The New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Combine this past weekend marked the fourth and final time I will have seen Jesse Roth Jesse Roth 6'1" | 205 lbs | DL St John Vianney | 2028 State NJ play as a middle schooler in 2023-2024 calendar year. I’ve said it before but Roth appears to be a coach’s dream in terms of talent on the field, work ethic, attitude and drive. Came in bigger than the last time I saw him in January, now up to 6-foot-1 and 205-pounds. While he doesn’t have the height of Niven and Vaughn, he makes up for it with his versatility at the position. I don’t have any weight room numbers on him, but he’s built like brick…house, and his strength allows him to bang on the interior despite giving up a decent amount of weight. In my opinion, he looks more at home as a Defensive End with his speed and quickness, but he’s truly capable of playing both interior and on the edge at this point. Also a wrestler, his grip strength and ability to win the battle for hand position were fully on display. The future St. John-Vianney Lancer has a very bright future in football if he can stretch it out a few more inches.

– Played on 14U NJ AYF All-Star Team at Nationals this year.

– Just a week or so removed from a standout performance at the Prep Redzone Middle School Camp in New Jersey.

– Kid is one big muscle that plays with elite quickness on the offensive and defensive lines. With his speed and agility, look for him to play guard on offensive and/or both defensive end and defensive tackle, depending on the down and distance.

From an athletic standpoint, I don’t think there was a more versatile and capable 2028 defensive linemen at the New Jersey Prep Redzone Next Middle School Camp, than Roth. At 6-foot and 205 pounds of all muscle, Roth was a lot to deal with for the offensive line. His speed and quickness was in a class of its own, as he dominated the combine testing portion of the camp, highlighted by a position group-best 5.16 in the forty and 4.47 in the shuttle, which was tied for second amongst all defensive linemen. One of several members of the New Jersey 14U AYF All-Star Team to attend camp, I don’t think there would be a single person to say that Roth continues to prove he’s one of the top 2028 defensive line prospects in New Jersey. One more note to add about Roth, by all accounts he seems like a coach’s dream, too: Comes with all the physical tools, work ethic and it’s hard to get more than a few words out of him. He’s just a super talented kids who consistently lines up to punch people in the mouth and win reps.

– Crazy to say, but Roth looked even more physically impressive at AYF Nationals than he did in September at All-Star tryouts

– While I still feel that Roth ultimately ends up on the defensive side of the ball long term, he was possibly the best Guard I saw

– The New Jersey 14U All-Star team featured a tough ground attack and Roth was a big reason for it up front

– There wasn’t a block he couldn’t make; Whether down-blocking on big interior guys, climbing the ladder to cut off linebackers, or even walling off in space–Roth was up to it

Of the nearly 130 athletes that came through the Jersey Shore AYF 14U All-Star tryouts this past weekend, I think it’s safe to say that anyone in attendance would agree that Wall’s Roth was unquestionably the Alpha Male. Part of the 12U All-Star team that won the AYF All-Star National Championship a year ago, Roth will be a key part of the 14U team this December. I didn’t see him lose a single rep or give anything less than maximum effort in everything he did on the field. His strength is what stood out to me the most. In one-on-one drills, it was as if the other kids fired out of their stance and hit a brick wall. Rep after rep, he kept his hips low and drove the guy across from him backwards. He wrestled for the first time a year ago and had tremendous success. He’s an excellent Defensive End right now and tells me he’s starting to do some training as a Linebacker, too.