Mid-South Spotlight: Prospects take center stage as high school season begins
There are certain times of the year when the recruiting spotlight shines brightly, and the start of the season is one of those times. Let’s continue this series by taking a look at which prospects will be in the spotlight, including five prospects from the Mid-South region.
This series:Midwest prospects take center stage as high school season begins | Southeast prospects
At 6-foot-4, 292 pounds, Drew Evers is clearly the top offensive tackle prospect in the 2026 class. Unfortunately, he was limited by injuries throughout the training camp season. We can see his movements in training, but not so much one-on-one.
This season, especially the beginning of the season, will be a great opportunity for him to show his ability and performance on the field. He’ll have some quality opponents on his way, and he’ll have a chance to improve his ranking into the top 100 heading into the offseason.
Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and more have all made offers.
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Blue has long been considered one of the elite cornerbacks in the 2025 class. While he still stands by that statement, we won’t be able to see Blue in any major offseason events to see how he stacks up against some of his peers in the class.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Oregon State product is currently rated as the No. 6 cornerback in the class of 2025, which is likely an accurate spot. But at this stage of the cycle, we need to see that too.
He’s going to be someone we keep an eye on early in the season and throughout the season to see how he performs against weaker and higher-level players. I don’t think Blue will drop significantly in the rankings, but seeing him perform well will definitely help him move up.
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There may not be a hotter quarterback in the Mid-South this summer than Benton (La.) standout Malachi Zeigler.
In about a month or so, he went from zero offers to more than a dozen (Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Baylor State, Arkansas State, Mississippi State, TCU, etc.), it thrust him into the spotlight, and he wanted to be a part of it. He’s 6-foot-3, 200 pounds with big arms and an athletic style. As a two-sport athlete who also excelled in baseball, I expect we’ll see some nice arm angles on Friday night.
Ziegler’s recruitment made waves on the training camp scene, but his performance in games has a chance to catch on with the rest of the country.
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Calicut is another player who went from zero to 60 recruiting players this offseason. A massive 6-foot-3, 200-pound defensive back with all the tools in the world at his disposal, Calicut has a chance to prove he’s special.
Calicut hopes to become an important part of North Shore’s lineup and he can solidify his status as a blue-chip prospect in this class. LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M and other major programs have offered and are looking for him to start strong.
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Admittedly, Hawkins is one of my favorite graduates in the Class of 2025. Now, he gets a chance to showcase his skills on the national stage, playing quarterback for IMG. The 6-foot, 190-pound SMU commit isn’t the biggest, but he could have a great senior season with the talent surrounding him at IMG after a 68% completion rate his junior season.
Hawkins will also be showing off his legs in elite competition. He has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns so far and hopes to prove he can be one of college football’s special playmakers come next year.
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