On3 Rankings Report: TE making a move, early season standouts
With the high school football season rolling on, On3 continues to watch prospects each week. With new film to watch weekly and cumulative seasons to assess, we’re regularly highlighting five prospects who are raising their rankings stock, with our initial feature coming last week.
This group of 2024 prospects includes a tight end who is challenging as the top prospect at the position, a physically-gifted defensive lineman who is making encouraging strides, a bully on the interior offensive line, a running back with home-run ability and an instinctive, physical safety. We did not include any quarterbacks, as we’ll have a quarterback-centric report in a few weeks. Please note that this is not an extensive list of risers as dozens and dozens of prospects have had strong showings early on.
TE Caleb Odom – Alabama
Through three games, Alabama tight end pledge Caleb Odom continues to make his case as one of the biggest mismatches in the 2024 cycle. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder has impressed in each outing and has been the most-physically gifted prospect on the field each week, while playing in games with multiple Power 5 prospects.
Odom had one of the more impressive individual plays I’ve seen this season on Friday. With his team facing a 3rd and 29, he ran an in-breaking route, catching the ball with a defender on his back. Odom then spun out of that initial tackle without going down, spun again while gathering his footing and shedding more tackles before dragging himself into the end zone with a defender grabbing his ankle. The play was a sensational and rare display of coordination, contact balance and effort, particularly for a prospect of his size.
The Carrollton (Ga.) High standout has a bunch going for him as a prospect. He’s highly productive on Friday nights and is well on pace to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards and 10+ touchdowns for the second straight season. He also has plus length and multi-sport athleticism, with perhaps the best dunk reel in the 2024 cycle. Odom currently ranks as the No. 28 overall prospect and No. 2 tight end in the On300. We’ve been higher than the industry on Odom for the entirety of the cycle, but he’s continued to ascend. There’s naturally less room for upward mobility in the rankings when you’re ranked as high as he is, but through three weeks it’s safe to say Odom is challenging Georgia commit Jaden Reddell (No. 22) as On3’s TE1.
DL LJ McCray
Defensive line is one of the more top-heavy positions in the 2024 cycle. LJ McCray is a prospect who has stood out among that group early on as a senior. The Daytona (Fla.) Mainland product has been on a steady ascent in On3’s rankings over the past year and continues to impress. At 6-foot-6, 280 pounds with 34.75-inch arms and a sub 5.0-second 40-yard dash, McCray is one of the more physically-gifted defenders in the 2024 cycle. He’s continued to show improvement as a player on Friday nights, building on a strong finish to his junior season and impressive spring game. So far as a senior, McCray is showing an improved first-step along with active, strong hands and violent finishing ability. The effort level, physicality and ability to make plays behind the line of scrimmage are what we want to see from highly-ranked defensive linemen.
McCray, who ranks as the No. 34 overall prospect in the On300, has a top five of Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and Miami. Read more about his recruitment here.
IOL Cooper Cousins – Penn State
There are several blue-chip interior offensive linemen who are playing center as seniors – something we don’t always see. Of that group, Penn State commit Cooper Cousins has looked the most impressive thus far. For one, Cousins has rare size for the position at over 6-foot-6, 305 pounds. Despite being that tall, he’s shown outstanding balance and leverage. Cousins plays with a great base and gets low, driving through his hips to uproot defensive linemen. He’s also shown plus movement skills, getting to the second level as a puller. The Erie (Pa.) McDowell product is a bully in the run game and has heavy hands on contact. His size and anchor also project very well as a pass protector on the interior. Cousins currently ranks as the No. 214 overall prospect and No. 11 interior offensive lineman in the On300.
RB Kewan Lacy – Nebraska
Kewan Lacy squeezed into the On300 in our last update, in part due to our belief that he could be in line for a breakout senior season. So far, so good for the Lancaster (Texas) High back. The Nebraska pledge had a huge outing on Friday, rushing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns against back-to-back state champion South Oak Cliff. Lacy ripped off several impressive runs, showing good vision, lateral agility, contact balance, burst and an easy, long stride in the open field.
Lacy has a highly projectable combination of size and athleticism. He has a readymade, stout build at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds and has some of the better top end speed among blue-chip backs, running a personal best of 10.79 seconds in the 100 meters as a junior. He’s also younger for the class, turning 17 in July. Heading into the season, we wanted to see Lacy continue to improve as an overall player on Friday nights, along with an uptick in his production. If his play continues to match the physical skill set, Lacy is an easily identifiable ascending prospect.
S Reggie Powers – Michigan State
On3 is currently an outlier on Reggie Powers, as the only outlet to rank the Michigan State commit as a four-star. With that said, we may not be high enough based on what Powers has shown early on as a senior. The Dayton (Ohio) Centerville prospect has some of the best early senior video we’ve seen at the position. Powers is a highly instinctual, physical defender who flies around the field. He registers as a solid athlete in the combine setting, but plays even faster on Friday nights. He triggers quickly and explodes into ball carriers on contact. Powers is a dangerous blitzer and has the capability to play in the box. He’s also shown good range and awareness in deep coverage. The effort level, play speed and tone-setting physicality are what you want to see from a safety prospect.