6/9/2022 football Edit

Recruiting Notebook: Monmouth Football Camp Edition

Richie O'Leary • TheKnightReport

Publisher

Monmouth Football made some noise recently inviting multiple Power Five programs down to Long Branch, New Jersey to combine for one of the larger camps in the state of New Jersey this month as Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame coaching staffs came town.

With that being said, here are some of the top names on hand.

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CLASS OF 2023....

QB Jayden Young (St. Thomas Aquinas - NJ)

The Central Jersey quarterback prospect was definitely one of the better gun slingers out there, as he threw some accurate spirals in the 1on1's, mostly in spots with the defender couldn't get it.

Little surprised he doesn't have much going for him recruiting wise at the moment, but he throws a nice ball and is pretty athletic. He could end up being a sneaky good get for a school.

DE Kion Wright (Cheltenham - PA)

One of the highest ranked prospects at Monmouth this past Wednesday was Wright and he did pretty good against a talented offensive line group. He needs to work a little more on his technique as he tends to rely on his athleticism a lot, but it did work at times getting him past opposing linemen.

Right now he is planning official visits to Nebraska, UConn and Ole Miss. Wright also hopes to have a decision in place some time before his upcoming senior year.

ATH Messiah Burch (Monsignor Farrell - NY)

The New York football and track star ran a blazing 4.39, 40-yard dash at the camp on Wednesday and was easily the fastest time among all the campers. He is really quick off the snap and does a great job using that speed out of his breaks to create separation versus slower defenders.

At the moment he holds 21 total offers from schools like Army, Buffalo, Coastal Carolina, Temple and a few others. He also caught the attention of the Notre Dame coaches throughout the entire camp, could be something to watch down the line.

CLASS OF 2024....

RB Yasin Willis (St. Joe's Regional - NJ)

Despite showing up a little late, Willis was still easily the best running back there and that should come as no surprise since he's literally been dominating every camp he's been at so far.

Willis has already racked up 11 total scholarship offers, but right now he told TKR that Rutgers is the school on him the most so far as he's already been to campus three times since January. It will be intriguing to see if they can maintain this lead after he visits a few other schools.

RB Tre McLeod (Cheltenham - PA)

Another top back that came out to the party was Tre McLeod, who showed off a solid combination of speedy and shiftiness. Not to mention he also capped off the 1v1 running back versus linebacker drills by making the defender fall in the process.

McLeod already holds nine scholarship offers, but if he keeps this up, more schools will be calling his coach to offer soon.

OL Anthony Crawford (Union City - NJ)

The Union City football program is nonstop when it comes to producing division one linemen as Anthony Crawford has all the tools to be the next one up. He looked pretty solid in one on one reps, especially in the end where he nearly pancaked the defensive linemen into the ground.

Crawford has two early offers from UMass and Ole Miss, but is drawing interest from several other power five schools including the home state school in Rutgers.

DE Trumain Lawson (Clifton - NJ)

Lawson is one of the more intriguing prospects at the event, you can see the potential in him between his overall size and speed off the snap.

Lawson currently holds XX offers from the likes of schools like Duke, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and others.

ATH Zekai Wimberly (West Orange - NJ)

Easily the most talked about prospect by everyone at the camp was 2024 wide receiver / linebacker Zekai Wimberly. He has all the tools to be a complete linebacker, but he decided to run with the receivers today where he used his muscle to overpower defensive backs time and time again.

At the moment he only holds one scholarship offer from Ole Miss, but that won't be his only offer for long, as Al Golden had his eyes lasered in on Wimberly.

ATH Emanuel Ross (Red Bank Catholic - NJ)

Although I still think he projects better as a defensive back at the next level, Ross showed some solid footwork today in the 1on1 drills towards the end of camp. He also did a good job of creating separation as a receive. He has a chance to be one of NJ's top 10 prospects in the class of 2024 when all is said and done.

Right now he holds eight offers, four of which are from power five schools.

CLASS OF 2025....

WR Michael Thomas III (Donovan Catholic - NJ)

Maybe the second fastest 40-time on the day belonged to South Jersey prospect Michael Thomas III out of Donovan Catholic. Along with his speed, Thomas also displays a good ability to get out of his breaks to create the separation from defenders.

Good on West Virginia for seeing this one early and sending out the offer, but expect a couple more power fives to offer him soon. He has plans to camp at both Penn State and Temple in the near future.