Southern California high school football recruiting: 15 underrated senior wide receivers who are still unsigned

It's late February, which means football recruiting season has largely come and gone. But it's still far from over for dozens of Southern California high school football player with college aspirations.

These 15 class of 2020 SoCal wide receivers range from consensus D-1 prospects to overlooked high school stars who have made strong cases to play at the college level. What they all have in common is that they are among SoCal's best unsigned senior wide receivers. The list is broken down by section (Southern, L.A. City and San Diego).

*Please email lance@wpsblivest.wpengine.com with recruiting updates for any of these players.

SOUTHERN SECTION

LJ Holmes – La Salle

One of the state's most productive WRs still in the recruiting process, Holmes was top-25 in California in receiving yards per game with 116 despite playing some incomplete games due to injuries. He was also top-50 in the state in both receiving touchdowns (15) and receiving yards (1,160) without even playing in ten full games.

Holmes was also a standout kick returning threat and a strong track athlete who can blow by a defense in any manner that he gets the ball, with strong lateral quickness and footwork as well. He's received strong interest from multiple D-1 schools but is currently still unsigned despite his massive per game production.

Anthony Williams III – Paramount

A 3-star WR who also stood out as a punt returner and defensive back, Williams now holds Paramount's single-season records for receptions (64), receiving touchdowns (15), and receiving yardage (1,142). He was voted All-Division 4 and a huge part of Paramount's semifinals run that nearly went all the way.

Additionally, Williams had some of his best games against Paramount's top opponents. He had a combined 25 receptions, four receiving touchdowns, and 360 receiving yards against Bishop Amat and San Juan Hills, which is a strong indicator that his production could translate at high levels of college ball.

Damien Moun – Servite

Playing one of the hardest schedules in the country, Moun played 11 games sharing targets with two D-1 WRs and a D-1 TE and still was second on Servite in receptions. His 421 receiving yards don't pop out, but those who watched him know he was one of the better receivers in SoCal and easily a college-level receiver. The film shows it, with some insanely difficult catches in strong coverage.

Simeon Marton – Capistrano Valley Christian

Marton caught for a staggeringly large portion of the Eagles' receiving production with 1,195 yards and 18 touchdowns–both were about 70% of the team's total. He has been offered at the college level but remains unsigned.

James Odom – Workman

As a junior in 2018, Odom led the country with 182.8 yards per game. Nobody else even had 170. He was also fifth in total yardage with 2,011 despite playing in only 11 games. He came back at the top of every foe's game plan in 2019 and still caught for 1,328 yards–over 120 per game.

Tyson Lundring – Newbury Park

One of the premier wide receivers in Ventura County, Lundring has received nine scholarship offers but remains unsigned for now. He was ninth in California with 129.3 receiving yards per game and top-50 in California with 1,164 yards despite playing in only nine games.

Lundring had to spend a lot of snaps in double-coverage against college-caliber DBs on a struggling team, and still put up huge numbers. His film shows that he's an excellent route-runner with strong footwork, plus great hands to reel the pigskin in of course.

Ethan Leonard – Hemet

Not only was Ethan Leonard top-five in the state in receptions with 97, but he produced at that level on a team without any star running backs or other downfield threats. He was one of the keys to Hemet's impressive run to the Division 11 semifinals.

Elijah Vaielua – Cypress

Vaielua was a key member of a Cypress team that went undefeated all the way into the Division 7 finals. He caught for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns on a massive 22.6 yards per catch against a lot of college-caliber competition.

Jonas Kelley – Colony

Kelley caught for 831 yards for the 2-8 Titans, which is strong but doesn't jump off the page. But further inspection shows that he only played in eight games, meaning he went for 104 receiving yards per game. Additionally, he was the only deep threat on a team that otherwise struggled mightily in the passing game relative to excellent competition they faced routinely such as Citrus Valley, La Serna, Etiwanda, and Glendora.

Kelley showed up and showed out every game no matter who the foe was and did what he could to keep Colony in games when they were overmatched. Really he was one of the Southern Section's better wide receivers last year and could've put up even bigger numbers under slightly different circumstances. But his production in his circumstances are more impressive than plenty of D-1 signees and make him a clear college-level prospect.

Brandon Wyre – West Ranch

With 1,041 receiving yards on the year, Wyre was the top receiving threat in West Ranch's outstanding passing game. He routinely produced against secondaries that featured multiple future college defensive backs while also shining as a DB and KR. His production combined with strength of schedule puts him in the territory of at minimum a strong D-2 prospect.

L.A. CITY SECTION

Kobe Stewart – Narbonne

The one exception on this list, Stewart committed to a D-1 university, Arizona State, and recently de-committed to reopen his recruitment. He's ranked as a 3-star recruit and has received roughly 20 total offers. So he's not underrated or overlooked, but he's still a standout WR who's currently unsigned.

Eren East – Narbonne

Another Gaucho receiver, East led Narbonne in receptions and receiving yards while sharing targets with four other D-1-caliber WRs. The nationally-ranked receiver has been offered at the D-1 level but remains unsigned.

Dranel Rhodes – Reseda

One of two City Section champion and state-finalist Regents on this list, Rhodes led Reseda in receiving yards (968) and receiving touchdowns (10) on a ridiculous 27.7 yards per catch. That was despite playing in only 11 of their games and expending a lot of energy as a standout DB. Throw in some work at running back and as a returner and his offensive production is well over 1,300 yards. He's received significant college interest but is still unsigned.

Mario Martinez – Reseda

Another Reseda star, Martinez is widely considered a D-1 prospect but is unsigned for now. He totaled over 1,100 yards receiving and rushing while also doing major work at DB.

SAN DIEGO SECTION

Marko Aki – Hilltop

Aki was 18th in California in receiving yards per game with over 120 for Hilltop. He only played in eight games but still topped out at well over 1,000 all-purpose yards when factoring in over 100 KR yards. Additionally, in two of the three games in which Aki had less than 140 receiving yards, Hilltop blew out their opponent and pulled the stars early.