’29 athlete to contribute in variety of ways
Neilan Bruce is a big-time football prospect in Kentucky’s ’29 class. If you want confirmation for this, ask the KYMSFA and its coaches who put on a combine for its upcoming all-star event. From what we hear, the reviews were awe-inspiring. We really don’t need anyone to tell us the 5’11,” 165-pound, eighth grader, with the 4.7-second 40-yard dash time; the 4.94-second pro agility short-shuttle, and the 33-inch vertical is special. We have eyes. How will he fit in at Hopkins County Central (Central) this coming season? He’ll manage…
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Morton’s Gap, KY: We got our start covering the middle school (MS) game. We used to have a serial article we called, “Down on the Farm,” specifically about middle school football and MS football players.
It seems we cover the high school (HS) game more these days. We still cover the MS guys but it isn’t as much a focus for us as it used to be.
Neilan Bruce can “spin it.” That is what it is called when a quarterback can really make the throws and with velocity.
We talked to Bruce’s MS head football coach (HFC). His name is Lydon Logan and he is a retired deputy who works at the middle school as a “resource officer.”
He told KPGFootball, “Neilan (Bruce) studies the game. There were several games this season he both rushed and passed for multiple TDs.” Coach Logan continued, “[Bruce] is a hard worker, a leader, is always trying to improve each day/each game.”
Sounds like our kind of guy. The cross town MS HFC at Browning Springs, Tyrone Gregory, concurs.
“Bruce is a superlative athlete with plenty of skills. He reminds me of Josh Keith.”
Bruce has a 33-inch vertical, runs the 40 in 4.7-seconds, and had the fastest 40 and L-cone at the KYMSFA combine last weekend
Friday Night Fletch
That is high praise. Keith, formerly a KYMSFA standout, is now playing QB at UT Martin. UT Martin is a FCS, OVC, Division 1 football program.
Bruce has the athleticism to justify the comparison. Bruce is 5’11,” 165-pounds. Bruce is a basketball star as well as a bone fide college football prospect.
Bruce has a 33-inch vertical and clips off forties (40s) in 4.7-seconds. Bruce runs the pro agility short shuttle (5-10-5) in 4.94-seconds and we are told he turned in the fastest 40 and L-cone at last weekend’s KYMSFA all-star combine.
Bruce tosses the power-ball 26-feet, bench presses over 150-pounds, and squats a cool 315. We would call that darn close to “Friday Night Power, Friday Night Strength, and Friday Night Explosion.”
Change of direction “quicks” is something you don’t see developed in middle schoolers often. MS athletes struggle with quick-twitch muscle fiber development. This cat here is plenty “twitchy.”
He reminds me of Joshuah Keith
Tyrone Gregory, HFC Browing Springs
We talked with Chris Manning about this athlete. We asked him if he thought the kid could start under center as soon as the ’25 Fall.
Manning told KPGFootball, “I don’t know; Sylas Gunn may prove difficult to unseat at QB. However, both prospects are multi-talented and capable of playing lots of different positions. We expect we will find a place for both, moving forward.”
Good call. Athletes like this find the field. That has been our experience.
What is our “best guess?” We have seen stars come up from the farm and start, many times, over the years we have covered this sport. This much we know; it is hard to keep 4.7-second, 40-yard dashes with his height, weight, strength, length, power, explosion, and twitch off a varsity field at any program, at any classification competing in the KHSAA.
This kid is multi-talented with skills demanding playing time
Chris Manning, HFC, Hopkins County Central
It may not be at QB, but Bruce will see the field. Bruce may possibly even start, from night-one, snap-one, in game-one.
That is our call. Then again, what do we know?
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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