We are a week away from the beginning of another exciting season of high school football in the St. Louis metropolitan area. As a new season is upon us, here is a look at some of the top players to watch for the upcoming year.
Terrell Berryhill (East St. Louis): A 6’6” 270-pound offensive lineman who has given a commitment to Purdue. He was part of a dominant Flyers’ offensive line on an IHSA Class 6A state championship team.
Jack Brown (Francis Howell Central): A 6’5” 215-pound junior who is one of the top tight end prospects in the state. As a sophomore, he caught 26 passes for 674 yards and six touchdowns.
Michael Clark (Lutheran North): A speedy senior wide receiver who caught 43 passes for 812 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior to help the Crusaders to the Class 4 state championship. He is also a standout sprinter in track and field.
Myson Johnson-Cook (East St. Louis): A talented junior running back who transferred to East St. Louis from DeSoto (Texas). As a sophomore, he rushed for 911 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has numerous high-level Division I scholarship offers.
Titan Davis (DeSmet): A 6’5” 266-pound defensive lineman who anchored the Spartans’ line play last season. As a junior, he had 46 tackles, nine sacks and one interception in helping DeSmet to a Class 6 state championship. He has committed to Michigan.
Garrick Dixon (Fort Zumwalt West): A 6’0” 170-pound senior defensive back who has committed to Kansas State. As a junior, he recorded 45 solo tackles along with two interceptions.
Jacob Eberhart (Kirkwood): A 6’3” 215-pound senior receiver who had 42 receptions for 795 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior for the Class 6 state semifinalists. He has committed to the University of Illinois.
Jayden Ellington (Althoff): A talented junior quarterback who passed for 2,078 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for 378 yards and nine touchdowns in helping lead the Crusaders to the IHSA Class 1A state championship.
Nick Hankins (Belleville West): A 6’0” 190-pound defensive back who has given a commitment to the University of Illinois. As a junior, he had a team-high four interceptions on defense. On offense, he had 27 receptions for 622 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Keenan Harris (SLUH): A 6’1” 220-pound senior linebacker who has already committed to the University of Missouri. As a junior, he had 72 solo tackles, two sacks and three interceptions and 26 tackles for losses.
Kam Hurst (Lift for Life): A 6’0” 170-pound senior defensive back who has given a commitment to Washington State. As a junior, he had 38 tackles and five interceptions, including two touchdown returns in helping the Hawks to the Class 3 semifinals.
Greg Hollis (St. Mary’s): A standout junior defensive back who had eight interceptions last season to lead the St. Louis metro area. He returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns. He also registered 77 tackles as a sophomore.
Marshaun Ivy (Cardinal Ritter): A 6’3” 215-pound junior linebacker who is a three-star recruit who has more than two dozen scholarship offers from major collegiate programs. As a sophomore, he had 65 tackles and one sack.
Xavier Jackson (Fort Zumwalt North): A 6’3” 270-pound senior defensive lineman who is one of the top prospects in the St. Charles area. As a junior, he had 42 solo tackles and six sacks to help lead the Panthers to a 9-1 record.
Devyon Hill-Lomax (Edwardsville): A 6’4” 180-pound senior wide receiver who has given a commitment to the University of Missouri. As a junior, he had 18 receptions for 341 yards and four touchdowns.
Elijah Lucas (Cardinal Ritter): A 6’3” 200-pound wide receiver who has given a commitment to Western Michigan. As a junior, he had 32 catches for 482 yards and two touchdowns for a Class 5 district championship team.
Mason Marden (Ladue): A 6’3” 220-pound senior linebacker who has given a commitment to Arizona State. As a junior, he had a whopping 113 solo tackles with three sacks and two interceptions.
Nick McClellan (CBC): A senior quarterback who has committed to Kansas State. As a junior, he rushed for 891 yards and 12 touchdowns while passing for 2,062 yards and 22 touchdowns in leading the Cadets to a 9-2 record.
Cornell McIntosh (East St. Louis): A 6’3” 245-pound senior linebacker who has committed to Northern Illinois. As a junior, he had 75 tackles and five sacks in helping the Flyers to a state championship.
Jonathan Moore (Lutheran North): A talented junior quarterback who was at the controls of the Class 4 state champions last season. As a sophomore, he passed for 2,350 yards and 41 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.
Jake Plummer (CBC): A 6’6” 220-pound tight end/defensive end who has given a commitment to Florida State. He is expected to be one of the breakout players in the St. Louis area with his size and athleticism on both sides of the ball.
Kortez Rupert (East St. Louis): A speedy senior wide receiver who has given a commitment to Indiana University. As a junior, he had 16 receptions for 478 yards and nine touchdowns for the IHSA Class 6A state champions.
Jay’Veon Scott (Lift for Life): A 6’3” 205-pound running back who has committed to Missouri State. He is ready to carry a bigger load on offense after rushing for 367 yards and six touchdowns to help the Hawks to the Class 3 semifinals.
Martez Stephenson (Lutheran North): A senior running back who had 1,363 yards rushing and 263 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns for the Class 4 state champions.
Jordan Taylor (SLUH): A 5’10” 182-pound senior running back who has given a commitment to Sacramento State. As a junior, he rushed for 1,244 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Demetrius Thompson (Clayton-Brentwood): A 6’4” 225-pound senior defensive end who has committed to SEMO. He is a two-way standout who had 53 tackles and 11 sacks on defense. On offense, he had 15 receptions for 325 yards and eight touchdowns.
Gabe Weaver (MICDS): A 6’6” 215-pound receiver who has committed to the University of Minnesota. As a junior, he had 40 receptions for 657 yards and six touchdowns in helping the Rams to the Class 5 state semifinals.