We have covered a lot of kids at KPGFootball. We have authored, published, and distributed close to 1,500-articles on middle and high school football players. We know a star when we see one.
Bryce Hoskins is a kid who has every thing you want in a frame. He is listed at 6-5 and we think they may be shorting him a tad. He is listed at 260 and that could be a biscuit or so short of his actual weight.
What scouts have pegged, right on the money, is Hoskins’ off-the-charts’ athleticism and physical “up-side.” Don’t know how many of you subscribed to the Jackson Times-Voice (JTV), but they just published one heck of an article on Hoskins. Worth a read if you should purchase one.
We won’t rehash it here, get on line and read it for yourself. We have included a picture of the sports page as the featured photograph.
Now, we know the JTV is the hometown newspaper of record in Jackson, Kentucky and has been since 1888. They have a tremendous sports page which is recognized for its excellence most years at the Kentucky Press Association‘s annual banquet.
All of the hero-worship aside, we know something of this prospect apart from the JTV. For instance, this kid made our KPGFootball freshman All-State team in 2019. Back when we selected him, most of you still thought of him as a basketball star.
He’s athletic enough to be any type star he wants. He’s one of Breathitt’s best low-post players and, in 2019, was one of its first scoring options for its varsity squad. He was a freshman in 2019. Before basketball, he was an outstanding pitching/middle-infielder coming up in baseball.
Last year, for a team which went 13-1 and nearly won it all, Hoskins became a key component both as the Big Blue Wave‘s sixth-member and as a second-level/around the goal-line target in the passing game. Hoskins also proved himself a prospect at the OLB/DE hybrid in the Bobcats’ 3-4 scheme.
The kid has plus length, reaching 79-inches across the wing-span. This length is one reason we think he’s taller than listed. The other reason we think so is we have stood beside him. Maybe not, maybe we’re wrong about his height. Maybe, Hoskins just has long arms.
Bryce plays longer than he lists and there is nothing wrong with his present height. The 2023-prospect went to the 2020 Appalachia Prep Combine and really put on a show.
Hoskins left the combine ranked it’s fourth most coveted TE, regardless of graduating class, and the 5th overall best undergraduate prospect on the offensive side of the football. High praise, indeed.
Breathitt has lots of weapons returning in 2020. They have a returning KPGFootball sophomore All-Stater in 6-5, 210-pound QB, Jaylen Turner. They have two KPGFootball All-State sophomores in OG, Teegan Smith (6-3, 280) and OT, Connor Deaton (6-8, 340).
Breathitt returns a 2018 District Offensive Player of the Year in 6-3, 220-pound RB/LB, Braxton O’Hara. O’Hara missed some critical time with injury in 2019. Braxton’s back healthy and feeling great as 2020 approaches.
Breathitt has an All-State, Honorable Mention performer in Lane Weddle (Slot/DB, 6-0, 185) back for a final tour. The all important center position upfront is manned by a player people say may be the best to ever play there in the history of Breathitt’s football program. William Long, a 2-time, Associated Press, All-State First-teamer (2018, 2019) at offensive center will anchor the offensive front.
Long is 5-11 and weighs 260. We forgot he is also a 2X Kentucky High School Powerlifting Champion. Long was denied a 3rd-consecutive title by the coronavirus.
Long, who bench presses in the neighborhood of 420, squats 625, and power cleans 270 could only be stopped by a force of nature like a virus. No one in Kentucky was going to deny him, not in high school anyway.
Long is the returning JTV’s 7th District Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Long was Honorably Mentioned, All-State on defense (AP) in 2019, making him one of only 3-players across Kentucky so recognized last season.
Throw all of that together with Breathitt’s coach (Kyle Moore) being the reigning KFCA (Kentucky Football Coaches Association), Class 2A, Kentucky Coach of the Year and the Bobcats have every right to be perfectly giddy about the coming fall. Yessir, things look mighty bright on the Riverbank!
Be that as it may, there is no position at which the team should feel any better manned than at the TE position. Bryce Hoskins was a second-level mismatch for linebackers across the 7th-District as a freshman. One can only imagine how he will look as a sophomore.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
If you enjoyed this article and wish to gain full-access to the site, then subscribe monthly to Kentucky Prep Gridiron by following the prompts!
© The information contained on this site is the copyrighted intellectual property of KPGFootball. Any unauthorized dissemination of this material without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited!
Leave a Reply