- Weekly Coverage of Best High School Football Matchups Beginning September 1st
- Showcase to Feature 39 Players from ESPN 300 and ESPN Junior 300
The 2023 GEICO ESPN High School Football Showcase will feature matchups between some of the best high school football talent and teams from across the country. The nine-game schedule begins Friday, Sept. 1, and will continue through Friday, Oct. 20. This year’s showcase will feature 39 ranked players from ESPN 300 (Class of 2024) and ESPN Junior 300 (Class of 2025), including ranked athletes who have committed to top college programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC. Teams from ten states are represented in this season’s showcase: Alabama, California , Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington DC.
Combined with the previously announced 2023 GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff, ESPN will feature 16 high school football games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and the ESPN App.
2023 GEICO ESPN High School Football Showcase Schedule
Notes: All times are ET
*Player rankings from ESPN 300 (Seniors in the Class of 2024) and ESPN Junior 300 (Class of 2025)
Week 1, Friday, Sept. 1
Charlotte Catholic (N.C.) at Providence Day (N.C.)
7 p.m. on ESPNU from Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C.
- Providence Day repeated as North Carolina state champs last season, and they will go for a three-peat behind senior QB Jadyn Davis (Michigan commit). Davis is the No. 114 overall ranked player and the No. 3 ranked DT-QB in the nation. Top WR targets Jordan Ship (North Carolina commit) and Channing Goodwin (Michigan commit) return, and Davis will be protected by OT David Sanders, the No. 2 overall player in the junior class.
- Charlotte Catholic lost to Providence Day by just one point last season. The Cougars will look to make another playoff run, with a pair of senior TEs, Jack Larsen (Notre Dame commit) and Nick Seggara (Ohio commit).
Week 2:
Thursday, Sept. 7
Red Oak (Texas) at Lake Belton (Texas)
8 p.m. on ESPN2 from Tiger Field in Belton, Texas
- Last season, this matchup resulted in a 48-47 overtime win for Lake Belton, and the Broncos return the No. 13 ranked senior, Micah Hudson – WR, as well as the No. 68 senior Selman Bridges – CB (Arkansas commit).
- Red Oak has two ranked juniors of their own, No. 186 Taz Williams Jr. – WR and No. 236 Kamauryn Morgan – DE. Both teams will look to return to the Texas 5A playoffs to make postseason runs in the state’s second-highest division, as they did last season.
Friday Sept. 8
Corona-Centennial (Calif.) at Bishop Gorman (Nev.)
10 p.m. on ESPNU from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev.
- Bishop Gorman is consistently ranked among the top five teams in the nation, and this season will be no different, coming off a 14-1 campaign including the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series win over Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.). The Gaels return No. 271 senior Elija Lofton – TE (Miami commit), while their junior class is loaded on the offensive line with No. 8 S.J. Alofaituli – OG, No. 9 Douglas Utu – OT and No. 91 Alai Kalaniuvalu – OC.
- Corona-Centennial is no stranger to top-level competition in California’s Southern Section, and depth is the name of the game for the Huskies in this top-15 national matchup. No. 124 junior QB Husan Longstreet leads the offense, and he is one of eight 3/4-star recruits on the team who have either committed or are fielding offers from DI programs.
Week 3, Friday, Sept. 15
McCallie (Tenn.) at Brentwood Academy (Tenn.)
8 p.m. on ESPNU from Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tenn.
- Brentwood Academy advanced to the 3A playoffs in Tennessee, dropping to eventual champion Baylor in the state semifinals. No. 27 junior George MacIntyre, the No. 3 ranked PP-QB in the class, is joined by 3-star recruits Tamari Hill – RB and Kolbe Harmon – DB. In the senior class, DE Hank Weber is a Wisconsin commit and OL Andrew Peterson is a Princeton commit.
- McCallie finished 10-3 last season, advancing to the Tennessee 3A playoffs before losing by just one point in the state semifinals. McCallie returns a trio of seniors: QB Jeremy St-Hilaire (Vanderbilt commit), DE Carson Gentle (Tennessee commit) and ATH Marcellus Barnes Jr. (Va. Tech commit). Junior ATH Carson Lawrence is also committed to Vanderbilt.
Week 4:
Thursday, Sept. 21
Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) at Miami Central (Fla.)
7 p.m. on ESPN2 from Nathaniel Traz Powell Stadium in Miami, Fla.
- Chaminade-Madonna suffered only one blemish last season (a loss to Bishop Gorman, Nev. in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series), on the way to their fifth state title in seven seasons. The Lions feature six ESPN-ranked players of their own, including four seniors: No. 9 Jeremiah Smith – WR (Ohio State commit), No. 11 Joshisa Trader – WR (Miami commit), No. 76 Zaquan Patterson – S and No. 299 Davion Gause – RB (North Carolina commit). Juniors include No. 128 Chris Ewald – CB (Michigan commit) and No. 218 Kamare Williams – WR.
- Miami Central went undefeated last season on their way to capturing their fourth straight Florida state title. The Rockets have five ESPN 300 and ESPN Junior 300 ranked players including: No. 116 senior T.A. Cunningham – DE (Penn St. commit), No. 118 senior Jamari Howard – CB, No. 4 junior Armondo Blount – DE, No. 191 junior Amari Wallace – S, and No. 223 junior Bekkem Kritza – PP-QB.
Friday, Sept. 22
Cedar Grove (Ga.) at Colquitt County (Ga.)
7 p.m. on ESPNU from Tom White Field at Mack Thorpe Stadium in Moultrie, Ga.
- Colquitt County went 13-1 as a semifinalist in the Georgia 7A playoffs last season and deep postseason runs are an annual occurrence for the Packers in Georgia’s highest division. That may continue this year with the return of No. 43 senior Ny Carr – WR (Georgia commit) and No. 47 Landen Thomas – TE (FSU commit).
- Cedar Grove went 11-3 last season on their way to the Georgia 3A finals. The Saints never shy away from elite competition and that was reflected last season when their only losses came from the 7A semifinalist (Colquitt County), state champ (Mill Creek), and by four points in the 3A finals. Senior ATH Lakhi Roland is committed to Maryland, while junior QB EJ Colson is headed to UCF and junior RB Bo Walker is already fielding over a dozen offers.
Week 5, Thurs, Sept. 28
Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) at Thompson (Ala.)
8 p.m. on ESPN2 from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala.
- Clay-Chalkville returns a loaded senior class, including the No. 4 ranked player Jaylen Mbakwe – CB (Alabama commit), No. 55 JacQawn McRoy – OT (Oregon commit) and No. 272 Mario Craver – ATH; in addition to 3-star senior in RB Rodreckus Johnson.
- Thompson captured their fourth straight Alabama 7A state championship last season. The Warriors feature No. 16 ranked junior Anquon Fegans – S (USC commit), while seniors Zach Sims – QB and Kaleb Harris – DB are 3-star recruits; Trent Seaborn is a rising freshman QB who already has more than 15 offers from some of the top programs in the country.
Week 6 – Bye Week
Week 7, Friday, Oct. 13
Buford (Ga.) at Mill Creek (Ga.)
7 p.m. on ESPN2 from Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Ga.
- Buford went 11-1 last season and will be a top contender for the Georgia 7A title this year, especially with the addition of the No. 2 ranked senior Dylan Raiola (Georgia commit), the top QB in the class; fellow ranked seniors include No 16 K.J. Bolden – ATH (FSU commit) and No. 32 Eddrick Houston – DE. The Wolves junior class doesn’t let up, with four ranked players in the class of 2025: No 37 Jadon Perlotte – OLB (Georgia commit), No. 69 Devin Williams – CB, No. 164 Brayden Jacobs – OT and No. 290 Nicco Maggio – DT.
- Mill Creek captured the GA 7A state championship last season, going 14-1 (their only loss coming to Buford 39-27). The Hawks will make another run at the title, behind committed seniors: No. 61 – King Joseph Edwards – DE, Cole Mullins – LB (Notre Dame), Jaiden Patterson – DB (UNC), OL Aidan Banfield (UNC), Trajen Greco – ATH (Georgia Tech) and Justin Content – ATH (Western Kentucky).
Week 8, Friday, Oct. 20
St. John’s (D.C.) at DeMatha (Md.)
8 p.m. on ESPNU from Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover, Md.
- This is a great rivalry in the talent concentrated tri-state area. The teams split wins last year, with just seven points making the difference between the two games combined. St. John’s eventually defeated DeMatha in the WCAC championship. The Cadets have three seniors currently committed or fielding multiple offers: Da’Juan Riggs – RB (Oregon commit), Montay Weedon – LB (Cincinnati commit), Shamar McIntosh – ATH. The junior class includes No. 180 Tariq Hayer – CB and 3-star OL Kenneth McManus
- DeMatha returns three committed seniors: Terez Davis – OT (Maryland), Emmet Laws – DT (Virginia Tech) and Mason Lindsay – OL (Pitt). The Stags junior class includes No. 197 Cortez Harris – DE, while RB Bud Coombs and WR Emmanuel Dyson power the offense.
ESPN 300 Participants (Class of 2024)
| Rank | Player | Pos. | High School | College Commitment |
| 2 | Dylan Raiola | QB | Buford (GA) | Georgia |
| 4 | Jaylen Mbakwe | CB | Clay-Chalkville (AL) | Alabama |
| 9 | Jeremiah Smith | WR | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | Ohio State |
| 11 | Joshisa Trader | WR | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | Miami |
| 13 | Micah Hudson | WR | Lake Belton (TX) | |
| 16 | K.J. Bolden | ATH | Buford (GA) | Florida State |
| 32 | Eddrick Houston | DE | Buford (GA) | |
| 43 | Ny Carr | WR | Colquitt County (GA) | Georgia |
| 47 | Landen Thomas | TE-H | Colquitt County (GA) | Florida State |
| 55 | JacQawn McRoy | OT | Clay-Chalkville (AL) | Oregon |
| 61 | King Joseph Edwards | DE | Mill Creek (GA) | |
| 68 | Selman Bridges | CB | Lake Belton (TX) | Arkansas |
| 76 | Zaquan Patterson | S | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | |
| 114 | Jadyn Davis | QB-DT | Providence Day (NC) | Michigan |
| 116 | T.A. Cunningham | DE | Miami Central (FL) | Penn State |
| 118 | Jamari Howard | CB | Miami Central (FL) | |
| 271 | Elija Lofton | TE-H | Bishop Gorman (NV) | Miami |
| 272 | Mario Craver | ATH | Clay-Chalkville (AL) | |
| 299 | Davion Gause | RB | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | North Carolina |
ESPN Junior 300 Participants (Class of 2025)
| Rank | Player | Position | High School | College Commitment |
| 2 | David Sanders | OT | Providence Day (NC) | |
| 4 | Armondo Blount | DE | Miami Central (FL) | |
| 8 | S.J. Alofaituli | OG | Bishop Gorman (NV) | |
| 9 | Douglas Utu | OT | Bishop Gorman (NV) | |
| 16 | Anquon Fegans | S | Thompson (AL) | USC |
| 27 | George MacIntyre | QB-PP | Brentwood (TN) | |
| 37 | Jadon Perlotte | OLB | Buford (GA) | Georgia |
| 69 | Devin Williams | CB | Buford (GA) | |
| 91 | Alai Kalaniuvalu | OC | Bishop Gorman (NV) | |
| 124 | Husan Longstreet | QB-PP | Corona-Centennial (CA) | |
| 128 | Chris Ewald | CB | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | Michigan |
| 164 | Brayden Jacobs | OT | Buford (GA) | |
| 180 | Tariq Hayer | CB | St. John’s (DC) | |
| 186 | Taz Williams Jr. | WR | Red Oak (TX) | |
| 191 | Amari Wallace | S | Miami Central (FL) | |
| 197 | Cortez Harris | DE | DeMatha (MD) | |
| 218 | Kamare Williams | WR | Chaminade-Madonna (FL) | |
| 223 | Bekkem Kritza | QB-PP | Miami Central (FL) | |
| 236 | Kamauryn Morgan | DE | Red Oak (TX) | |
| 290 | Nicco Maggio | DT | Buford (GA) |
SportsCenter Next:
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About Paragon Marketing Group
Paragon Marketing Group is a corporate consulting agency specializing in sports, entertainment and cause related sponsorships. Paragon has collaborated with ESPN over the past 20 years to deliver more than 1,000 live high school sports telecasts featuring many of the top teams and players in the nation.
About GEICO
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company), the third-largest auto insurer in the U.S., was founded in 1936 and insures more than 27 million vehicles in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, GEICO employs more than 38,000 associates countrywide. GEICO constantly strives to make lives better by protecting people against unexpected events while saving them money and providing an outstanding customer experience. Along with personal auto insurance, commercial auto and personal umbrella coverages are also available. Homeowners, renters, condo, flood, identity theft, term life, and more coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, LLC. Visit geico.com for a quote or to learn more.
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