The year 2020 may be one that many want to forget. And for good reason. The lowlight of 2020 was the pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the spring sports season for high schools, remote learning, little human-to-human interaction and fear of a virus invisible to the human eye. Restaurants were closed, work was done […]
The year 2020 may be one that many want to forget. And for good reason.
The lowlight of 2020 was the pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the spring sports season for high schools, remote learning, little human-to-human interaction and fear of a virus invisible to the human eye. Restaurants were closed, work was done at home and graduations were held virtually or in parks set up by parents separate from the schools and districts.
It was a mess.
But there were some bright spots. It taught resiliency to athletes, who found unique ways to stay in shape despite gyms being closed. It brought a sense of community when the high school sports world was finally able to reunite for games and matches.
And specifically in football, 2020 brought on one of the greatest, if not the greatest batch of recruits Arizona has ever seen. For now, anyway.
The Stars
Bijan Robinson.
Kelee Ringo.
Lathan Ransom.
Jacobe Covington.
Brenden Rice.
Five names. Five different NFL teams.
Robinson was the No. 8 overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons. He’s now their star running back.
Kelee Ringo was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round. He’s a Super Bowl champion and still on the roster.
Lathan Ransom went on to star at Ohio State at safety. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a national championship win last season and is now impressing in Carolina with the Panthers at camp.
Jacobe Covington transferred from Washington to USC. He starred for the Trojans and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent this year.
Brenden Rice was drafted in the seventh round in 2024 by the Los Angeles Chargers. He made the team last year and continues to see extra reps.
Those five highlight the 2020 class. But there is plenty more star power.
Thirty-nine former Arizona high school standouts signed with Power Five schools in 2020. Several more signed with Group of 5 and FCS teams. Many players are still in school, including Nevada quarterback Chubba Purdy, Abilene Christian linebacker Will Shaffer, Northern Arizona running back Darvon Hubbard, Arizona State placekicker Tommy Christakos, TCU guard Cade Bennett and Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro. The list goes on.
Each player helped deliver an electrifying year of Arizona high school football, which was capped off by Chandler facing off against Robinson and Ransom in the Open Division semifinals, followed by the Wolves against Ringo, Covington and Shaffer in the championship game.
Navarro and Purdy went at it in the 6A quarterfinals and combined to score 133 points. Desert Vista won 70-63. Bennett helped lead Notre Dame Prep to the 5A semifinals that season. Chaparral, led by the dynamic duo of Christakos and Jack Miller, who was also part of the 2020 class and signed with Ohio State, made the Open Division.
Other recruiting classes that followed had their own star power, but none are on the same trajectory as the 2020 class in terms of pure NFL talent. Of course, some players still have time to prove that to be untrue. But there is one class capable of knocking off 2020 as the best ever.
The 2027s
The names speak for themselves.
Basha running back Noah Roberts headlines the star-studded class. He’s one of the top running backs in the country and has his pick of virtually every Power Four program in the country to attend. The same goes for his teammate, 6-foot-5 tackle Jake Hildebrand. Both are rated high-end four-star recruits by On3.
Peoria wideout Dontay Tyson, Desert Edge cornerback Mikyal Davis and his teammate Zerek Sidney make up the other three four-star recruits for the 2027 class. Of course, they still have two years to go.
Chandler wideout Jai Jones held an offer from Arizona State before he took a snap of high school football. Quarterbacks Blake Roskopf (Desert Edge) and Kael Snyder (Perry) have been two of the hottest recruits this off-season.
Basha wideout Jaden Baldwin, a three-star prospect, 6-foot-7 Centennial tackle Benjamin Lowther, 6-foot-5 Minnesota transfer DaJohn Yarborough (Basha) and safety Maxwell Miles make up the rest of the short list of 2027s highlighted by On3.
Those 12 players have 187 scholarship offers combined, according to On3. Out of those, 171 are to Power Four programs.
There are plenty of other top 2027 players yet to be added to national databases. When it’s all said and done, comparing them to 2020 will be a debate among local and national media. Then the 2028 class, highlighted by some highly-recruited sophomores, will give both 2020 and 2027 a run for their money.
The state of high school football in Arizona
No matter which class is considered the best, it’s all good for Arizona. The state has seen an influx of talent as of late, with many players going on to star at the next level and beyond.
It may sound like a broken record, but Arizona is absolutely up there as one of the best states for high school football in the country. Hard to believe 118-degree temperatures would attract talent. Even in the heat of competition — and the outdoor elements — every player ranked by a national recruiting service represents the state.
AZ vs Everybody.
Category: General Sports
