Pylon New Jersey Prospects Recap and Evaluations

The D Zone traversed out east for Pylon's New Jersey 7on7 tournament.

Rising Stars Neon which is comprised of mostly the top players in the Rising Stars training/7on7 program was the #1 seed in pool play and swept through the tournament with a perfect undefeated record.

Top Performer:

Farmington 2024 RB Cam Pettaway - was selected by Rising Stars coaches after the championship as the team MVP and it was really easy to see why. Pettaway didn't have a drop all weekend, was killing defenses when lined up as a traditional RB with swing passes and other quick dump offs, etc. He would at times flank out wide and still burn CB's.

His efforts earned him an offer from Bowling Green State while he was driving back a few hours into his 9-hour trip back home and we know he earned more interest since.

West Bloomfield 2024 QB Reqez Nance - The Lakers signal-caller was great all weekend hitting most of the throws consistently all weekend. We knew he was a great deep ball thrower but he really hit some underneath and short intermediate routes.

Southfield A&T 2024 CB Jalen Todd - Todd locked up many receivers all weekend long. His length and ball-hawk abilities enabled him to have a big weekend. He had a very impressive read on a diving interception during tournament play. He picked up a Penn State offer leading up to the tournament and has since picked up 2 other big offers from Florida and Iowa. We should be talking about a nationally ranked CB here!

Eisenhower 2024 OLB/TE Cody Raymond - Wow, was about the only comment that could be said about Cody Raymond during the weekend. He had a game-sealing interception in overtime to advance them, several tip interceptions from good reads, many physical cover plays, and lining up at Safety during certain defensive schemes. The crazy part was he did this all consistently throughout the Rising Stars 7on7 League earlier in the year.

Eisenhower 2024 QB Preston Crum - Crum was great all weekend hitting his receivers for big plays all weekend long with short and deep balls. Performances like this should raise his confidence even higher heading into his senior season.

Southfield A&T 2024 WR Tashi Braceful - Worked his magic with many comebacks, outs, etc all weekend and was simply unguardable. This event proved he's one of the most underrated receivers nationally.

Southfield A&T 2024 WR Xavier Bowman - How Xavi is pretty much offerless right now is beyond comprehension. He too was unguardable all weekend long with great catches in traffic and in key moments. His get off of the line is impressive and he made a CB stumble to the ground at one point during the weekend. College coaches, ask the coaches at Southfield about his grades when you're in during the Spring Evaluation Period...

UD Jesuit 2025 S/WR Elijah Dotson - His playmaking skills on his sophomore highlights are elite, so it only makes sense to see it translate to an elite ball-hawking / rangy Safety these next 2 seasons and into college and beyond. Dotson was close to perfect over the weekend with many PBU's and other over-the-top coverage that QB's had no choice but to look away.

Saint Mary's 2026 CB Aj Marks - It says something about being a freshman and playing on the main team and having a very important role. Marks was very good in coverage all weekend, not allowing many completions. He came up to make quick tags and had a key game-sealing interception during pool play.

Oak Park 2024 S A'Jailen King - This dude looks like a linebacker and maybe he will one day, but he's so versatile and agile that it was impressive seeing him constantly shut down opponents. He had several PBU's during the weekend and moving between LB and S, he had great coverage. His most impressive feat was clamping down on a dominant TE that helped fuel their win.

Avondale 2024 WR Eric Christoff - 4-year varsity player who is solid running routes and has very good hands. He has very good football speed and always gets open.

Eisenhower 2025 WR Conner Temple - Good technique in short routes enabled a big weekend for the Ike junior. His hands were solid too and he has very deceptive speed.

West Bloomfield 2024 WR/RB Marquise Morris - Quick Slot that burnt a few defenders with his speed and agility. He can line up at RB or Slot.

Lake Orion 2024 WR Raymond Payne - Speaking about burning defenders, Payne is lightning-fast and he put that on display all weekend. This is the type of player you want with the ball in your hands with his great speed and he has good swiftness.

Southfield A&T 2024 CB Wendell Smith - He holds some MAC offers and is still a very raw prospect, but wow are his ball-skills top-notch. He uses his ball-skills and cover abilities to make plays despite being a little undersized. But he's a PBU machine at this point and with more development, should be even better.

Belleville 2025 LB/DE Cailin Scott - His role this weekend was to disrupt routes of opposing receivers and he did a great job at it. He's a very versatile player that is under the radar but we strongly feel that will change for the better soon!

Southfield A&T 2024 LB Mauricio Clayton - Was good in coverage and showed off his physical traits. He's improved a ton in recent months and will only be getting better with more work.

Chippewa Valley 2024 QB Andrew Schuster - He hit everything it seemed with a high amount of consistency. His short passes were on point and his deep passes were deadly. He threaded the needle on a game-winner with no time left to fellow teammate, Deshaun Lanier during elimination games. His 2 older brothers both play D1-FCS and Andrew definitely at this stage looks to be that level as well or higher depending on these upcoming months.

Chippewa Valley 2025 WR/S Deshaun Lanier - He has always been consistently good at running routes and getting open. We saw that and plenty of it over the weekend. He was pretty much unguardable from slants to fades, you name it, no one could stop him.

Waterford Kettering 2024 WR/OLB Diego Rocha - He's been one of the best performers we've seen and is just a damn good football player! His instincts and IQ allow him to constantly make good plays on both offense and defense. He has good physical traits as well.

Chippewa Valley 2024 WR Noah Morris - Long and rangy receiver with a good catch radius and can get open.

Chippewa Valley 2024 RB Cash Shaw - We really liked what we saw from him, he can catch it out of the backfield and quickly get up field with a very good burst. He also at times was able to get vertical and make a play.

Waterford Kettering 2024 WR Victor Torres - Get him the ball and see what he can do with it. He's a very elusive and shifty receiver who made multiple people miss in space and get up and down the field well with his speed.

Utica 2024 CB Isaiah Mcgarry - Had many good coverage plays throughout the weekend and uses his physicality and size well.

White Lake Lakeland 2025 RB Trevor Tschudin - Looks like a senior, but the sophomore is well put together and had a good performance over the weekend. He caught a few short passes to get key yards but also can get vertical.

Redford Union 2024 WR/S DeMatthew Dixon - His physical abilities were too much for a lot of opposing receivers to handle. His coverage disrupted a lot of opponents throughout the weekend as he had several PBU's.

Grosse Pointe North 2025 CB/WR/KR/PR Sebastian Rouse - Had a very solid weekend in coverage, with pesky physicalness and active hands. He was definitely a key part of UA Elite having a lot of defensive success.

Detroit Catholic Central 2025 TE Duane Johnson - Big bulky TE who got upfield to be a lethal target all weekend long. His hands were sticky and he caught everything thrown his way. He had a 1-handed TD catch that looked effortless.

Birmingham Groves 2025 CB/WR Chris Little - He's coming off of a 10-interception season as a sophomore. It's not hard to see why, as he tracks the ball well and gets to it quickly. He played out of position at Safety, but it'll be interesting to see how he develops these next 2 years into a CB or S.

Waterford Kettering 2024 QB Noah Salazar - He was solid all weekend long making sound decisions and getting the ball to his receivers. He had a variety of throws, but most importantly he made great decisions.

Dakota 2025 MLB Brady Hamby - He clogged up the middle of the field well and is still growing physically and mentally after getting called up mid-way through his sophomore season to varsity. He had several PBU's in their 4 games and covered well.

De La Salle 2024 S/CB Kandakai Sherman - This is a very intriguing prospect that is certainly under the radar. He had big hits when we saw him during the Fall season. Over the weekend at Pylon, he was good in coverage showing his physical abilities and causing problems for opponents.

Farmington 2024 CB Michael Woods - Flashed some very good moments during the weekend with good cover skills. He's a 3-year varsity starter and it's clear because he's often times in a position to make a play.

Saint Mary's 2025 ATH Antwon Thomas - He was the top target on his team all weekend. He's a very talented athlete who runs well and can get open. Good athleticism to make plays that others can't make.

Flushing 2024 WR/CB Nathan Sanders - Was solid in his routes and was open a lot of times throughout the weekend.

Saint Mary's 2025 WR Bryson Williams - He transferred out of Canton and missed this past season so he's certainly a player with huge potential that many people just don't know about yet, but expect that to change soon. He's a big-bodied (looks bigger than) his listed 6'1 200 lbs frame. He has good hands and we've seen him a few times this off-season have very solid performances.

UD Jesuit 2024 S Jasir Rahaman - Aggressive Safety prospect with good ball skills. He tracks the ball well and comes down fast.

Henry Ford II 2025 WR/DB Cam’Ron Flowers - Fast playmaker who showed flashes throughout the weekend.

Birmingham Groves 2025 WR Nicholas Hardy - Big target at 6'2 170 and he runs well. He didn't get many passes thrown his way during the weekend.

Saint Mary's 2025 QB Axel Newell - Made some good throws during the weekend, fitting balls in tight windows. Expect a big 2 years ahead from him at OLSM.

Birmingham Groves 2024 QB Cayden Hardy - He made some tough throws during the weekend and continued to get better. He emerged as Groves starting QB last season and has kept growing.

Birmingham Groves 2024 CB/WR Anthony Coleman - Lengthy playmaker who had some good moments in coverage and some physical tools too.

Saint Mary's 2024 WR Duke Coats - A very fast receiver who caused problems for defenses during the weekend with how quickly he was able to get vertical.