Class of 2023 Top Prospects NYS Class of 2023

[sutomcat]

I don't think I did this exercise last year. COVID kind of destroyed HS football in NYS for the fall of 2020. Some games were played in the spring, but it was a shortened schedule. The local all region and all league teams I depend on to populate my database were not done, or were done so late that they were of no help to me, wanted to publish this info in early January, so we could follow the recruitment of the players through the following year. And a lot of the newspapers that publish these teams have gone to restricted publishing, where you need to subscribe to gain access to the data.

Things were better this past year. NYS HS football had a fairly normal season, were a complete or very close to complete schedule was played. All region teams were published in December. I did a lot of investigating, NYS Prospect on Twitter issued invitations to many top players from NYS for a combine featuring the top players from the NE USA. I looked at a lot of film.

What follows is my list of the best prospects in NYS for the class of 2023. This is not a list of the best players, but the best prospects. There are a lot of really good 5'6 RBS, or 5'10 OL, etc. that are really good HS players but not P5 level prospects.

Some general comments:

It looks like 2023 is going to be a good year for recruits in NYS. By my count, there are at least 16 players who already have college offers. 15 with offers from FBS level programs. I expect that number to go to at least 25 in coming months. Probably more.

Looks like we have 5 national level prospects out there for this class. Most come from the NYC area, as has been the case for a while now.

There are a lot of impressive defensive linemen out there. Some nice WR prospects. Some promising QBs and CBs. Not much in the way of OL or RBs.

NYS Best Prospects Class of 2023

It looks like Syracuse is going through issuing offers for the class of 2023 region by region, starting with Florida. I expect we will see a few more players from NYS offered by Syracuse soon. By my count, we have offered only 6 to date.

Note that there are separate work sheets on this spreadsheet for the classes of 2024 and 2025.

The class of 2024 already 2 guys who look like they are going to be national recruits and a bevy of other impressive players. By my count, we have offered at least 2 players. One is Syair Torrence, who is from Syracuse and whose brother plays for the Syracuse basketball team.

Should mention Caden Brown, an impressive DE prospect from Brooklyn, whose dad (Alden Brown) is a Syracuse alum.

The class of 2025 is a small one so far, which is no surprise. These kids were freshmen in HS last fall.

Rich Belin is the only player I have with an offer from Syracuse. He is a younger brother of Henry Belin, who Syracuse recruited hard but ended up at Duke. Rich played mostly WR as a frosh but projects as a QB. The kids listed are mostly athletic freaks who matured early enough to play well as freshmen in HS. It remains to be seen if they will continue to develop as they mature.

 

[orangeinohio]

Is there a reason why there are so few names on this list from CNY?
What's going on with football in the Syracuse area vs Rochester and Buffalo?

 

[CuseLegacy]

I don't think I did this exercise last year. COVID kind of destroyed HS football in NYS for the fall of 2020. Some games were played in the spring, but it was a shortened schedule. The local all region and all league teams I depend on to populate my database were not done, or were done so late that they were of no help to me, wanted to publish this info in early January, so we could follow the recruitment of the players through the following year. And a lot of the newspapers that publish these teams have gone to restricted publishing, where you need to subscribe to gain access to the data.

Things were better this past year. NYS HS football had a fairly normal season, were a complete or very close to complete schedule was played. All region teams were published in December. I did a lot of investigating, NYS Prospect on Twitter issued invitations to many top players from NYS for a combine featuring the top players from the NE USA. I looked at a lot of film.

What follows is my list of the best prospects in NYS for the class of 2023. This is not a list of the best players, but the best prospects. There are a lot of really good 5'6 RBS, or 5'10 OL, etc. that are really good HS players but not P5 level prospects.

Some general comments:

It looks like 2023 is going to be a good year for recruits in NYS. By my count, there are at least 16 players who already have college offers. 15 with offers from FBS level programs. I expect that number to go to at least 25 in coming months. Probably more.

Looks like we have 5 national level prospects out there for this class. Most come from the NYC area, as has been the case for a while now.

There are a lot of impressive defensive linemen out there. Some nice WR prospects. Some promising QBs and CBs. Not much in the way of OL or RBs.

Best NYS Prospects Class of 2023

Shared by the sutomcat

www.icloud.com

It looks like Syracuse is going through issuing offers for the class of 2023 region by region, starting with Florida. I expect we will see a few more players from NYS offered by Syracuse soon. By my count, we have offered only 6 to date.

Note that there are separate work sheets on this spreadsheet for the classes of 2024 and 2025.

The class of 2024 already 2 guys who look like they are going to be national recruits and a bevy of other impressive players. By my count, we have offered at least 2 players. One is Syair Torrence, who is from Syracuse and whose brother plays for the Syracuse basketball team.

Should mention Caden Brown, an impressive DE prospect from Brooklyn, whose dad (Alden Brown) is a Syracuse alum.

The class of 2025 is a small one so far, which is no surprise. These kids were freshmen in HS last fall.

Rich Belin is the only player I have with an offer from Syracuse. He is a younger brother of Henry Belin, who Syracuse recruited hard but ended up at Duke. Rich played mostly WR as a frosh but projects as a QB. The kids listed are mostly athletic freaks who matured early enough to play well as freshmen in HS. It remains to be seen if they will continue to develop as they mature.

The memory is the first thing to go.

Class of 2022 - An Early Look at the Best NYS Prospects for 2022

Best Prospects in NYS Class of 2022 Unusual class with a bunch of very promising QBs. I think as many as 7 will get D1 scholarships. Will post more on this class later.

syracusefan.com

 

[orangenauburn]

Love these posts. Thank you!

 

[Symphony Steve]

I was about to try to 'guilt' you. Always my fave posts of the year, and certainly the most-anticipated.

 

[sutomcat]

The memory is the first thing to go.

Class of 2022 - An Early Look at the Best NYS Prospects for 2022

Best Prospects in NYS Class of 2022 Unusual class with a bunch of very promising QBs. I think as many as 7 will get D1 scholarships. Will post more on this class later.

syracusefan.com

Well, it is true I did a class of 2022 post but that was for sophomores and was posted in 2020.

I would normally have updated it in early 2021 for that class, only now after their junior seasons. That is where I dropped the ball. Or COVID won. At that point (in early January of 2021), I don't think a single HS football game had been played in NYS for 2020. They did get in a few games later that spring but it was pretty much a farce. Still feel bad for the seniors in that class.

 

[orangenauburn]

I think Jordan Rae is 2023

 

[sutomcat]

Is there a reason why there are so few names on this list from CNY?
What's going on with football in the Syracuse area vs Rochester and Buffalo?

I don’t see a lot of high level prospects in the pipeline for CNY. Things were a lot different 20 years ago. Not sure what happened.

The best prospect for CNY in the class of 2023 is probably TJ Conley. TJ goes to FM and is a very talented and speedy running back. Yes, he is a son of former SU great Dan Conley.

Pretty sure if he wanted to, he could get scholarships for football at the P5 level.

But he is also a lacrosse player and is verbaled to play at sports at Rutgers. So I am not even including him.

The best player in the state is, I think, Tyriq Blanding. Tyriq is around 6’2, 280 pounds. He is really strong, agile and active. Just dominates the line of scrimmage against everyone he plays against. Probably destined for the SEC. Plays at Christ the King in Queens, the alma mater of Terrel Hunt. They historically have not had a great program but they also have a terrific CB named Tayvon Nelson who reminds me of Garrett Williams, only bigger and tougher. Both already have a ton of offers and the chance to go pretty much wherever they want. I have Tayvon as the 3rd best prospect in the state.

The number 2 prospect is a guy named Dillan Fontus out of Canarsie HS in Brooklyn. He is a big DE with a lot of athletic gifts. Looks ready to play from day one. Might someday grow into a DT. Plays with an attitude too. Excellent rushing the passer and he can hold up his blocker and stop the run as well. Going to be a terrific player.

The number four player in the state is Zyian Mountrie-Goddard, a linebacker out of Iona Prep in New Rochelle, just north of NYC. This is the alma mater of Trill Williams. He is a grown man who can run, is really strong and is probably the biggest hitter in this class. He is a vicious hitter. Could play any LB position, maybe DE but I think he would be best utilized in college playing the MIKE position.

All of these guys have offers from Syracuse.

The fifth best player in the state is, IMHO, Jackson Green. One of the rules I normally use to help me ranking these players is to feature the player with offers first, and feature the ones with the best offers higher. Green currently only has offers from UB, CMU and Penn and there are a number of players on my list with better offers that I have behind him. Why? What makes him so special? Well, he is a WR with everything you look at at that position. He is big (6’3, 185), runs really well, has great hands and a huge catch radius. Long arms and solid jumping ability make him very hard to cover. He had a minor injury that caused him to miss a few games his junior season but when he started to play, he was ready to go. Scored 9 TDs in 4 games. He has interest from a lot of P5 schools, including SU, but SU has not offered him yet. I know ND had him visit their campus last fall. Guessing that we will see a Syracuse offer in the next couple of weeks. His dad played football at BC so I would guess that if they offer, the Eagles will be a serious contender for his services.

I have Rashard Perry of Bennett HS in Buffalo as the 6th best prospect in the state. He only has offers from UMass and Delaware State right now but I am listing him higher than players with better offers because I think he is wildly underrated. One issue is that he is the only player I have in the top 40 in the state with no film posted on Hudl. Not good. I know Bennett is an inner city school without a lot of money or experience dealing with big time prospects but I also know they had a great year in 2021, and played all the way to a state championship game in the dome, with a number of their games televised. So there is film to make a highlight tape from. Perry is about 6’3 245 pounds. He has a great motor, is very strong and very quick for his size. He led the state in sacks in 2021 with 23.5 and had 111 tackles playing on the DL. That is incredible production. And he can easily dunk a basketball. Hoping his academics are in order or if not in order, can be remedied quickly so he can play college ball. A lot of kids in the inner city have problems with academics.

I have Joshua Henry as the 7th best prospect in the state. I think he is the best OL in NYS. At 6’4 250 pounds, he is a little undersized but he is really athletic and strong. Just dominates his man play after play. Love his feet and his balance. I believe his only offer to date is from Syracuse. Henry is another NYC kid. He is from Midwood HS in Brooklyn.

My eighth best prospect in the state is another player from Brooklyn. He is a tall DE from the fabled Lincoln HS football program and his name is Jalil Smith. He is listed at 6’5, 220 pounds. Looks like he is going to be a DE to me. Seems stronger at stopping the run than rushing the passer. He is another guy who I think only has one P5 offer and it is also from Syracuse.

I have Messiah Burch as the 9th best prospect in the state in this class. Messiah is one of the fastest players in the state and is a scatback along the lines of Jawhar Jordan or Sean Riley. Very fast and agile. Excellent return guy. 4.42 40. 90 gpa. Has offers from UB, Temple and UMass.

Rounding out the top 10 is Dylan Evans of Orchard Park, just outside of Buffalo (where the Bills play). Dylan has nice size and speed. He is listed at 6’3 175 pounds. Will need to get stronger. But he is very polished as a WR, runs good routes and excellent technique catching the ball. Currently has offers from Vanderbilt and Marshall. Had 54 catches for 830 yards and 16 TDs his junior season. His dad is an exec with the Sabres and Bills, so sports run strong in his family.

I will update this list over time and include more capsules on some of the players, but wanted to give some info on some of the top players early, so as these players go through the recruiting process, we have some idea of their backgrounds and skill sets.

 

[sutomcat]

I think Jordan Rae is 2023

You are correct. I have made updates.

 

[orangenauburn]

You are correct. I have made updates.

I'm really high on the kid but I just don't see us pursuing.

I think kid will do well at next level.

 

[CousCuse]

You are correct. I have made updates.

No offer to Evans and he's a quality player and I assume student whose father is a sports exec in Buffalo? Seems clueless to me.

 

[sutomcat]

No offer to Evans and he's a quality player and I assume student whose father is a sports exec in Buffalo? Seems clueless to me.

It looks like the staff is going state by state making offers right now. They haven’t got to NYS yet. Some of these guys with no SU offer might well get one in the next month.

One place we have really done poorly recruiting is western NY. Specifically the area near Buffalo. It is arguably the area of NYS that produces the most P5 level prospects next to NYC. And we have gotten out butt handed to us. Pitt in particular has dominated recruiting here.

 

[sutomcat]

The NYS Sports Writers Association just released All State football teams for classes B, C and D.

I believe class A and class AA teams will be released today, or maybe tomorrow. Believe these are the first all state teams for football announced in a couple of years.

This will drive more film evaluation and some updates to my list.

Here are links to the all state teams, in case anyone wants to take a look. A fair number of the underclassman are already on my list.

NYSSWA's RoadToSyracuse.com: All-state team, 2021 Class B

NYSSWA's RoadToSyracuse.com: All-state team, 2021 Class C

NYSSWA's RoadToSyracuse.com: All-state team, 2021 Class D

 

[NJCuse97]

The number four player in the state is Zyian Mountrie-Goddard, a linebacker out of Iona Prep in New Rochelle, just north of NYC. This is the alma mater of Trill Williams. He is a grown man who can run, is really strong and is probably the biggest hitter in this class. He is a vicious hitter. Could play any LB position, maybe DE but I think he would be best utilized in college playing the MIKE position.

Trill went to Archbishop Stepinac. There was a recent talented DL who messed up and got kicked out and picked back up at ‘Ole Miss I think went to Iona Prep.

 

[sutomcat]

Trill went to Archbishop Stepinac. There was a recent talented DL who messed up and got kicked out and picked back up at ‘Ole Miss I think went to Iona Prep.

You are right on Trill. Stepanic is in Whote Plains, about 11 miles from New Rochelle, where Iona Prep is located. When you add in New Rochelle, you have 3 of the top 20 HS football programs in the state located within minutes of each other.

In the spreadsheet, I mentioned Quaddir was Ajani’s brother. Quaddir was the DE who originally attended SU, ran into some trouble and eventually surfaced at Ole Miss, where he had a good career.

It will be interesting to see if we recruit Ajani. He fits the mold of what we are looking for. Big, strong, can run and can throw too. Really nice athlete. NYS has a bunch of athletic promising QBs in this class, Ajani is the most physically mature but I think some of the others might have better throwing mechanics and better grades.

Dino has not offered many QBs from NYS but with Villari in the fold, and the new coaches on offense, maybe that will change. I will talk more about the QBs in the class later.

Also want to do a follow up on the class of 2022 and where they all ended up. A bunch transferred out of state so they could play in the fall. It was a real mess of a year.

 

[sutomcat]

Okay, here are snapshot profiles of prospects 11-20.

Most of these kids already have offers. None have P5 offers yet, thought I think a few will eventually get them. They all have a weakness of two limiting their ceilings and the quality of their offers.

Jean Louis III is the best WR out of NYC in this class. He is a little undersized at 5'11 175 pounds but he is quite polished for a junior in HS. His techniques making catches looks very good. Runs good routes. Not sure what his speed is, looks like he runs a 4.5 40. Excellent at making people miss in the open field. Didn't see much of him beating DBs for 50-50 balls. I think he is a good outside WR prospect. Might be able to play the slot as well. Has an offer from Temple.

Logan Barnes is a DT from Staten Island. He is a transfer who started his HS football career at Curtis but now goes to St Peter's Prep in NJ. Since he lives in NY, I am including him on my list.
Logan is a really nice athlete. Appears to be one of the strongest guys in the class. Really good agility, strong motor, excellent technique. Reminds me a bit of Lorenzo Hernandez. While he is 281 pounds (and most if it looks like muscle), he is only 5'11. Has offers from Temple and UMass.

Jayden Straw is an undersized LB from the city. He goes to Christ the King. 5'11, 215 pounds. Like Barnes, he pretty mature physically but a couple of inches from being a major prospect. Big hitter. I like how he fights off blockers. Great in tight quarters and the kid can run very well. Has an offer from Temple, who loves to offer undersized athletic players.

Ajani Sheppard is one of the more interesting players in the class. He is a dual threat QB out of Iona Prep (I believe he lives in the South Bronx). There are a bunch of good QBs in this class from NYS, most of them dual threats, but I think he is generally rated the highest of all of them. MaxPreps named him the NYS player of the year for 2021, his junior season, which is a great honor (but probably not deserved IMHO).

He is physically ready to play today (6'3, 225 pounds). Threw for 2357 yards, ran for 1041 yards as a junior. Big strong kid with a good arm who can run you over and run around you. His brother Qaadir initially went to Syracuse, but got in trouble and ended up at Ole Miss, where he had a pretty good career. Right now he has an offer from UConn, with interest from Penn State and UNC, among others.

That brings us to Ian Strong, a tall cornerback out of St Anthony's who has a skill set and build not unlike Iffy Melifonwu. He is 6'4, 185. Really nice athlete who can run and stay with big WRs for extended periods. Long arms. Solid at run support, comes up fast and hard and sheds blocks well. Good student with a 95 gpa. Might grow into a safety. These kids that are tall, fast and have frames with room to grow are great fits for our 3-3-5. We haven't done well recruiting kids from St Anthony's (though Andre Cisco went there briefly). Hope that changes. I think Ian can play at the P5 level.

Next up is one of the fastest players in the class; maybe the fastest. Dylan Braithwaite is a dynamic WR out of Holy Trinity HS in Hicksville on LI. He is listed at 5'10, 180 pounds. Very explosive when he sees daylight, All LI as a junior, can dunk, and is a threat to score any time he touches the ball. At the least, he would be a terrific special teams return guy.

The best player out of CNY in this class is probably CBA WR Amarri Pitts. He has nice size at 6'3 175 pounds. Amarri is a tough, old school football player type. Made a bunch of big catches for the Brothers over the middle. Don't think he is a burner but could be a fine slot guy. But his future might also be as a DB, where he is a big hitter, a ball hawk who anticipates well. He needs to add some weight but is certainly an interesting prospect.

The highest rated TE I have seen in this class is Logan Lyson. Logan is from Oceanside HS on Long Island. At 6'4, 230 pounds, his body is already close to P5 size. He was also All LI as a junior. Decent hands, will break some tackles, violent blocker and at DE, he is a vicious hitter. Could be put at DE as well.

I have Jake Polito next on my list as the 19th best prospect in the class. Jake goes to Hudson Valley power Somers HS, has been a starter since his frosh year and was a leader on that Somers team that was unable to score on a 2 point conversion attempt in their great game against CBA in the state finals at the Dome in late November. Last I knew, he dyed a big blotch of his drak hair blonde. Colorful kid. At 6'3, 285 pounds, he is best suited to playing inside and if he plays at the P5 level, it will surely be at the OG of C position. Physical kid who appears to enjoy crushing undersized opponents. Good agility and balance, strong and nasty. I think Doug Marrone would like him. Reports interest from Pitt, Penn State, Yale and UB.

To finish out the top 20, I have Dante Torres, another player out of St Anthony's on LI. Dante is another of the gaggle of impressive dual threat QBs in this class. He is 6'3, 190 pounds. Passed for 2338 yards and 26 TDs his junior season. He has some speed and can get yards rushing as well. 3.9 gpa is nice; you always want to see your QB prospects be good students.

 

[AngryOtto]

Can su higher tomcat as an consultant for ny recruiting.

 

[SuFTW]

Tony White liked this tweet.

Jordan Rae QB for CBA also Class A first team all state.

Amarri Pitts 3rd team as DB.

State large-school football team released: CBA, C-NS, Baldwinsville dominate from Section III

CBA leads the way with seven players on the Class A teams.

www.syracuse.com

 

[sutomcat]

Jordan Rae QB for CBA also Class A first team all state.

Amarri Pitts 3rd team as DB.

State large-school football team released: CBA, C-NS, Baldwinsville dominate from Section III

CBA leads the way with seven players on the Class A teams.

www.syracuse.com

Thank you.

Syair Torrence, brother of Symir, also on CBA, a guy I have as one of the top players in NYS in the class of 2024, also made first team all state class A. He already has a Syracuse offer.

TJ Conley made 2nd team all state.

Here are complete lists for class A and class AA. They didn't release these all state teams until today. Delay of about a week. No idea why. Weird.

NYSSWA's RoadToSyracuse.com: All-state team, 2021 Class A

NYSSWA's RoadToSyracuse.com: All-state team, 2021 Class AA

This will drive more investigation and film review.

 

[crales44]

Miles McGoy just got a Cuse offer. Does that move him up the list?

 

[sutomcat]

Miles McGoy just got a Cuse offer. Does that move him up the list?

Yes it does. I think offers are the most compelling evidence we have that a recruit is legit. I am glad, really like the tape on McGoy.

I know Coach Monroe has been following him for a while...

It looks like the staff is reviewing prospects state by state and rolling out new offers for the kids they like in each state. Hope this means a few more offers for kids from NYS. I like a bunch of them. Rashard Perry is a beast.

We have to keep in mind some kids do not get offers because of issues other than talent. Bad grades, bad attitudes; there are other things in play here than just how good the kids are at football.

 

[NJCuse97]

Yes it does. I think offers are the most compelling evidence we have that a recruit is legit. I am glad, really like the tape on McGoy.

I know Coach Monroe has been following him for a while...

It looks like the staff is reviewing prospects state by state and rolling out new offers for the kids they like in each state. Hope this means a few more offers for kids from NYS. I like a bunch of them. Rashard Perry is a beast.

We have to keep in mind some kids do not get offers because of issues other than talent. Bad grades, bad attitudes; there are other things in play here than just how good the kids are at football.

Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems we’ve extended more local offers this year. More down-state, more NJ, and more eastern PA.

 

[cusebuzza]

Yes it does. I think offers are the most compelling evidence we have that a recruit is legit. I am glad, really like the tape on McGoy.

I know Coach Monroe has been following him for a while...

It looks like the staff is reviewing prospects state by state and rolling out new offers for the kids they like in each state. Hope this means a few more offers for kids from NYS. I like a bunch of them. Rashard Perry is a beast.

We have to keep in mind some kids do not get offers because of issues other than talent. Bad grades, bad attitudes; there are other things in play here than just how good the kids are at football.

What r your thoughts on Rae from CBA? I think he may be FCS

 

[sutomcat]

What r your thoughts on Rae from CBA? I think he may be FCS

At this point, I would agree. He is a fine athlete who makes good choices and is accurate throwing. Fun to watch play. The P5 level teams like bigger guys with maybe stronger arms so getting a scholarship from one of those schools is going to be tough. I think he would do well at a school like Villanova.

But there is a lot of time between now and next season. If he fills out and grows a couple of inches, this could change.

 

[cusebuzza]

At this point, I would agree. He is a fine athlete who makes good choices and is accurate throwing. Fun to watch play. The P5 level teams like bigger guys with maybe stronger arms so getting a scholarship from one of those schools is going to be tough. I think he would do well at a school like Villanova.

But there is a lot of time between now and next season. If he fills out and grows a couple of inches, this could change.

I don’t know if you have heard of dan anderson from CBA but he was the best player on there team this past year. 3 sport athlete signed to play D1 lax at Denver. First time playing football in 3 years and he completely put the team on his back during the state playoffs