I’ve had eyes on Pennsylvania’s Andrew Kern Andrew Kern 6'5" | 270 lbs | OL/DL Episcopal Academy | 2029 PA since he was in the fifth or sixth grade, and this past weekend at the Prep Redzone Next Middle School Combine was, hands down the most athletic he has looked during his pre-high school career. Measured in just shy of 6-foot-4 and a burger short of 210 pounds. During O-Line individual drills, his foot work and fundamentals were head and shoulders above the other Offensive Linemen. His hand and foot placement were succinct, deliberate and accurate. For being one of the taller Hog Mollys there, his knee bend was outstanding. Now, there are some obvious things he needs to improve on, too. He’s growing taller significantly quickly than he is getting heavier, so continuing to try to pack on the pounds and burning the midnight oil in the weight room will continue to help. Going hand-in-hand with the weight matter, is also anchoring and shifting weight during his kick slides. Kern is constantly working to get better in the off-season and the improvements are extremely obvious. He’s a bit of a project, but there’s a ton of upside if/when he can put it all together. He’ll be at St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia.

– Having a front seat to watching Kern develop throughout his middle school career has been a very fun ride

– Now just a bad haircut short 6-foot-4 and a cheese burger away from 220-pounds, he has tacked on two inches and at least 20 pounds in each of the previous two off-seasons

– His quickness off the snap on both sides of the ball is the thing that has improved the most dramatically. He’s morphed from from a long kid with some potential to a bonafide top tier prospect with size and quickness in this 2028 class

– In a previous write up about him, nearly a year ago, I noted his room for improvement on strength and general physicality. He has started to turn that corner and is playing a much more physical brand of football in 2023. Once he gets into a high school football weight room and his strength catches up with everything else, he could become an elite player

I often tell people that Offensive Linemen and interior Defensive Linemen are the most difficult positions to evaluate in the pre-high school stage. There’s a lot of potential and “could-be’s” when looking at linemen in the seventh-grade, and that’s where Kern is right now. At 6-foot-2 and 180-pounds he has very promising size for a class of 2028 prospect. He plays on both sides of the ball, but I think potential is there on the Offensive Line long term. With his long arms and build, he could be protecting a Quarterback for years to come. Despite having another year of youth ball to go, he’s already making the rounds and going on visits to many of the top private schools in the the greater Philadelphia area. Certainly needs to improve strength and physicality as a whole, but the potential is there.