Have watched some games this year and can say Somerset Meece is very athletic and well coached. Union Middle from northern ky has a beast of a Rb. Taylor Co has Parker whom is a man!!! Plays with heart and intent to punish ball carriers on defense and plays hard on offence as well.At 6'1 240 he is fast and would be the most dominant defensive players in the state if that's the only side he played. Taylor also has Tre Goodin. Goodin plays backfield and split out. He has size and super speed.#5 for Taylor was also nice to watch plays hard.Campbellsville the team my son plays for has a lot of good players. None of them have overwhelming size but lots of speed. Malichi Corley plays a slash back can beat almost anyone with his feet big playmaker. Braden Page blocks hard hits hard plays hard. Matthew Oliver and Devin Rerdon are undersized defensive lineman that drive o-lines crazy. The other teams I've seen had no one I really thought of mentioning. Glasgow was a an athletic looking team.Not saying these kids are the best in the state just the best I've seen. 7th gradeArron Hash is a really good pprogressing Qb. As good of a 7th grader you'll find

Middle school sports are the most unlevel playground in existence because of the tremendous variation of puberty onset. Some kids start in 5th grade while others in 8th grade still have not begun that growth process which begins to level the playing field by the time these kids are usually into their SOPH season.

 

With that in mind, it is premature and not very relevant as 8th graders to "rank" these kids at this stage. Very few 8th graders have ever been in the weight room even one time which will be another big separating factor once they become SOPH's and JR's. Finally, most middle regular season schedules are limited to just conference games and so unlike with basketball, it is difficult to get a true comparison on how kids rate to other kids across the state when you are playing most of your games against kids from schools within a 75-mile radius. About the only way to get a good feel for these things with statewide schools are through early season 7-on-7 competition(May or June) and/or through the middle school playoffs in October.

 

So with all of that serving as a disclaimer(especially the puberty component), I have been fortunate enough to see about 50 teams over the last two seasons of middle school football. But most of these teams are based in Central KY and those 50 teams probably only comprise 20% of the middle schools across the state, so again, so my observations are based on a very limited sample size.

 

Below is a list of the most talented current 8th grade kids that I have observed. I have not listed them by positions as most of them play multiple positions nor have I listed height or weights as that info is not available. I only am listing their schools and all of these players' names are listed in alphabetical order by last name so there is no ranking within this list:

 

Kaelin Drakeford--King MS(Mercer Co)

Kyle England--Union MS(Ryle)

Brady Holleran--Elkhorn(Franklin Co)

Malachi Jackson-Georgetown(Scott Co)

Wilson Kelly--Boyle MS(Boyle Co)

Zach Labhart--Anderson(Anderson Co)

Jamisen Lewis--Elkhorn(Franklin Co)

Dale Martin-Clark Moores(Madison Cen)

Cade McKee--Scott Middle(Scott Co)

Jalen Montgomery-Elkhorn(Frankin Co)

Jake Sloan-North Pulaski(Pulaski Co)

Reese Smith--Boyle Middle(Boyle Co)

Cameron Yates--Boyle Middle(Boyle Co)

 

These kids have all been standout players over the last two seasons and it will be interesting to see how many of them will still be impact players in 3 years as a JR in high school. But I know from experience that probably half of this list will not be anymore and there will be other kids by that time who have stepped up and developed through hard work, weight lifting and puberty.

 

I will be interested to hear any other observations from other forum members who have seen any of these kids play. And again, I apologize for leaving out other kids that I just have not personally seen.

I seen Parker # 40 FB, Dline from Taylor county when we ( union) played them. He's 6'3 or 4 and 245. He moves and can hit!!! He belongs on the list for sure. Played on the FBU team with England last year.

Middle school sports are the most unlevel playground in existence because of the tremendous variation of puberty onset. Some kids start in 5th grade while others in 8th grade still have not begun that growth process which begins to level the playing field by the time these kids are usually into their SOPH season.

 

With that in mind, it is premature and not very relevant as 8th graders to "rank" these kids at this stage. Very few 8th graders have ever been in the weight room even one time which will be another big separating factor once they become SOPH's and JR's. Finally, most middle regular season schedules are limited to just conference games and so unlike with basketball, it is difficult to get a true comparison on how kids rate to other kids across the state when you are playing most of your games against kids from schools within a 75-mile radius. About the only way to get a good feel for these things with statewide schools are through early season 7-on-7 competition(May or June) and/or through the middle school playoffs in October.

 

So with all of that serving as a disclaimer(especially the puberty component), I have been fortunate enough to see about 50 teams over the last two seasons of middle school football. But most of these teams are based in Central KY and those 50 teams probably only comprise 20% of the middle schools across the state, so again, so my observations are based on a very limited sample size.

 

Below is a list of the most talented current 8th grade kids that I have observed. I have not listed them by positions as most of them play multiple positions nor have I listed height or weights as that info is not available. I only am listing their schools and all of these players' names are listed in alphabetical order by last name so there is no ranking within this list:

 

Kaelin Drakeford--King MS(Mercer Co)

Kyle England--Union MS(Ryle)

Brady Holleran--Elkhorn(Franklin Co)

Malachi Jackson-Georgetown(Scott Co)

Wilson Kelly--Boyle MS(Boyle Co)

Zach Labhart--Anderson(Anderson Co)

Jamisen Lewis--Elkhorn(Franklin Co)

Dale Martin-Clark Moores(Madison Cen)

Cade McKee--Scott Middle(Scott Co)

Jalen Montgomery-Elkhorn(Frankin Co)

Jake Sloan-North Pulaski(Pulaski Co)

Reese Smith--Boyle Middle(Boyle Co)

Cameron Yates--Boyle Middle(Boyle Co)

 

These kids have all been standout players over the last two seasons and it will be interesting to see how many of them will still be impact players in 3 years as a JR in high school. But I know from experience that probably half of this list will not be anymore and there will be other kids by that time who have stepped up and developed through hard work, weight lifting and puberty.

 

I will be interested to hear any other observations from other forum members who have seen any of these kids play. And again, I apologize for leaving out other kids that I just have not personally seen.

 

Curious...what game did you observe Boyle County MS?

Does anyone know the name of the little fast WR for Elkhorn? I heard he got hurt. He may be the quickest kid I've ever seen on the field.

Fleming co has a good rb one of the best I've seen

Foley had Parker who is probably 6"2 240 and Kelly 6"1 220 up front on def line last year on the fbu team. Kelly may be the best overall 8th grade lineman in the state on both sides of ball because of technique and discipline but Parker is a beast. Foley should be loaded again this year on the key team. foley really needs to come down here and pick up tisdale from bowling green. He is as good as it gets in the backfield and nobody has mentioned him much.

What is everybody's thoughts on best 8 grade Qb?

Foley had Parker who is probably 6"2 240 and Kelly 6"1 220 up front on def line last year on the fbu team. Kelly may be the best overall 8th grade lineman in the state on both sides of ball because of technique and discipline but Parker is a beast. Foley should be loaded again this year on the key team. foley really needs to come down here and pick up tisdale from bowling green. He is as good as it gets in the backfield and nobody has mentioned him much.

What is everybody's thoughts on best 8 grade Qb?

 

There hasn't been a lot of talk about QB's. I know Williamsburg and Boyle have solid QB's, but would be interested in hearing about others. I think it goes without saying about Vito. The kid has big time talent, and I think it would show even more at this level. He would be able to be a playmaker in the open field rather than being the work horse he has to be on his team.

Call me bias but I would be very surprised if there is any 8th grader in the bluegrass better handle Vito Tisdale. I believe he is not only best offensive player but probably could be considered best defensive player. Already nationally ranked in his class for his basketball skills and was invited and played in the 7th grade all star game.

 

Purples coaching staff feels he could have been a contributor to the varsity squad last year as a 7th grader. Due to his athleticism he will make a name for himself as a running back. Coaches believe that he could play on Saturdays in a few years as a safety. Potentially could be one of the better ones for Bowling Green. Time will tell.

Best two I've seen is Owensboro's Imonte Owsley and BG's Vito Tisdale. Both are exceptional athletes that will take it to the house if they get a step. If there are better athletes than those two, i'd be shocked.

Does anyone know the name of the little fast WR for Elkhorn? I heard he got hurt. He may be the quickest kid I've ever seen on the field.

Jamison Lewis I believe is the kid you're talking about. He is extremely quick.

 

Cade McKee is an older kid. If he isn't 15 he will be sometime during his 8th grade year.

 

Georgetown has a 7th grader that is pretty legit. He is one of the best athletes I've seen on the MS level.

 

I've heard from a number of people Paris has an extremely good RB.

 

The RB from Ryle is extremely good. He plays a couple of years older than what he is.

I was blessed with the chance to watch the Lewis kid and Kyle England from Ryle go head to head last year in the finals. It was one of the most fun games I've seen at this level. Had Elkhorn given Lewis the ball out of the backfield more, they probably win that game.

 

Is he still hurt?

Jamison Lewis I believe is the kid you're talking about. He is extremely quick.

 

Cade McKee is an older kid. If he isn't 15 he will be sometime during his 8th grade year.

 

Georgetown has a 7th grader that is pretty legit. He is one of the best athletes I've seen on the MS level.

 

I've heard from a number of people Paris has an extremely good RB.

 

The RB from Ryle is extremely good. He plays a couple of years older than what he is.

 

Kyle England doesn't turn 14 untill the end of November. Young for an 8th grader, compared to the age of some of our competition. Also he had 3100 yards last year with 44 Td's. This year has a little over 2600 yards and 37 Td's. As long as Union stays in the playoffs I'm sure he will add to that. He has had one heck of a middle school career.

That is Impressive! :ylsuper:

Kyle England doesn't turn 14 untill the end of November. Young for an 8th grader, compared to the age of some of our competition. Also he had 3100 yards last year with 44 Td's. This year has a little over 2600 yards and 37 Td's. As long as Union stays in the playoffs I'm sure he will add to that. He has had one heck of a middle school career.

I wasn't questioning his age. I was attempting to say he plays like a more experienced RB. He plays much more like a freshman or sophomore running back with the way he runs. His skill set is ahead of many RBs at his age. I was lucky enough to coach a kid like him and those types of players are a lot of fun to coach and watch.