High school football is underway in about half of the states in the East region and the state of Maryland is about to join New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia on the field this week. Between the games themselves, practice evaluations and new film, plenty of evaluations are being made. Here are five players from the East region whose stock is on the rise already this season.
RELATED: Southeast prospects whose stock is rising | Midwest
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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The Carolinas are known for producing defensive linemen, and there are plenty of them in the 2022 and 2023 classes, but don’t forget about the offensive linemen. Rivals250 prospect Colin Sadler is carrying the torch for the 2022 class, and Anderson might be the big-name offensive line recruit in the 2023 class.
At 6-foot-5, 280-pounds, Anderson is a massive sophomore prospect that isn’t afraid to throw his weight around. What’s even more impressive is how he moves for such a big prospect at such a young age. South Carolina has already offered the in-state standout, but if he continues to develop, teams from around the nation will come calling.
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A converted receiver, Campbell brings a ton of athleticism to the defensive front. He could play defensive end or linebacker at the next level, but he is trying to play as a standup edge defender. In his first game of the season Campbell did an outstanding job making plays all over the field, and he played with the physicality defensive coordinators love.
Teams from all over the country are pursuing him. Rutgers, Clemson, South Carolina and Florida have done a decent job catching his attention, but he isn’t in a rush to make a short list or any sort of decision. Visits will definitely play a major role in his recruitment.
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Seeing Hough commit to Syracuse was a bit of a surprise. Dino Babers' wide-open offense doesn’t employ a bruiser like Hough very often. The change-of-pace back should end up being very effective for the Orange.
After seeing an uninspiring performance by Hough at a workout in the summer in Pittsburgh, it seemed like he was destined for another position once he stepped foot on campus. Now, after the first few games of his senior season, a position change may not be a forgone conclusion. In two of his first four games, Hough ran for over 200 yards, once on 11 carries and another time on four carries. He doesn’t look like the typical college running back recruit, but he is certainly playing like one right now.
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Randall has been picking up offers from coast to coast over the last few months, and his fast start to the season proves that he is a bit underrated at this point. The South Carolina native is pretty excited about his offers from Clemson, South Carolina, Oregon and a few others, but at this point he isn’t in a rush to make a decision.
Randall has the skill set to play a variety of receiver positions and can be effective on almost any route offensive coordinators throw at him. He has good burst, comes out of his breaks well and is sure-handed. Randall also has the speed to take the top off of the defense and create momentum-shifting plays. Don’t be surprised to see him catch a short pass and make a couple defenders miss on his way to a big gain.
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Clemson took a commitment from Taylor, an in-state athlete, last week. Paul Strelow of TigerIllustrated.com broke down the commitment and what it means for the Tigers here.
Taylor projects as a slot receiver, but only plays quarterback at the high school level. The natural comparison to draw is that Clemson is hoping Taylor is the next Hunter Renfrow. While that’s the role Taylor will likely fill, he is most certainly not Hunter Renfrow. Out of high school, nobody (not even the large majority of college coaches) thought that Renfrow was especially fast or the route-running specialist that he is now. The phrase “sneaky fast” was used. Taylor, on the other hand, is actually fast. You won’t find any slick euphemisms here. For a frame of reference, Taylor ran the 60-yard dash in 6.48 seconds. That’s faster than current Ole Miss dual-sport star Jerrion Ealy (6.53 seconds) and LSU dual-sport star Maurice Hampton (6.55 seconds).
On film, Taylor can’t be found running routes or making plays on the ball, but he routinely outruns everybody on the defense and is very elusive. With the ball in his hands, the defense seemingly always has a tough time containing him.
Why is Taylor listed as an athlete and not a receiver? Because there is no film of him playing receiver, so we can’t evaluate him as one.
So why isn’t Taylor listed as a quarterback? Because he will primarily play receiver at Clemson.
Why isn’t he rated higher than a 5.5 3-star? There is no denying Taylor has physical talent (great speed, quickness, elusiveness and a cannon for an arm), but there is a lot still to learn about the technical aspects of his game during this season. His evaluation will get a look after this season.
