The Nation’s Top High School Football Players Heading into The 2023 Season

In Less Than a Month, a Number of the top teams in the country will kick off their campaigns, and SBLive Sports is spotlighting some of the greatest players in the country going into the fall season.

We’ll be examining some of the greatest in high school football position by position throughout the coming weeks. The athletes are the Swiss Army knives of sports; we started with the defensive backs, then went on to the quarterbacks.

Kobe Black, sr., Connally (Texas)

Black, a five-star senior, has offers from almost all of the top colleges for football. As a junior, he was an all-district standout at cornerback and wide receiver, recording 36 tackles, nine pass breakups, and two interceptions in addition to 642 total offense yards and 11 touchdowns.

KJ Bolden, sr., Buford (Georgia)

Bolden is expected to play defensive back in college, but this season, new quarterback Dylan Raiola will probably use the five-star recruit as one of his top receiving targets. As a junior, Bolden raced legs for Buford’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams that finished second at the Class 7A state track and field championships.

Best of trem Terry Bussey, sr., Timpson (Texas)

For Class 2A Timpson, Bussey accomplished a little bit of everything last season. He amassed 2,177 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air, 2,596 yards and 46 touchdowns through the ground, and 115 tackles with five interceptions on defense. A five-star recruit with many offers, the current 2A offensive player of the year is in high demand.

Courtney Crutchfield, sr., Pine Bluff (Arkansas)

Crutchfield is a four-star wide receiver recruit who has already committed to Arkansas. He is a three-sport athlete who also excels in basketball and track. As a junior, he caught nine touchdowns while playing on both sides of the ball for Pine Bluff, in addition to 30 tackles, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions.

Witt Edwards, sr., Wagoner (Oklahoma)

Wagoner defeated Cushing 24-21 to win the Class 4A championship, and Edwards intercepted a pass in addition to having a touchdown reception. The 6-foot-6 freak athlete is a four-star recruit who can play outside linebacker, defensive end, tight end, and receiver. He finished third in the 215-pound division at the state wrestling finals earlier this year.

Dierre Hill Jr., jr., Vashon (Missouri)

Hill is a danger to score on every play, whether out of the backfield, as a receiver, or in the return game. The 6-foot athlete, who excels in basketball as well, racked up 1,120 rushing yards, 154 receiving yards, and 766 yards in the return game last season, scoring 24 touchdowns in total. In basketball and football, he has D1 offers.

Bo Jackson, jr., Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Ohio)

The younger Bo Jackson, who shares his name with one of the best all-around athletes in history, has shown himself to be a dynamic performer for Villa Angela-St. Joseph. Impact players at running back, receiver, and safety can be found in the four-star recruit.

Brauntae Johnson, sr., North Side (Indiana)

The North Side superstar averaged nearly 21 points per game during his junior basketball season, but his future lies in the NFL. Last fall, the four-star Notre Dame commit hauled in 69 catches for 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns while recording 23 defensive tackles.

Demello Jones, sr., Swainsboro (Georgia)

Jones, a four-star Georgia commit, played quarterback, receiver, and cornerback for Swainsboro during his junior year. For a 13-1 overall team, he ended with 44 tackles, six pass breakups, 1,279 rushing yards, 382 receiving yards, and 27 total touchdowns.