High school football: Who are the top Pensacola area prospects heading into the 2023 season?

The Pensacola area isn’t without some top football players this year.

Numerous players across all four classes have a plethora of Division I offers, and there have been some big commitments to come out this summer already.

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While several teams have top talent, there are definitely a few players who rise among the rest.

In no particular order, here are the top next-level recruits from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Jonathan Daniels, OT, Sr., Pine Forest

247 Sports Rankings (2024) - National No. 103, Position No. 4, State No. 12

Arguably the top prospect in the area, Jonathan Daniels, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound lineman, is ranked the 12th-best recruit in the state of Florida in this year’s senior class.

Across 15 games at Pine Forest during his sophomore and junior seasons, Daniels recorded 28 pancake blocks (11 in 2021 and 17 in 2022). Daniels also saw some time on defense during his last two seasons. He has six total tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted), and recorded a blocked field goal in both seasons.

With the help of Daniels, the Eagles had a strong running game, rushing for 2,596 yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground.

Daniels, who announced his commitment to Florida State University in July, received some national attention surrounding his commitment. Daniels had 33 Division I offers to sift through, before eventually narrowing down his top three to the Seminoles, the University of Kentucky and the University of Georgia. With a special video on social media, Daniels committed to FSU on July 13.

“This is where I’m supposed to be. I got every sign that this is where I was supposed to be. Florida State is it,” Daniels told the PNJ.

Demontrae Gaston, LB, Sr., Pensacola Catholic

247 Sports Rankings (2024) - National No. 1,092, Position No. 92, State No. 145

Utilized on both sides of the ball, Demontrae Gaston proved his worth for Pensacola Catholic on offense and defense. While he is listed as a linebacker, Gaston saw time at both wide receiver and defensive back to push the Crusaders to a 10-2 (2-1 district) record.

Gaston, who is 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, recorded 292 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Gaston was part of a strong wide receiver core last year. At any given time, the Crusaders had four top receivers on the offensive line: Gaston, Ja’Bril Rawls, Jayvion Showers and Koby Howard.

Pensacola Catholic Wide Receivers Coach Tyler Brooks called having those four receivers “a nightmare for anybody” if they were lined up on the field at the same time.

But where Gaston stood out was on defense, recording 37 tackles last season (26 solo, 11 assisted) with 11 sacks, one interception and five defended passes.

Gaston committed to Georgia Tech in the spring.

Jayvion Showers, WR, Sr., Pensacola Catholic

247 Sports Ranking (2024) – National No. 1,255, Position No. 150, State No. 173

Another part of that “nightmare” wide receiver core from Pensacola Catholic is Jayvion Showers, a three-star wide receiver. With Koby Howard out for the regular season last year due to a leg injury, Showers was the leader of the pack, taking in 874 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.

He accounted for nearly half of the Crusaders’ receiving touchdowns (31 total).

With Howard now out of Pensacola Catholic after transferring to a different program near Miami, Showers is likely going to be relied upon a lot in the air as the Crusaders continue to figure out the wide receiver group, Adams noted.

Showers committed to Arkansas State in July.

Desjon Robertson, DL, Sr., Pensacola Catholic

247 Sports Rankings (2024) – N/A

If they call you “Tank,” there better be good reason for it.

Desjon Robertson, a senior defensive lineman at Pensacola Catholic, was touted by head coach Matt Adams as the “best defensive lineman” in the area.

Robertson has seen time on the Crusaders’ varsity squad since his freshman season. He only played three games that year, but still recorded 10 tackles – and he’s only gotten better since. The next season, Robertson had 27 tackles (15 solo, 12 assisted) and as a junior he recorded 39 tackles (28 solo, 11 assisted). He’s also recorded a total of four sacks.

Robertson has 12 Division I offers heading into his senior season.

Tylon Lee, DE, Jr., Pace

247 Sports Rankings (2025) – National No. 431, Position No. 32, State No. 60

A three-star edge rusher from Pace, Tylon Lee has certainly mustered his fair share of Division I offers already. Lee has 19 offers from the likes of Florida State, Georgia Tech, the University of Tennessee, the University of Georgia and Kansas University.

Lee was second in tackles last season on the Patriots as a sophomore with 88 (30 solo, 58 assisted). He was also the top sack getter with 3.5, and had 10 quarterback hurries. Using his athleticism, Lee defended three passes for Pace last season.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defensive end got “bigger and faster” throughout the offseason, leading to his increase in Division I offers.

“He’s going to do good things for us,” Pace head coach Kent Smith said.

Jackson Ward, MLB, Sr., Pace

247 Sports Rankings (2024) – N/A

Also boosting the Pace defense is linebacker Jackson Ward, who was the Patriots’ top tackler a season ago, hitting the triple digits with 123 tackles (82 solo, 41 assisted). Ward wasn’t too far behind Lee with sacks, recording three sacks. Ward also added an interception, two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt.

Really, Ward just picked up where he left off after recording 126 tackles during his sophomore campaign.

Ward added 20 pounds to his frame – he now sits at 235 pounds, standing at 6-foot-3 – and dedicated himself to an offseason regimen that helped with his explosiveness, Ward told the PNJ.

“This is definitely the most excited I’ve been coming into a season,” he said.

Ward only has a pair of Division I offers – Lindenwood University and the University of Massachusetts – but could see his stock rise with another successful season.

Xakery Wiedner, ATH, Sr., Pace

247 Sports Rankings (2024) – N/A

A true two-way player for Pace, Xakery Wiedner burst to the scene during his junior season after missing his sophomore campaign due to poor grades. He used that motivation of missing a whole season, and he landed on the PNJ All-Area second team last season.

The three-star recruit, who is committed to Coastal Carolina as a slot wide receiver, wasn’t just a huge help in the air for the Patriots’ offense. While he was the team’s best receiver with 492 yards and nine touchdowns, he also recorded 454 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

But Wiedner was also used in Pace’s secondary, recording 55 tackles (38 solo, 17 assisted) and three interceptions.

And on Friday night during Pace’s Kickoff Classic, it appears Wiedner is picking up where he left off after recording an interception. He also scored a touchdown, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty against the Patriots, head coach Kent Smith said.

Ladarian Clardy, Safety, Jr., Escambia

247 Sports Rankings (2025) – N/A

If there’s one player that’s been on the rise early in his high school career, look no further than Ladarian Clardy.

Clardy made a huge jump from his freshman to sophomore campaigns, going from eight tackles (4 solo, 4 assisted) in nine games, to 55 tackles (32 solo, 23 assisted). He also recorded an interception during his sophomore season at Escambia.

Clardy was also a mainstay on special teams with 342 yards on kick returns and 205 yards on punt returns.

Despite just jumping onto the scene in a big way, Clardy – ranked a three-star recruit – has already picked up 14 Division I offers, including Kentucky, the University of Southern Florida and Troy University.

Tyrell Marshall, CB, Sr., Navarre

247 Sports Rankings (2024) – National No. 1,729, Position No. 149, State No. 248

A three-star cornerback out of Navarre, Tyrell Marshall has been a strong point for the Raiders’ defense and special teams. As a junior, Marshall put up 24 tackles (16 solo, 8 assisted), almost quadrupling his sophomore-season total (five tackles).

Marshall also had 17 punts with an average of 33.2 yards. He had three punts inside his opponents’ 20-yard line.

Marshall had a good start to the season in Navarre’s Kickoff Classic, including a 43-yard touchdown reception against West Florida on Friday.

Marshall committed to the University of Memphis in June. He initially had eight Division I offers.

Terence Marshall, WR, Sr., Navarre

247 Sports Rankings (2024) – N/A

And if one brother is putting up good numbers, the other brother is too. Terence Marshall, twin brother of Tyrell Marshall, is another strong point for Navarre – except Terence is putting up those numbers on the offensive side of the ball.

A wide receiver, Terence Marshall had 634 receiving yards last season and five touchdowns. That added to his sophomore season’s 540 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Terence was Navarre’s second best receiver last season, just behind then-senior Jadon Reese (737 yards). Those two players combined for 1,341 of the Raiders’ 1,873 total receiving yards.

With quarterback Hunter Pfiester returning for Navarre, Terence Marshall looks to be a solid option for the pass game.

Terence Marshall holds 16 Division I offers from the likes of Kansas, Tennessee, Florida State and Kentucky, but has yet to make a commitment.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Top 10 Pensacola area football prospects entering the 2023 season