Midwest spotlight: Most talented high schools

The Midwest has several traditional high school powers when it comes to college football talent production – Cleveland Glenville, Cincinnati Moeller, East St. Louis, Chicago Mt. Carmel. Which schools currently feature the most talent, though? Here are our top five in the region.

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The undisputed king of Division I talent production in the Midwest right now is Cass Technical School, coached by former Michigan Wolverine running back Thomas Wilcher. Two Technicians were just drafted in the third round of this past April’s NFL Draft, but the cupboard is far from bare. Their 2018 class features four-star cornerback Kalon Gervin as well as a trio of three-stars and a pair of two-stars. In 2019, running back Jaren Mangham has already been tabbed a four-star prospect, while four players have earned early three-star ratings. Nine prospects rated Power Five caliber over the span of just two classes? That has become commonplace at Cass Tech.

The St. Louis area in general is seeing a talent surge in recent classes. Trinity Catholic is a school that has only come on recently with talent production, but between their 2019 and 2020 classes an amazing 10 prospects already hold Power Five offers. The headliners in the 2019 class are Rivals100 prospects Isaiah Williams and Marcus Washington. Linebacker Shammond Cooper is a high three-star in that 2019 class who holds more than 20 offers. In Trinity Catholic’s 2020 class there are already four prospects with Power Five offers, including running back Reggie Love, who has already landed ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC offers.

Like St. Louis, Indianapolis is seeing a resurgence of Division I football talent in the state. Next year Warren Central or Lawrence Central may be on this list, but the deepest roster from a Division I standpoint right now in the city is at Cathedral. The Fighting Irish are lead by a pair of four-stars in Michigan offensive guard commit Emil Ekiyor and Notre Dame running back commit Markese Stepp. The most talented prospect on the roster, though, may be sophomore quarterback Roman Purcell, who already holds early offers from Kentucky and TCU. Three more prospects in the 2018 and 2019 classes hold Power Five offers.

Talent in Central Ohio is spread among a bunch of schools around the Columbus area, but the highest concentration is at Pickerington Central, where four-star Michigan State commits Trenton Gillison and Xavier Henderson are the headliners. They are joined in that 2018 class by high three-star safety Jeremiah Wood. In the 2019 class, defensive tackle DeWayne Carter Jr. is knocking on the door of four-star status and ranks as the No. 11 player in the state early on. In the 2020 class, quarterback Demeatric Crenshaw already holds a Power Five offer, while 2021 wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. and freshman teammate Giovanni Thomas could be adding them soon.

There were several southeast Michigan schools in contention for the last spot on this list, with Detroit Martin Luther King, Belleville, West Bloomfield and Oak Park all making strong cases. In the end, Oak Park narrowly earns the nod with depth over three classes. In 2018, four-star Kentucky offensive line commit Marquan McCall is the headliner. The 2019 class features another four-star in Rivals100 quarterback Dwan Mathis. The 2020 class has not been rated yet, but athlete Enzo Jennings and offensive guard Justin Rogers are both strong contenders for four-star status based on their early bodies of work, while classmates Don Price and Maliq Carr have also earned early Power Five offers.