Top Available Prospects
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It’s August and we are now less than a month away from the 2022 football season! After a month in July where we were previewing individual teams, we’re taking a bigger picture look at the 2022 season. In this post, we take a look at some of the very best players in Oklahoma that are still on the board and are the top available prospects in the state’s 2023 class. The state’s 2023 class is littered with talent on both sides of the ball. 15 of the Top 25 prospects have already committed. This is a breakdown on the other 10 that are either waiting for their opportunity or nearing a decision. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma throughout the month of August for more preseason content!
Chance Jordan
Chance
Jordan
6'0" | 270 lbs | DL
Morris | 2023
State
OK
– Defensive Lineman – Beggs
(Ranked #9 Overall)
The first of three prospects in the top ten is Beggs defensive lineman Chance Jordan Chance Jordan 6'0" | 270 lbs | DL Morris | 2023 State OK . We’ve made no secret about our breakdown on the Beggs standout. He’s one of the top defensive linemen in the state and earned All State 1st Team honors last year as an absolute terror as a defensive tackle. We’ve made this comparison before but his game, his size and overall abilities is very similar to former Vian standout Solomon Wright, who signed with Arkansas and is now at Oklahoma State. Jordan is a power five talent in our opinion after watching him in person and on tape. The biggest question around him as a prospect is his size as he’s an undersized defensive tackle. Throw on the tape. It doesn’t matter who he goes against, how many he goes against, he always gets the job done.
Dietrich Moore
Dietrich
Moore
6'0" | 210 lbs | LB
Broken Arrow | 2023
State
OK
– Linebacker – Broken Arrow
(Ranked #23 Overall)
Broken Arrow’s Dietrich Moore Dietrich Moore 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB Broken Arrow | 2023 State OK comes in at #23 overall in the 2023 rankings but he’s without a doubt the top linebacker prospect in the state’s ’23 class. Moore was one of the more complete players on the Broken Arrow roster last year. Moore might have gotten overshadowed by D1 signees Maurion Horn and Robert Spears-Jennings but he was right there with those two in terms of value to the team. Moore was a dominant linebacker but he would also have a huge impact in the special teams department as well. Moore is a very athletic linebacker that has a ceiling that he’s just starting to scratch the surface on. His best football is ahead of him and he’s a prospect that that belongs at the next level. We’re looking forward to seeing how Broken Arrow uses their unique weapon this fall.
Emmanuel Crawford
Emmanuel
Crawford
5'10" | 170 lbs | RB
Grove | 2023
State
OK
– Running Back – Grove
(Ranked #19 Overall)
Grove running back Emmanuel Crawford Emmanuel Crawford 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Grove | 2023 State OK showed flashes of being one of the best running backs in the state’s 2023 class over his first two years at Grove. But during his junior season, Crawford took his game to the next level. He ran for well over 2,000 yards and well over 30 touchdowns and he made it look easy in most games. We’ve written this before but with Crawford, it seemed like he was always one of our Top Performers that we release every Sunday. Week in and week out, Crawford was putting up some monster numbers. And this offseason, he’s become even more dedicated to reaching the next level. His one weakness was his size and he’s spent the last six months in the weight room and has added some significant muscle to his frame, which is bad news for Grove’s defenders this fall.
Jacobe Johnson
Jacobe
Johnson
6'4" | DB
Mustang | 2023
State
OK
– Defensive Back – Mustang
(Ranked #8 Overall)
Another top ten prospect that’s still on the board is Mustang standout Jacobe Johnson Jacobe Johnson 6'4" | DB Mustang | 2023 State OK , but he won’t be for very long. Johnson announced earlier this week that he would be committing on August 13th. Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Stanford are all among the top five schools that have made Johnson’s final cut. Johnson is another two-way player in this class that is being recruited for what he can do as a shutdown cornerback. From his freshman season on, Johnson has been considered a top five and top ten prospect in the state’s 2023 class and nothing has changed over the last few years. Johnson is also a top ten basketball prospect in the state’s 2023 class and has been recruited at the D1 level for hoops, but his future appears to be on the gridiron.
Jaiden Carroll
Jaiden
Carroll
5'10" | 180 lbs | RB
Jenks | 2023
State
OK
– Running Back – Jenks
(Ranked #17 Overall)
Jenks 2023 running back Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK made quite the impact in his first year with Jenks, after playing his first two seasons at Booker T Washington. Carroll helped lead the Trojans to their second consecutive state championship and he was the best player in that state championship victory. The Trojans leaned on Carroll to be a workhorse in the final game of the year and he answered that call. He has an excellent backfield mate with Jalyn Stanford Jalyn Stanford 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Jenks | 2023 State OK , a Houston commit. But Stanford plays more on the defensive side of the ball while Carroll had the majority of the carries. We expect Carroll to be the leading rusher for the Trojans once again this fall, but we’re interested to see how his recruitment follows because he’ll be lining up as a defensive back throughout the season as well and has put in serious work this offseason to be ready for that.
Kirk Francis
Kirk
Francis
6'1" | 185 lbs | QB
Metro Christian | 2023
State
OK
– Quarterback – Metro Christian
(Ranked #21 Overall)
With Choctaw’s Steele Wasel Steele Wasel 6'4" | 210 lbs | QB Choctaw | 2023 State OK and Rejoice Christian’s Chance Wilson Chance Wilson 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB Rejoice Christian | 2023 State OK both committed, that means the top available quarterback prospect in Oklahoma is Metro Christian’s Kirk Francis Kirk Francis 6'1" | 185 lbs | QB Metro Christian | 2023 State OK . We’ve been on the record countless times over the last few years that Francis is arguably the best thrower of the football in the state’s 2023 class. He has every throw in the book and he simply makes it look easy. He’ll be a three-year starter for Metro and if he wasn’t backing up one of the best players in the state in Asher Link, he could have started as a freshman. Francis has been that good and that consistent for this long. Francis’ recruitment has definitely taken a hit as the number of high school quarterbacks that get signed at the D1 level has gone down. But he’s certainly a D1 talent.
Markell Johnson
Markell
Johnson
6'4" | 190 lbs | ATH
Edmond Memorial | 2023
State
OK
– Athlete – Edmond Memorial
(Ranked #20 Overall)
At this time last year, Edmond Memorial’s Markell Johnson Markell Johnson 6'4" | 190 lbs | ATH Edmond Memorial | 2023 State OK was getting ready to start for the Bulldogs at quarterback. But with the emergence of 2025 QB David McComb David McComb 6'3" | 215 lbs | QB Edmond Memorial | 2025 State OK and with Johnson bringing so much to the table as an athlete, Johnson eventually moved to more of an athlete role. On defense, he has an incredibly high ceiling as a prospect. Whether it’s as a defensive back or even a linebacker, Johnson is going to be someone to watch on that side of the ball. And we expect the Bulldogs to also utilize him in the offensive game plan as well this fall. But when it comes down to Johnson as a prospect, we like what he brings to the table as a defensive guy. Whether it’s linebacker or defensive back, we don’t really care, because he can play either at the next level.
Mike Taffe
Mike
Taffe
6'0" | 190 lbs | RB
Bishop McGuinness | 2023
State
OK
– Running Back – Bishop McGuinness
(Ranked #16 Overall)
The third and final running back on this breakdown is Bishop McGuinness back Mike Taffe Mike Taffe 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Bishop McGuinness | 2023 State OK . And like Emmanuel Crawford Emmanuel Crawford 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Grove | 2023 State OK and Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK , Taffe has been on the radar since his freshman season. He was a breakout star as a freshman with Millwood. He transferred to McGuinness and had another breakout season last fall as the feature back in the Irish offense. We think that he could put up some monster numbers this fall as the Irish have a very talented team around Taffe. The QB-RB duo in the Irish backfield is going to be very fun to watch and Taffe appears to be primed for a big year. You can’t go wrong with any of the three running backs on this breakdown, but we are giving the slightest of edges to Taffe as being the top prospect of the group. He could prove why this fall.
Morgan Pearson
Morgan
Pearson
6'2" | 220 lbs | ATH
Plainview | 2023
State
OK
– Athlete – Plainview
(Ranked #7 Overall)
The top overall prospect that is still available as we enter August is Plainview standout Morgan Pearson Morgan Pearson 6'2" | 220 lbs | ATH Plainview | 2023 State OK . He first got on our radar as one of the top wide receivers in the state. However, he’s become much more than that as a prospect. He’s a legitimate two-sport prospect and has been recruited for both baseball and football. In football, he’s been offered as a tight end and wide receiver prospect on offense. He’s also been offered as a linebacker and defensive back prospect on defense. He has legitimate Power Five offers for multiple positions and will have several plenty of options as we get closer to signing day. Several schools have just made open offers, suggesting he could play several different positions and it’d be up to him. Pearson has firmly established himself as one of the best in the state and is the top available prospect as we enter the 2022 football season.
Taje McCoy
Taje
McCoy
6'3" | 245 lbs | DL
Putnam City | 2023
State
OK
– Defensive Lineman – Putnam City
(Ranked #22 Overall)
Putnam City defensive lineman Taje McCoy Taje McCoy 6'3" | 245 lbs | DL Putnam City | 2023 State OK emerged early in the offseason as a breakout prospect within the state’s 2023 class. We like Putnam City as a dark horse coming into the 2022 season for a few reasons. They move down to 6A-2, they bring back plenty of their starters from last year and they have an absolute game-wrecker on the defensive line with McCoy. The Putnam City standout is a terror coming off the edge and has the chance to really blow up this fall as the Pirates look to contend for a playoff spot. McCoy went from somewhat of an unknown at this time last year to one of the top defensive lineman prospects in the state. We’re looking forward to seeing what McCoy and the Pirates do this fall and his recruitment should continue blowing up as he puts out more tape.