Florida – They don’t make ’em like this every day. Joshua Jones is amongst the most physically impressive eighth-grade football prospects I have seen in my 13-year career of evaluating middle school prospects. Stands 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds with the build of a defensive end, but the speed and mobility of scat back. He’s special.

There were five eighth-graders listed on the Zarephath Academy varsity football roster this past season and there were none more impressive and jaw-dropping than Joshua Jones Joshua Jones 6'2" | 190 lbs | ATH FL . The 2027 prospect is every bit of the 6-foot-2 and 195-pounds he’s listed at online, and his film from this year shows a freaky athlete that played both Wide Receiver and Safety for the Jacksonville-based high school. In a recent interview with On3, the head coach of his 7v7 team (Harrison Smith Jr.) said he’s the best middle school football he’d ever seen. That article goes on to say that he’s already comparisons to how All-Every NFL Safety Derwin James looked at this age. To frame it a little closer in age, I saw immediate comparisons to class of 2026 Prep Redzone Next Watchlist selection Jabari Brady (also from Florida) who is already closing in on 20 offers before the end of his freshman year in high school. Brady was the most dominant Wide Receiver prospect I saw live as an eighth-grader a year ago. They’re the exact same size with nearly identical builds. While he doesn’t hold an offer yet, I’d get in line ASAP and be first on what’s sure to be a long list of suitors.