Over the last week, the Union-Tribune has broken down the 2024 high school football season, conference by conference. Hundreds and hundreds of players were listed as potential difference-makers.
But who is the best of the best? Here’s a look at the top 25 high school football players in San Diego County, in alphabetical order.
SirDarius Autry
School: Hoover
Position: Running back
Year: Senior
A first-team CIF San Diego Section selection, Autry ran 251 times for 2,254 yards and 30 TDs — including 322 yards vs. Canyon Hills. He rushed for 200 or more yards in five games and had 17 receptions for 224 yards and two TDs. He has played in 26 varsity games, rushing for 3,799 career yards and 41 career TDs. He is drawing interest from Ivy League schools and service academies.
Braylon Cardwell
School: Mount Miguel
Position: Wide receiver/defensive back
Year: Senior
Playing in nine games last season, Cardwell caught 25 passes for 402 yards and five TDs. He also had 12 tackles and a pair of interceptions. A three-star player who is ranked No. 133 in the state by 247Sports, he has committed to San Diego State.
Carson Diehl
School: La Jolla
Position: Wide receiver/defensive back
Year: Junior
A first-team All-CIF player, Diehl excels on both sides of the ball. He had 52 catches for 769 yards and 10 TDs last year. Defensively, he had 46 tackles and eight interceptions.
Sidney Dupuy
School: Cathedral Catholic
Position: Defensive end
Year: Senior
At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, Dupuy is a load on the defensive line. A three-star player, he’s ranked No. 109 in the state by 247Sports and is committed to San Diego State.
Dreyden Garner
School: University City
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Senior
A transfer from Lincoln, the 3-star sprinter had 38 catches for 894 yards and seven TDs with three 100-yard games last year. In 34 career games, he has 84 catches for 1,879 yards and 17 TDs. On defense, he had 29 tackles and three interceptions. He’s also a dangerous return man. Garner ranks as the 62nd-best player in the state by 247Sports.
Isaiah Grant
School: Lincoln
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Senior
Grant finished last season with 1,274 total yards — 710 on 52 receptions, 50 rushing and 514 on kickoff and punt returns. A three-star player, he is rated as the 210th-best player in the state by 247Sports.
Isaac Grassi
School: La Jolla Country Day
Position: Linebacker
Year: Senior
Undersized at 6-foot and 200 pounds, Grassi has a nose for the ball. A first-team All-CIF player, he had 143 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss and three sacks a year ago. He also caught 23 passes for 266 yards. He has committed to play at Tufts.
Giovanni Harte
School: Mission Hills
Position: Running back
Year: Senior
Harte may not crack the national spotlight, but all he does is produce. Strong at 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, he slashed his way to 1,425 yards and 14 TDs on 250 carries last year. Plus, he caught 22 passes for 229 yards and a TD.
Cash Herrera
School: Bishop’s
Position: Quarterback
Year: Junior
A pro-style quarterback, Herrera played in seven games after transferring from Orange Glen. He completed 123 of 187 passes for 1,686 yards and 21 TDs and three interceptions. Colleges from the Big Ten to the Ivy League are buzzing around the 6-foot-3 QB.
Troy Huhn
School: Mission Hills
Position: Quarterback
Year: Junior
Rated a four-star player by 247Sports, the 6-foot-4 Huhn has committed to Penn State. He completed 133 of 223 for 1,623 yards and 16 TDs with six interceptions a year ago, throwing for 309 yards vs. La Costa Canyon and four TDs against Poway. He also had three rushing TDs on the season.
Pablo Jackson
School: Helix
Position: Running back
Year: Senior
A transfer from Granite Hills, Jackson shared the rushing load with Max Turner last year and still had 124 carries for 798 yards and 12 TDs. He had three 100-yard games. Plus, he caught 17 passes for 178 yards. Jackson has 27 career TDs. He will be the Highlanders’ featured back.
Kai Jacobowitz
School: Carlsbad
Position: Offensive lineman
Year: Senior
A giant of a player at 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, Jacobowitz plays tackle for the pass-happy Lancers. A three-star player, he has committed to Duke.
Bronx Letuligasenoa
School: Cathedral Catholic
Position: Edge rusher
Year: Junior
A transfer from St. Augustine, he was a first-team All-CIF player as a sophomore, logging 91 tackles, 10 sacks, five tackles-for-loss and 23 QB hurries. Checking in at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, Letuligasenoa is receiving interest from big-time colleges.
Tay Lockett
School: University City
Position: Defensive back
Year: Junior
A transfer from Bellflower St. John Bosco, Lockett has impressive credentials. Rated a four-star player by 247Sports, he’s ranked No. 47 in the state and has committed to Arkansas. He had 49 tackles and five interceptions last season and has 12 career interceptions. Lockett started his high school career at University City.
Kreet Makihele
School: San Marcos
Position: Quarterback
Year: Junior
Playing in only eight games last year because of a broken collarbone, Makihele still completed 95 of 146 for 1,539 yards and 19 TDs with only three interceptions. He had 353 yards and three TDs vs. Rancho Bernardo and 252 yards and five TDs against Steele Canyon. San Marcos is loaded with receivers, so the ball will be in the air a lot.
Jared Martin
School: Central Union
Position: Edge rusher
Year: Senior
Martin played in only seven games last season, but is rated a four-star player by 247Sports and ranked as the 33rd-best player in California. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, he explodes off the edge, posting 33 tackles, seven sacks and five tackles-for-loss a year. In 24 career games, he has 104 tackles, 26 sacks, 25 TFL and 17 QB hurries. He has committed to TCU.
Jase Nix
School: San Marcos
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Senior
A top-flight sprinter, Nix was the San Diego Section Division 1 champion in the 100 meters, running a time of 10.68 seconds, and the 200, running 21.71. That capped a junior year in which the three-star player and first-team All-CIF performer caught 56 passes for 1,313 yards and 13 TDs. Nix has 161 catches for 2,341 yards and 34 TDs in 33 career games. Ranked as the 99th-best player in the state by 247Sports, he has committed to San Jose State.
Ty Olsen
School: Lincoln
Position: Wide receiver
Year: Senior
Rated a three-star player, the 6-foot-2 Olsen had 74 catches for 1,262 yards and 15 TDs as a junior at Del Norte before transferring to Lincoln. In 38 varsity games, he has 186 catches for 3,216 yards and 39 TDs. Olsen is ranked as the 206th-best player in California by 247Sports and has committed to San Jose State.
Brady Palmer
School: Cathedral Catholic
Position: Quarterback
Year: Junior
The big-armed, first-team All-CIF passer completed 171 of 261 for 2,499 yards and 23 TDs at St. Augustine last season. Rated a three-star player by 247Sports, he’s drawing recruiting interest from Big Ten and SEC schools. Has completed 282 of 459 career passes for 3,893 yards and 36 TDs, but has been intercepted 19 times in 26 varsity games.
Eugene Rice
School: Lincoln
Position: Defensive lineman
Year: Senior
At 5-foot-9 and 240 pounds, Rice has the perfect interior lineman’s body. He had 71 tackles, nine TFL and 10 sacks a year ago on the way to first-team All-CIF honors. Rice has a 4.33 GPA and is getting small-college offers.
Akili Smith Jr.
School: Lincoln
Position: Quarterback
Year: Senior
Rated a four-star player, the 6-foot-5 Smith is ranked as the 26th-best player in the state by 247Sports and the No. 1 dual-threat QB by SBLive. A first-team All-CIF player, he completed 148 of 232 for 2,431 yards and 25 TDs with five interceptions last year. He threw for 331 yards against Madison and 318 vs. Ventura St. Bonaventure. Smith has committed to play at Oregon, his father’s former school.
Jett Thomas
School: La Jolla
Position: Offensive lineman
Year: Senior
An imposing figure at 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Thomas is a three-star player who has committed to San Diego State. He was first-team All-CIF a year ago and is rated as the 72nd-best player in California by 247Sports.
Ezaya Tokio
School: Oceanside
Position: Linebacker
Year: Junior
A transfer from St. Augustine, Tokio returns home to help lead Oceanside back to prominence. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Tokio had 98 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks a year ago. Big-time programs are all over the three-star recruit.
Vili Trollinger
School: Montgomery
Position: Linebacker
Year: Junior
Another transfer from St. Augustine, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Trollinger had 71 tackles and six sacks last season.
Max Turner
School: Granite Hills
Position: Running back
Year: Senior
Turner was the leading rusher on a 12-1 team that beat Carlsbad and Lincoln to win the San Diego Section Open Division championship. He rushed 172 times for 1,138 yards and 17 TDs last season, posting five 100-yard rushing games. He also caught 11 passes for 207 yards and two TDs. Rated a three-star player by 247Sports, he has Ivy League offers.
JOHN MAFFEI