Oregon high school football: 200 players to watch in 2024 (Nos. 40-21)

Here is Part 9 of our list of 200 names to know entering the 2024 Oregon high school football season

Cascade running back Bryce Kuenzi was voted to the 4A all-state first team as a sophomore. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

As we start to prepare for the Oregon high school football season, we’re counting down our annual list of 200 players we’re excited to see play in 2024. Here is Part 9 of that list.

Earlier installments: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

One fact becomes clear when making a list such as this: Oregon has a lot of exciting high school football players to watch this year! There are countless other players not listed in the 200 who easily could have made the list — after you see our 200, let us know which other players would make your list. 

(Note that this is not intended to be a rankings list or even a list of the “top” 200 players, but just a list of 200 names that come to mind when thinking about the upcoming season.)

FIND SCHEDULES FOR EVERY SCHOOL

40. LB Holton Halstead, Thurston, senior

Halstead, a 5A all-state second-team selection, was one of the leaders of the Colts defense last season, recording a team-high 65 tackles (nine for loss), four sacks and two fumble recoveries.

39. RB Bryce Kuenzi, Cascade, junior

As a sophomore, Kuenzi turned heads in his first full season with the Cougars, making the 4A all-state first team after rushing for 1,644 yards (third in 4A and the most of any returning player) and 21 touchdowns to help them reach the state quarterfinals.

38. WR/DB Quinton Olson, Scappoose, senior

Olson last year earned first-team all-state honors in the secondary for a 4A state semifinalist, making a team-high 94 tackles (fifth in 4A) with three interceptions, four pass breakups and five fumble recoveries. He was just as important on the other side of the ball, catching a team-high eight touchdown passes among his 48 receptions for 653 yards.

37. WR Nick Crowley, Wilsonville, senior

As a junior, Crowley starred in the Wildcats’ high-powered aerial attack opposite first-team 5A all-state receiver Mark Wiepert, making the all-state second team after catching 58 passes for 1,055 yards and 15 touchdowns for the state champions. 

36. OL/DL Eli Willis, Silverton, senior

Willis was the 2023 Mid-Willamette Conference defensive lineman of the year and a first-team 5A all-state selection, finishing with 42 tackles and four sacks, and he made the all-state second team as an offensive lineman.

35. QB Noah Blair, Thurston, senior

With 5A offensive player of the year Kallen Gutridge off to Oregon State, Blair is ready to stake his claim as the classification’s top quarterback. He earned second-team all-state honors behind Gutridge after a junior season in which he threw for 3,062 yards on 74% passing (222 of 300) and 39 touchdowns with just three interceptions, and he rushed for 161 yards and four scores.

34. RB/DB JaMar Thurman, Lowell, senior

The Red Devils had never won a state title before last season, with Thurman leading a loaded roster as the 2A offensive player of the year. He ran for 266 yards and five touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass in the final to cap a season in which he rushed for 2,958 yards and 44 touchdowns and caught 23 passes for 411 yards and four scores. 

33. TE/DE Cody Siegner, Crane, senior

The 6-foot-7, 225-pounder is a two-way first-team 1A eight-man all-state selection who last year led the Mustangs to their first state final since 2016 and committed to Oregon State in June as one of the state’s top recruits (Rivals No. 2, On3 No. 4, 247Sports No. 13). He’s led the Mustangs to three consecutive boys basketball state titles.

32. LB Will Ingle, West Linn, senior

Ingle was one of four Wilsonville defensive players to receive 5A first-team all-state recognition last year, finishing with 93 tackles (15 for loss), six sacks, four hurries, two fumble recoveries and an interception for the state champions. He’s back at West Linn, which graduated three all-state linebackers.

31. QB Sawyer Teeney, Silverton, senior

Teeney has a similar game to another Foxes standout signal-caller — former 5A offensive player of the year Jordan McCarty, who like Teeney was a dual-threat behind center. After throwing for 1,999 yards, running for 640 and accounting for 29 total touchdowns as a junior in earning 5A all-state honorable mention, Teeney will hope to match McCarty by leading Silverton to a state title as a senior.

30. RB/LB Wyatt Andler, Wells, senior

The Guardians offense is as subtle as a freight train, and the conductor of this locomotive is Andler, a bullish runner who rushed for 1,070 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, earning 6A all-state honorable mention and leading the program to its first unified PIL championship in the past two decades.

29. WR/LB Austin Simmons, West Albany, senior

Simmons was a 5A all-state honorable mention receiver and a second-team all-Mid-Willamette Conference linebacker as a junior, finishing among the state leaders with 39 catches for 714 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, he had 31 tackles (three for loss), two sacks and an interception. The state’s No. 8 recruit in 247Sports’ rankings has committed to Washington State.

28. TE Andreas Nicolaidis, Central Catholic, junior

Nicolaidis broke through as a sophomore, catching 16 passes in the Rams’ balanced passing attack for 230 yards and two touchdowns and receiving 6A all-state honorable mention. His ascendancy continued during the offseason, and he ranks No. 4 among the state’s class of 2026 recruits according to 247Sports, with offers from Colorado State, UNLV and Wake Forest. 

27. WR Zhaiel Smith, Tualatin, senior

Smith hoped to follow a sophomore season in which he earned 6A all-state honorable mention with an even bigger junior year for Central Catholic, but a midseason ankle injury cost him three games, and he ended up catching just 20 passes for 297 yards for the state champions — including a team-high six catches in the final, a 49-21 win over Tualatin, to which the University of Idaho commit transferred during the offseason to join the Timberwolves’ “Ricky Bobby” passing offense.

26. LB Daniel Kuenzi, Silverton, senior

Kuenzi made a team-high 95 tackles last year to lead a defense that allowed just 14.7 points per game as the Foxes reached the 5A state semifinals. He earned Mid-Willamette Conference defensive player of the year and first-team all-state recognition.

25. WR Cash Landau, Franklin, senior

Landau will play tight end at the University of Idaho, but for now, he’s a standout receiver for the Lightning who teamed with PIL offensive player of the year Will Reid last season to form the league’s top passing tandem. Landau caught 51 passes for 829 yards and a 6A-leading 15 touchdowns and made the all-state honorable mention list.

24. WR/S Evan Wusstig, West Salem, junior

Wusstig’s older brother, Zach, was a standout at Jefferson in the Willamette Valley and at South Salem a couple of years ago, and Evan is poised to have just as stellar a career after breaking through as a sophomore for the Titans. He garnered 6A all-state honorable mention at receiver (19 catches for 481 yards and seven touchdowns) and was voted first-team all-South Central Football Conference on defense (55 tackles).

23. DE Lusiano Lopez, Lake Oswego, senior

Lopez, a two-time all-Three Rivers League first-team honoree, moved up from an honorable mention all-state selection to the 6A second team last year, when he made 56 tackles with two sacks.

22. QB Nick Hudson, Marist Catholic, senior

There was little doubt Hudson would be voted to the 4A all-state first team last season, when he threw for 3,766 yards — eighth on the state’s all-time single-season list — and a school-record-tying 47 touchdowns with 15 interceptions to lead the Spartans to a runner-up state finish.

21. DL Dominic Macon, Nelson, senior 

At the end of last season, Macon was a little-known lineman on the Hawks roster, having received all-Mt. Hood Conference honorable mention for the second year in a row. After a dominant wrestling season in which he capped an undefeated campaign with a come-from-behind overtime win in the 6A 285-pound final, he’s blown up on the recruiting circuit, recently committing to the University of Washington.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App