Next 11: Inside Northeast Florida's top high school football recruits outside Super 11
Just how deep is Northeast Florida's recruiting landscape in 2023?
Deep enough that plenty of players outside the Super 11 recruits will likely be making major contributions on college football Saturdays for years to come.
Following the Super 11, the Times-Union unveils its 2023 Next 11: Quality recruits just outside the Super 11 who are very much on the recruiting radar for the Class of 2024.
Recruiting doesn't begin and end with analysts' junior-year assessments. A case in point: Demario Douglas, who drew little attention until he helped Mandarin to a state championship with standout performances on both sides of the ball in 2018. That led to an offer from Liberty after his senior season, a freshman All-American selection and eventually an NFL Draft call this April from the New England Patriots.
Who will be Northeast Florida's next Demario Douglas? Maybe someone on this list.
Find your football schedules here: See full Jacksonville-area 2023 team-by-team high school schedules
LB C.J. Allen
School: Sandalwood
Height/weight: 5-11, 205
College status: Committed to Georgia Southern
Notable: The top returning tackler for the Saints' defense, Allen tallied 84 tackles (12 for loss) during a junior season that displayed his athletic tools and instincts for chasing down the football. Rated as a top-150 linebacker by 247Sports, he selected Georgia Southern in May.
ATH Kyle Boylston
School: Trinity Christian
Height/weight: 6-1, 180
College status: Committed to Florida Atlantic
Notable: Not just a football player: Besides his gridiron exploits, he also batted .390 while playing baseball at St. Johns Country Day, and he could line up in both sports at Florida Atlantic after committing to the Owls in April. Boylston delivered highlights on both sides of the ball for Trinity in 2022, catching 14 passes for 321 yards on offense and turning into a certified ball hawk (six interceptions, three fumble recoveries) at defensive back.
WR Miles Burris
School: Trinity Christian
Height/weight: 6-2, 187
College status: Committed to Charlotte
Notable: A serious weapon downfield. Burris averaged more than 20 yards per reception last year, grabbing 32 passes for 664 yards and nine touchdowns. Those numbers likely would have climbed even higher if not for an injury that sidelined starting quarterback Colin Hurley for nearly a month, largely grounding Trinity's passing game. He has more than 1,200 yards in two years at Trinity, and committed to Charlotte in June.
DE Mason Carter
School: Baldwin
Height/weight: 6-5, 201
College status: Committed to Vanderbilt
Notable: Possibly Duval County's fastest-rising senior prospect on defense, Carter saw his recruitment take off in late spring and early summer. With speed and a vertical leap that he puts to good use in the high jump, he has gained new strength since a 2022 season that included 43 tackles and three fumble recoveries. The 247Sports composite ranks him as a top-90 edge rusher.
OL Braden Cunningham
School: Fleming Island
Height/weight: 6-5, 315
College status: Committed to Florida Atlantic
Notable: High school linemen don't often come much bigger and stronger than Cunningham, a three-year starter and a cornerstone of the Fleming Island offense for the last three years. He played at center in 2021 but has the flexibility to line up elsewhere in the front, clearing the path for a Fleming Island yardage machine.
ATH Dahkari Gilley
School: University Christian
Height/weight: 6-2, 190
College status: Committed to Rutgers
Notable: Gilley was a catalyst for havoc on defense during his junior year, playing mostly in and around the defensive line and recording 69 tackles, with 24.5 of them for loss. Also on the resume: four sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Committed to Rutgers in June, Gilley isn't necessarily locked into the front seven at the next level, with some evaluators projecting him as a safety.
ATH Rylan Hale
School: Yulee
Height/weight: 6-2, 205
College status: Committed to Air Force
Notable: Are there any football skills that Hale can't do? It doesn't feel like it, especially after a junior season of spectacular versatility: two touchdowns rushing and three receiving, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception, three fumbles forced, three fumbles recovered, two punt blocks and a couple of two-point conversions. A two-way athlete at Yulee, Hale is most often projected as a college tight end and committed in June to Air Force.
Under the lights: In-depth guide to Northeast Florida high school football for 2023 season
RB Devonte Lyons
School: St. Augustine
Height/weight: 5-10, 190
College status: Uncommitted
Notable: Lyons is a home run threat whenever he gets the chance to bounce a carry into open space. He rushed for 909 yards as a sophomore and 1,269 in his junior year in 2022, and he's picked up more than a dozen offers to date with a St. Augustine squad that could be a contender in Class 3S.
QB D.J. Moore
School: Bolles
Height/weight: 6-2, 175
College status: Committed to Coastal Carolina
Notable: A part-time starting quarterback on a state semifinalist in 2021 and a full-time QB in 2022, Moore has no shortage of big-game experience. He missed about a month because of injury last year but still passed for 1,101 yards. So far, he's passed for more than 2,000 yards with Bolles, and he selected Coastal Carolina in April ahead of more than a dozen other offers.
OL Ethan Proffitt
School: Bishop Kenny
Height/weight: 6-5, 315
College status: Committed to Florida Atlantic
Notable: Proffitt comes to the Crusaders from Fletcher, where he blocked for a district champion offense in 2022. Committed to FAU since June, he's ranked as a top-120 interior lineman in the 247Sports composite and will get a chance to block for a future Big Ten quarterback in James Resar.
QB Rodney Tisdale Jr.
School: First Coast
Height/weight: 6-3, 180
College status: Committed to Western Kentucky
Notable: In his first year at First Coast, Tisdale connected on 63.5 percent of his passes while ending a Buccaneers playoff drought that stretched to 2014. With almost the entire receiving corps back in action at the Shipyard, he could be a threat to top the 2,000-yard mark or beyond this year.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school football 2023: Next 11 recruits for Northeast Florida
