High school football: 5 best prospects of all-time ft. Myles Garrett

By Kerry E Porter

Modified May 26, 2024 02:09 GMT

The 2000s have arguably produced some of the best high school football players who have made serious noise in the college and professional ranks. Generational talents comprise a couple of Heisman Trophy candidates, a four-time national high school football champion, a family legacy that spans three generations, two forces of nature, and a Super Bowl winner.

Top high-school prospects of all-time

5. Arch Manning - Following in big shoes of a family dynasty

Arch Manning calls for motion in a game between Isidore Newman and Benton High (New Orleans, LA)

Arch Manning is living up to the family name and reputation. The son of Cooper and Ellen Heidingsfelder and grandson of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning lit the 2022-23 recruiting cycle on fire with his visits to Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas, and Alabama.

Later he committed to the Longhorns verbally on June 23, 2022, and signed his Letter of Intent on December 21, 2022.

Manning would rewrite the school passing records set by his uncles Peyton and Eli, both have two Super Bowl wins each. Arch Manning is now competing for the starting quarterback job as he had a stellar spring game recently, throwing for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns.

4. Myles Garret - A single force to be reckoned with!!

Myles Garrett walks toward the sideline between plays in a game between Arizona and Texas A&M

The pride of Martin High School Warriors (Arlington, Texas) was an absolute terror during his reign as a defensive lineman and edge rusher about a decade ago.

The former 1st round draft pick had 172 total tackles over a 32-game span of which his 132 solo tackles were the lion's share of the Warriors' defensive efforts during his tenure.

Garrett led the team in sacks with 20.5 in his senior year helping to guide his squad to a 10-3 record during the 2013-2014 campaign. His career kept rising as he made his presence felt throughout the Big 12 as a member of the University of Texas A&M Aggies.

He rose to the top for the next 3 seasons with 145 combined tackles, 38.5 total tackles for a loss, 32.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 7 forced fumbles. Garrett was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, number one overall in 2017 along with fellow first-rounders Jabrill Peppers, and David Njoku.

3. Leonard Fournette - Super Star status quietly rises to the top

Mississippi v LSU Mississippi v LSU BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 25: Leonard Fournette #7 of the LSU Tigers runs the ball against the Mississippi Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 25, 2014, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

It was a time when being compared to another player was tantamount to a developing star. Especially when said player was already on the national radar way up in the northeast corridor of the United States. Leonard Fournette went to nearby Baton Rouge, LA where the Tigers of LSU called home. He would ultimately finish sixth in the 2017 Heisman Trophy contention.

Fournette's high school accolades were something of a marveling statistical overload. He sat out his sophomore year only playing varsity during his freshmen, junior, and senior seasons at St. Augustine High School (New Orleans, LA) where he was a young man among boys.

In a total of 30 games played he racked up 5,036 yards rushing, 109 yards passing, and 270 yards receiving.

2. Rashan Gary - An Unstoppable Force

Michigan v Rutgers PISCATAWAY, NJ - OCTOBER 08: Rashan Gary #3 and Kenneth Sloss #40 of the Michigan Wolverines chase down Zach Allen #12 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half at High Point Solutions Stadium on October 8, 2016 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The Green Bay Packers must've had a crystal ball predicting the future with the former first-round draft pick. The native of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, NJ was an absolute beast from the time he was in middle school.

As a freshman in high school, he was already standing at 6'4" tall and weighing 287 pounds playing both sides of the ball as an offensive and defensive lineman.

It was on the defensive side that caught everyone's attention in the Garden State, before transferring to Paramus Catholic High School for his sophomore through senior seasons, where he crushed opposing teams for 26 total tackles with 3 sacks for his troubles as a freshman.

By the time he was a senior at Paramus Catholic High School, he added 71 total tackles and 13 sacks against the top high school football powerhouses in the nation. This would garner him multiple state titles and a least one national title by the time he joined teammate Jabrill Peppers at The University of Michigan.

1.Jabrill Peppers - A phenomenal weapon

Our top recruit is a generational talent. From the time he was a youngster playing Pop Warner Football, coaches throughout the state of New Jersey and beyond were looking for ways to get Jabrill Peppers to come to their high school to play for them.

He was the top 8th grader in the state and had premiere National programs like Don Bosco Prep and Bergen Catholic coming to his games to see if he would be interested in attending their schools.

Peppers would ultimately choose Don Bosco Prep and go on a tear as a Defensive Back and Running Back. In one of his debut games as a freshman against Nationally ranked De La Salle out of Concord, California, Peppers would snag a one-handed interception that would forever change the trajectory of his future.

He would go on to win back-to-back state and national titles by the end of his sophomore season with the Ironmen. But without warning, he decided to transfer to Paramus Catholic High School in the middle of his sophomore year causing an earth-shattering ruckus among national recruiting analysts.

Citing personal reasons, he was among the first to put Paramus Catholic on the map inside and outside the state of New Jersey. He intentionally won another back-to-back state and national titles that had several colleges like Georgia, LSU, Florida, Alabama, and Michigan drooling.

He would eventually go public with his decision via ESPN rapping his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines.

An all-around natural athlete, Jabrill Peppers was the man that you wanted the ball in his hands. On offense, he was 4 of 17 for 92 yards passing with no touchdowns; he would rush for 3059 yards on 373 carries and 43 touchdowns; while catching another 57 targets for 842 and 17 more touchdowns.