I had the luxury to watch Josiah show off his craft on back to back weekends, last weekend in Minnesota, and this weekend at our Prep Redzone Next Midwest Camp and from weekend to weekend, this dude did not miss a step or seem at all tired from all the reps he’s gotten in the last two weeks. The overall balance Josiah has with his football IQ and change of direction mixed together at a high level on Saturday night in Northbrook. Josiah from my eyes, I thought had the quickest cuts amongst the entire wide receiver group which got him a plethora of separation and showed off his catch radius very well. I’ll say it because I have now evaluated Josiah multiple times already, I think this young man has some of the best hands in the Midwest in the 2027 class and that is from several evaluations from one year ago to today. He also shows bigger game time speed out the gates than any 40 yard dash would show you and I believe this young buck is destined to play FBS football in the next several years. Stay tuned.

First saw him during the summer in between his sixth and seventh grade year and knew back then he had some major ability. Has grown considerably and is now in the 5-foot-10, 160-pound range. Plays a physical, tough brand of Wide Receiver/Defensive Back and even some Linebacker. After helping win the second City Championship in as many years, he looks to be a must-know player in The Hawkeye State.

Athletes coming out of Iowa need to work a little bit harder for that early recruiting attention because it’s not the fertile recruiting ground of that of a Florida, Georgia, California or Texas. That said, Smith is starting to make some early waves with schools starting to know his name. At 5-foot-9 and 155-pounds, he has spent the last few seasons as a member of Team Iowa, a highly competitive travel team out of the Hawkeye State. To this point his main position has been Wide Receiver, but I’m not convinced that’s where he ends up long term. Physically he’s rocked up with strong shoulders/arms/hands. From what I’ve seen, he’s fast enough but doesn’t have blazing speed on the outside. His routes aren’t the crispest, but he seems to always be able to make a play. I’d be interested to see him line up at Running Back, since he has handled kickoff return duty. I would also be willing to bet he can crack some heads defensively. He’s already camped at Iowa and has had positive conversations there.