ESPN High School Football Kickoff features dozens of top 2025 and 2026 recruits
The ESPN High School Football Kickoff will continue its decade-and-a-half long tradition of showcasing some of the elite talents in high school football again in 2024.
The six-game slate features more than 20 prospects ranked in among the top 300 in both the 2025 and 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, as well as top national programs like Carrollton (Ga.), Thompson (Ala.), Milton (Ga.), Bishop Gorman (Nev.), and St. John Bosco (Calif.).
Below are the key names to watch as these programs kick their seasons off on national television:
2024 ESPN High School Football Kickoff Players to Watch
(All times Eastern)
Friday, August 16
Carrollton (Ga.) at Woodward Academy (Ga.)
8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 from Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga.
5-star QB Julian Lewis (USC commit)
3-star DB Shamar Arnoux (USC commit)
2026 4-star SAF Zelus Hicks
2026 4-star CB Dorian Barney (Alabama commit)
2026 4-star WR Ryan Mosley
2026 4-star IOL Zykie Helton
3-star WR Jerome Bettis Jr. (Notre Dame commit)
Thursday, August 22
Grayson (Ga.) at Thompson (Ala.)
8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Ala.
3-star EDGE Andre Fuller (Georgia Tech commit)
3-star DL Josiah Victor (Boston College commit)
2026 4-star LB Tyler Atkinson
2026 4-star LB Anthony Davis Jr.
4-star EDGE Jared Smith
4-star SAF Anquon Fegans (Auburn commit)
2027 QB Trent Seaborn
Friday, August 23
Milton (Ga.) vs. American Heritage (Fla.)
7 p.m. on ESPN
4-star TE Ethan Barbour (Georgia commit)
4-star WR C.J. Wiley – WR (FSU commit)
2026 4-star QB Dia Bell (Texas commit)
4-star WR Brandon Bennett
4-star RB Byron Louis
Saturday, August 24
Bishop Gorman (Nev.) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)
4 p.m. on ESPN
4-star IOL S.J. Alofaituli (Miami commit)
4-star IOL Douglas Utu (Tennessee commit)
4-star IOL Alai Kalaniuvalu
4-star WR Derek Meadows
2026 4-star ATH Jett Washington
2026 4-star EDGE James Carrington
3-star RB Cedric Wyche (Illinois commit)
3-star SAF Travares Daniels (Maryland commit)
2026 4-star SAF Justice Fitzpatrick
St. John Bosco (Calif.) vs. Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.)
8 p.m. on ESPN2
2026 4-star WR Daniel Odom
2026 4-star ATH Madden Williams
2026 3-star ATH Joshua Holland (USC commit)
4-star CB Chris Ewald (Miami commit)
2026 4-star WR Jabari Brady
2026 4-star RB Derrek Cooper
2026 4-star WR Denairius Gray (Auburn commit)
Sunday, August 25
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, (Ga.) at Baylor School (Tenn.)
1 p.m. on ESPN
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee High School
4-star IOL Justin Hasenhuetl (Georgia Tech commit)
4-star WR Cameron Sparks
4-star RB Shekai Mills-Knight
3-star WR Joakim Dodson (Tennessee commit)
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