] has been my top player in Pennsylvania for over a year and that hasn't changed. There isn't much athletically that this kid can't do. In fact, Pennsylvania is arguably the best wrestling state in the country and Thompson was the 192-pound State Champion on the mat this past year. On the gridiron he has shined as a linebacker and running back throughout his pre-high school career and he has only gotten better and better each year. He benches over 300 pounds with relative ease and runs better than most varsity running back's at this point. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he's the headliner at the linebacker position, of an incredible 2027 class that Pittsburgh Central Catholic is bringing in. Thompson joins a Vikings linebacker corps that is already and deep, and features [player_tooltip player_id='256526' first='Colsen' last='Gatten'] (2026)  who was near the top of our watchlist last year at this time. Gatten already holds offers from Penn State, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and others. It should only be a matter of time until Thompson sees the offers start to roll in too, considering he's already camped at Penn State, Pitt and Robert Morris.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64b8060a60b42"} /--> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://prepredzone.com/pennsylvania/rankings/2027-watch-list/">Click Here To See The Entire Pennsylvania Class of 2027 Watchlist</a></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations":"","_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64b8060a60b75"} /-->