Emanuel Gerena Emanuel Gerena 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Holy Spirit | 2026 State NJ made some big plays as a freshman in 2022. The 2026 wide receiver and defensive back is going to develop into a very sought after athlete in New Jersey. Offensively he shines as a short route runner, using his quickness to evade tacklers and maneuver through defenders. He is an agile target that will strike fear into defenders when they are one on one with him in open field. Emanuel will be playing a key role in the pass offense for Donovan Catholic in 2023. This team has so many weapons that Emanuel will have plenty of opportunities to exploit the defense and start making a name for himself. Look for schools to start noticing him more this fall.

Donavan Catholic now has two great players that made the Up Next series. To go with Najee Calhoun Najee Calhoun 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Bergen Catholic | 2026 State NJ , Donovan Catholic also has an elite receiver out wide in Emanuel Gerena Emanuel Gerena 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Holy Spirit | 2026 State NJ . Bringing in 213 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns as a freshman, Emanuel showed flashes of greatness. Emanuel is slippery. An extremely agile receiver that also bounces off of would-be tacklers. All you need to do is set up the screen, throw it to Emanuel on time, and let him do the rest. 2023 will be a big year for Emanuel as it puts him on the map.

Donovan Catholic has two young Griffins at the skill positions that should be terrorizing defenses for the next few seasons. We already covered RB Najee Calhoun Najee Calhoun 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Bergen Catholic | 2026 State NJ and all he can do in between the tackles. Outside along the perimeter is where 5’10” 160lb WR Emanuel Gerena Emanuel Gerena 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Holy Spirit | 2026 State NJ does his work. Although he pitched in on offense (3/26 rushing and 14/213/2 receiving), Gerena got the most burn on defense, where he made 27 tackles, 1 Int, and 4 PBUs. These stats reflect his work on varsity only.

Gerena is adept at making the touch catch-in-traffic on the deep ball. He does this by tracking the ball well and refusing to get out muscled. He runs crisp routes for such a young WR. By doing so, the passing concepts open up for easy, open grabs in his direction. An underrated trait, Gerena has a strong sense of how to avoid defenders and contact after securing the grab. Defensively Gerena will play the hands of WRs rather than the ball. From his safety spot he does a nice job to sniff out and blow up screens. Gerena has shown flashes of brilliance at times. I am really excited to see how a full high school offseason impacts his game as he readies for his sophomore campaign.