Preseason All-Central Sec FB Team

Jaylon Johnson from Central of Fresno is one of the top defensive back recruiting prospects in the nation – nothing new for a player from Fresno. Photo: Mark Tennis.

RELATED Preseason Teams: Sac-Joaquin Section

Note: These preseason all-section teams will be done in the same 30-player format as the annual Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football Teams. They are based on a combination of what the players did last season and college recruiting. Not every all-section team will have writeups of every player. Some will have an intro, then lists.

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OFFENSE

WR Ricardo Arias (McLane, Fresno) 6-3, 195, Jr.
He had a whopping 79 catches for 1,428 yards and 17 TDs as a sophomore and was an all-state sophomore choice.

WR Cole Beatty (Centennial, Bakersfield) 5-11, 180, Sr.
In addition to averaging 20.2 yards per catch, Beatty also averaged 48 yards on kickoff returns and 25.1 yards on punt returns. He’s getting offers as a wideout.

WR Emoryie Edwards (Tulare) 5-11, 180, Jr.
Also made a name for himself as a soph with 67 catches for 910 yards and 11 TDs. Edwards has a reported offer from BYU.

As a sophomore and junior, Ryan Johnson also quarterbacked Hanford to CIF Central Section Division III titles. Photo: CentralValleyFootball.com.

OL Samuel Satele (Central, Fresno)
6-1, 255, Sr.
We could have listed the top returning lineman for the Grizzlies on defense, but he started as an offensive lineman as a sophomore and fit best on offense.

OL Daniel Schoene (Bakersfield) 6-5, 280, Sr.
The first team All-BVarsity pick for the Kern County area last season graded out to 91 percent on running plays and 98 percent on pass plays.

OL Andrew Voorhees (Kingsburg)
6-6, 290, Sr.
There isn’t much doubt he ranks as the top offensive lineman in the section. Voorhees has committed to USC.

OL David William (El Diamante, Visalia) 6-5, 305, Sr.
He’s got the size we like and he also threw the shot and discus over the spring for El D’s track team.

QB Ryan Johnson (Hanford) 6-4, 190, Sr.
One of the state’s top grid-hoopers, Johnson was at the reigns of Hanford’s CIF Division IV-AA state title team with 3,085 yards passing and 35 Tds.

RB Kazmeir Allen (Tulare) 5-9, 165, Jr.
He was primarily a back-up to Romello Harris last year (one of the top rushers in section history) but in games he started with Harris injured he had 321, 202 and 330 yards. There may not be much of a drop with Harris graduated.

RB Alex Puga (Caruthers) 5-9, 165, Sr.
He’s the section’s top returning rusher by a wide margin with 2,282 yards plus 28 touchdowns.

PK Viktor Cooper (Immanuel, Reedley) 5-11, 155, Sr.
Yes, he had the extra games of the Raiders’ push to the CIF Division V-AA state bowl game but Cooper still finished with great totals: 54 PATs and nine field goals.

DEFENSE

DL Kurtis Brown (Liberty, Bakersfield) 6-2, 275, Sr.
It’s rare for a defensive lineman to lead a team in tackles, but Brown did with 96 last season and did it for a team that won the D1 section title. He was the Bakersfield Californian’s Defensive Player of the Year.

DL Gabe Cherry (Centennial, Bakersfield) 6-5, 265, Sr.
To be more specific, he’s a strong-side defensive end and recently ended a recruiting battle for his services with a commitment to Cal.

Miguel Garcia has been a leader at Sanger since his sophomore season. Photo: CentralValleyFootball.com.

LB Ben Baker (Bullard, Fresno) 6-0, 205, Sr.
He’s been on our radar since he was a sophomore and was on the Fresno Bee’s honor squad. Baker had 116 tackles as both a junior and soph.

LB Logan Fogg (Buchanan, Clovis)
6-0, 205, Sr.
New Buchanan head coach Matt Giordano is going to love the intensity of Fogg. He had seven sacks and nearly 100 tackles last season.

LB Miguel Garcia (Sanger) 6-2, 225, Sr.
He should lead one of the best defenses in the section for head coach Chuck Shidan, who is closing in on his 200th win. Garcia has more than 200 tackles in career and last year was a league defensive MVP.

LB Erick Knoll (Clovis North, Fresno) 6-2, 220, Sr.
An All-TRAC choice from last season, Kroll will be a three-year varsity performer who had 116 tackles with four sacks and three forced fumbles.

DB Zach Bushling (Kern Valley, Lake Isabella) 5-9, 165, Sr.
Nobody in the section returns with as many reported interceptions from last season as Bushling with eight. He’s also one of the top grid-hoopers in the section and was a leader on Kern Valley’s baseball team.

DB Isaiah Cordova (Clovis North, Fresno) 6-1, 170, Sr.
He gained valuable experience as a sophomore when D1-bound DB Noruwa Obanor of the Broncos suffered an injury and is now getting D1 offers (at least one) himself.

DB Jaylon Johnson (Central, Fresno) 6-2, 185, Sr.
Is there a better cover corner prospect in the entire state? Probably not. It’ll be interesting to see how the Grizzlies use Johnson in other roles this season.

DB Steve Stephens (Edison, Fresno) 6-0, 170, Jr.
He’s already firmly in the pipeline of Edison’s great tradition of having top DBs and then those DBs going on to play at a major college.

P Marley Garnett (North, Bakersfield) 6-4, 190, Sr.
Also a top all-around athlete who has played QB, Garnett averaged just more than 38 yards per punt last season.

MULTI-PURPOSE

TE/LB Clayton Alexander (Clovis) 6-3, 220, Sr.
He’s getting D1 offers and should be one of the top LBs in the Valley. He also plays TE and fit best on this team in multi-purpose category.

QB/DB Zach Bushling (Kern Valley, Lake Isabella) 5-9, 165, Sr.
Nobody in the section returns with as many reported interceptions from last season as Bushling with eight. He’s also one of the top grid-hoopers in the section and was a leader on Kern Valley’s baseball team.

DB/ATH Marcus Hawkins (Sunnyside, Fresno) 6-0, 205, Sr.
As a hard-hitting defensive player, Hawkins crashed in for a reported 130 tackles last season. He also made six interceptions. He’s listed as an athlete on his recruiting pages, however, and just fit best on this team in the multi-purpose category.

TE/LB Andrue Lackey (Immanuel, Reedley) 6-2, 230, Sr.
He’s the top returnee for the Raiders with 26 catches as a tight end from last year to go with more than 100 tackles and eight sacks on defense.

QB/RB Adrian Martinez (Clovis West, Fresno) 6-2, 200, Jr.
One of the top junior QBs in Northern California, Martinez is already getting offers and since he rushed for 900 yards last season it was easy to pick him here.

WR/DB/RB Jamar Moya (Ridgeview, Bakersfield) 5-9, 165, Sr.
He was one of the best players on the section’s best team last season. Moya averaged 22 yards per catch, rushed for 640 yards and 10 TDs and could break loose on kick returns.

QB/WR Jaleyn Prevost (Ridgeview, Bakersfield) 6-2, 175, Sr.
We hear Jaleyn might be playing some QB for the Wolf Pack this season. He caught 32 passes for more than 700 yards and nine TDs as a junior.

SECOND TEAM (15)

QB Michael Alvarez (San Joaquin Memorial, Fresno) Sr.
DB Johnny Balderas (Liberty, Bakersfield) Sr.
QB/RB Sean Chambers (Kerman) Jr.
QB/RB Julian Kelley (McLane, Fresno) Sr.
WR/DB Lee Major (Fresno) Sr.
RB/LB Damon Perry (Chowchilla) Jr.
DB Cameron Roberson (Garces, Bakersfield) Sr.
RB/DB Deshawn Ruffin (Sunnyside, Fresno) Jr.
LB Dusty Schramm (Clovis West, Fresno) Jr.
RB/DB Keyron Scott (Tehachapi) Sr.
DL/ATH Angel Solis (Lemoore) Sr.
RB/DB Tyler Thompson (Golden Valley, Bakersfield) Sr.
DB Cameron Vosmera (Clovis) DE
LB Ruben Weldon (Golden West, Visalia) Jr.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports