State Champs! Sports Network

Joshua Burnham

Traverse City Central

Class: 2022 | Position: LB/QB

Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 215 pounds

Commitment: Notre Dame

One of the most highly sought-after recruits in the northwest portion of the state in decades, Burnham was dominant on both sides of the ball for the Trojans, leading them to a 9-2 season and a trip to the semifinals. He won the quarterback competition in camp, and threw for 1,145 yards and 16 touchdowns, and ran for 833 yards and 13 scores. On defense, he racked up 76 tackles (53 solo, five for loss), and returned one fumble for a touchdown, earning first-team all-state honors in Division 2 from the MHSFCA and the Associated Press. Burnham is on the preseason list for the high school Butkus Award. STATS AFTER PLAYOFFS ROUND 3: Was just 2-for-2 passing for 29 yards, but carried thee ball 29 times for 212 yards and four scores in a 42-14 win over Caledonia in the regional finals, adding four tackles (one for loss) on defense. On the season, he’s racked up 62.5 tackles, one sack, 11 tackles for loss and an interception, along with 48-for-87 passing for 934 yards and 14 scores (1 interception), 163 rushes for 1,315 yards and 25 scores, and two catches for 19 yards and a score on offense. [Did not play in Week 7]

Jordan Cannon

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Class: 2022 | Position: LB/RB

Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 210 pounds

Commitment: Undecided

Plays like his name indicates, like a cannon ball running downhill, through ballcarriers. Has been an impact player since his freshman year on campus at St. Mary’s, and ranks among the best produced by a program that’s had a ton of talented linebackers over the years. After a 112-tackle season as a sophomore, Cannon was limited to just five games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Amir Herring

West Bloomfield

Class: 2023 | Position: OL

Height: 6-foot-5 | Weight: 280 pounds

Commitment: Undecided

After starting as a freshman to help West Bloomfield solve its line vacancies in 2019, as a sophomore Herring helped pave the way for last year’s Mr. Football, Donovan Edwards. The Lakers’ run game was dominating, as West Bloomfield put up nearly 40 points per game en routes to the program’s first-ever state title. Herring has developed into a four-star prospect, and one of the top handful of interior offensive line prospects in the nation in the 2023 class.

Kade Kostus

Rockford

Class: 2022 | Position: DE/TE

Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 245 pounds

Commitment: Central Michigan

A late bloomer who missed his freshman season with injury, and didn’t join the varsity until the playoffs as a sophomore, Kostus — who grew up playing lacrosse — quickly became a monster on the football field, and highly sought-after by recruiters as a pass-rushing defensive end, earning 17 scholarship offers before committing to CMU. As a junior, he helped the Rams allow just 15.2 points per game, and advance to the Division 1 semifinals. STATS AFTER WEEK 6: Has 16 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in a 6-0 start by the Rams.

Jordan Kwiatkowski

Sterling Heights Stevenson

Class: 2022 | Position: LB/RB

Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 220 pounds

Commitment: Central Michigan

A tackling machine for the Titans, Kwiatkowski earned all-Macomb Area Conference and all-region honors as a junior, all-East honors from both of the Detroit newspapers, and all-state honors from the Detroit News. He racked up 63 tackles (11 for loss), forced one fumble and recovered another in last year’s regular season, contributing 619 yards and seven scores on 88 carries as a running back, along with 10 catches for 219 yards and two scores. STATS AFTER ROUND 3: Had eight carries for 45 yards and 12 tackles (1 tackle for loss) in a 27-20 win over Macomb Dakota in the regional finals. On the season, he has 162 carries for 1,278 yards and 15 touchdowns (four in a 36-32 win over Chippewa Valley in Week 6), and 15 catches for 363 yards and a score on offense. He’s Stevenson’s all-time leading tackler with 327, with 122 tackles, six sacks, one interception and two passes deflected on defense.

James Livingston

Dexter

Class: 2022 | Position: OT

Height: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 275 pounds

Commitment: Kansas

After winning just two of 54 games between 2012 and 2017, Dexter has become somewhat of a football Dreadnaught, so to speak, winning 19 games over the last three seasons and making the playoffs each time, averaging 49.8 and 43.1 points per game the last two seasons. A large part of the credit for the turnaround has to go to players like Livingston, who have transformed the program into a winner, and themselves into Division I prospects. Livingston’s fast-and-furious recruitment — all 15 of his offers came after his season ended in the district semifinals last November — shot him up recruiting boards into the top 25 of the 2022 class.

Alex VanSumeren

Essexville Garber

Class: 2022 | Position: DT/FB

Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 300 pounds

Commitment: Michigan State

A 300-pound wrecking ball at both defensive tackle and fullback for the Dukes, VanSumeren is one of the top recruits in the nation, landing on both the Rivals 250 (No. 176) and ESPN 300 (No. 215), and ranking as thee No. 26 defensive lineman in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite. He racked up 63 tackles (19 for loss) with eight sacks and three forced fumbles, scoring three touchdowns and three 2-point conversions, earning the Bay City Times’ Golden Helmet award for the second straight year, and first-team all-state honors in Division 5 from the MHSFCA and the Associated Press. STATS AFTER PLAYOFFS ROUND 1: Did not play in the Dukes’ 6-3 playoff loss to Swan Valley. Through eight regular season games, VanSumeren compiled 46 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks and two forced fumbles for the Dukes (5-5). [DNP Week 9/10]

Deone Walker

Cass Tech

Class: 2022 | Position: DT/OL

Height: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 320 pounds

Commitment: Undecided

An absolutely mammoth man, Walker plays with an agility that belies that size. A big part of the defensive unit for the Technicians that limited opponents to just 11 points per game in 2020 (and 80 percent of that total came in two wins over rival Detroit King and the regional loss to Belleville). Ranked as a top 10 player in the state’s 2022 class, and among the top 50 defensive linemen in the nation, Walker is a four-star prospect, and holds 30 offers.

Michael Williams II

West Bloomfield

Class: 2022 | Position: LB/DE

Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 225 pounds

Commitment: Uncommitted

After missing much of the Lakers’ run to the Division 1 title in his junior season due to injury, Williams has come back in his final prep tour of duty with a vengeance. His 15 regular-season sacks put him in elite company in state history, joining the 27 players already in the MHSAA record book for single-season sacks. He was included on the watch list for the 2021 High School Butkus Award. A four-star recruit, Williams is ranked in the top 10 in Michigan’s 2022 class by the 247Sports Composite rankings, and is a member of the ESPN 300. STATS AFTER PLAYOFFS ROUND 3: Had a sack in the 14-13 loss to Rochester Adams, giving him a school-record 24 sacks on the season.

Nolan Ziegler

Grand Rapids Catholic Central

Class: 2022 | Position: SS/LB/WR

Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 215 pounds

Commitment: Notre Dame

One of the spearheads of a GRCC defense that has allowed a combined 271 points (10.84 per game) over the last two seasons, going 24-1 to win a Division 4 title in 2019 and D5 in 2020. As a junior, Ziegler had 101 tackles (six for loss) and four pass deflections on defense, as well as four catches for 130 yards and three scores as a wideout, earning first-team all-state honors in Division 5 from the MHSFCA and the Associated Press. Ziegler is on the preseason list for the high school Butkus Award. STATS AFTER PLAYOFFS ROUND 3: Had four catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns in a 25-6 win over Muskegon Oakridge in the regional championship, adding 4.5 tackles on defense. On the season, he has 49.5 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, a pick-six and a fumble recovery on defense, along with 50 catches for 1,039 yards and 23 touchdowns.