Midwest Spotlight: Prospects On The Rise In 2026 Class

With spring camp season fully underway across the nation, plenty of big-time prospects in the 2026 class will begin to make names for themselves. Check out five 2026 prospects on the rise in the Midwest region.

PROSPECTS ON THE RISE: Mid-South | East Coast | West

Sometimes you see a recruit’s frame and know he will blow up. Anderson fits that mold. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, Anderson has a unique frame at his position but what separates him is how fluid his movements are at that size.

Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri are a few teams that have offered this winter. It would be surprising if Anderson didn’t have 25-plus offers this fall.

The big and athletic offensive lineman was one of the hottest prospects in the region this winter. Since January he’s picked up more than 10 offers from around the country. That includes Auburn, Texas A&M, Penn State and Tennessee.

It feels like a matter of time before the home state Ohio State Buckeyes get him on campus and come through with an offer.

It’s not always about the quantity of offers that a prospect picks up but the quality. The Decatur Central star quarterback picked up a handful of offers this winter but a couple are pretty notable.

Georgia offered the Indiana native in January, which really put him on the recruiting map. Washington was his latest offer and there will be plenty more to come for the 6-foot, 200-pounder.

As a sophomore he put up 2,100 total yards with 25 touchdowns to just five interceptions.

Nebraska was the first to offer the Illinois native back in January. Since then several other programs have followed, including Iowa, Texas A&M, Illinois, Ole Miss, Penn State, Cincinnati, Purdue and South Florida. More offers will pile up for the talented athlete that could play on either side of the ball in college.

Sutter has strong football bloodlines, too. His dad Ed, starred at middle linebacker for Northwestern and racked up 429 career tackles before a seven-year career in the NFL.

Thomas is a terrific defensive athlete prospect. He’s got good size to go along with quickness and speed off the edge. He’s piled up a scholarship offer list that includes Michigan, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pitt, Louisville, Illinois and others.

He’s teammates with a 2025 new four-star linebacker Grant Beerman.