Jeron Jones shines alongside Alabama commit Dijon Lee: California high school football recruiting updates

Folsom and Mission Viejo each cruised to wins last week, earning their spots among California's top teams

Alabama commit Dijon Lee warms up before Mission Viejo's game vs. Santa Margarita. / Photo by Bodie De Silva

Here's a look at how the top high school football recruits in California fared during the opening week of the 2024 season.

Folsom stars lead opening week victory

Folsom, the top ranked team in Northern California in this week's Top 25 California high school football rankings, opened the season with a dominant 63-20 victory over Long Beach Poly.

Quarterback Ryder Lyons, California's top ranked signal caller in the 2026 class, opened his season with a strong performance. He tossed two touchdowns and rushed for 73 yards and another touchdowns in the comfortable victory.

• Folsom QB Ryder Lyons breaks ankles, bulldozes Long Beach Poly defenders on TD run

Receiver Jameson Powell, who was Lyons' top target as a sophomore, finishing with 1,231 yards and 14 touchdowns, opened his junior campaign with 56 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Powell updated his recruitment, talking about several visits he took during the offseason.

• WR Jameson Powell on recruiting trip to Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss

Mission Viejo continues to rise

Mission Viejo capped off the 2023 season with a CIF State title and through two games in 2024, the Diablos look to be in the mix once again. Several key standouts from the 2023 team are back this season and have made a big impact in their two dominant victories.

Mission Viejo junior cornerback Jeron Jones was one of several standouts in Saturday's win. He intercepted a Santa Margarita pass on the first series of the second half and added a pick-six later in the third quarter to give the Diablos a 35-0 lead.

"On that pick six, I saw they were going to go out and up because that's what their favorite route is, so I decided to jump that," Jones said. "We were watching all the film."

Jones grabbed six interceptions as a sophomore, leading to a handful of offers that include Tennessee, Texas A&M and TCU. Jones forms one of the better cornerback duos in high school football, playing opposite five-star Alabama commit Dijon Lee.

"I built off him, you know, he's a year above me," Jones said. "So I've been watching his technique and get better off him so we can build off each other."

Senior edge rusher Jaden Williams has picked up right where he left off in 2023. After finishing with 18.5 sacks in 16 games as a junior, he's totaled 6.5 in two games so far as a junior. Following Saturday's win over Santa Margarita, Williams talked about what led to his San Diego State commitment.

• San Diego State commit Jaden Williams continues to dominate in senior season at Mission Viejo

Mission Viejo five-star senior cornerback Dijon Lee is off to a fast start, grabbing an interception in each of his two games so far. Lee announced his commitment to Alabama in June, continuing the recent trend of top players from California making their way to Tuscaloosa for college.

“I just want to play football for the best program and in recent years Bama has been the best program," Lee said. "I just feel like that's the best opportunity for me and just great relationships with the coaches all over."

Troy Huhn looking forward to Penn State

Mission Hills junior quarterback Troy Huhn announced his commitment to Penn State this offseason with two high school seasons left to play. Following Friday's season opener, Huhn talked about his goals as a leader and what led to his early commitment.

• Penn State commit Troy Huhn locked in with Nittany Lions, growing as leader

Recent commitments in California

Stevie Amar, 2025 TE, Oaks Christian: Boston College

Jewelous Walls, 2025 EDGE, Pittsburg: UCLA

New offers in California

Ty Olsen, 2025 WR, Lincoln: Utah State

Vander Ploog, 2025 TE, Troy: Oregon

Vance Spafford, 2026 WR, Mission Viejo: Kansas, Wisconsin

Kamarie Smith, 2026 WR, Long Beach Poly: Cal

Simote Katoanga, 2026 DE, JSerra: USC

Brian Bonner Jr., 2026 RB, Valencia: Northwestern

Israel Briggs, 2026 TE, Mt. Whitney: Miami

Caden Jones, 2027 QB, Crean Lutheran: Texas Tech

Brady Edmunds, 2027 QB, Huntington Beach: UCLA

Brandon Arrington, 2027 WR, Mount Miguel: South Florida, Texas Tech

George Toia, 2027 DL, Summit: Oregon, Miami

Mark Bowman, 2027 TE, Mater Dei: Arizona

Demare Dezeurn, 2027 WR, Bishop Alemany: Tennessee, Cal, Arizona

Ace Leutele, 2028 DB, Mater Dei: UConn, Syracuse

-- Bodie De Silva | bodie@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca

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