Top Wide Receivers, Tight Ends to Watch in CIF Southern Section Football (2026)

USC-bound Quentin Hale, Ohio State commit Austin Miller, and Norco's Blake Wong are among the wide outs to keep an eye on this football season.

Bellflower's Austin Miller is one of California's top receivers and he's only a sophomore. | Jace Kessler

California high school football has produced some of the top wide receivers to play in the NFL, many of them coming from Southern California in particular.

The list is impressive: Keyshawn Johnson (Dorsey), Desean Jackson and Juju Smith-Schuster (Long Beach Poly), Michael Thomas (Taft), Robert Woods (Serra); and more recently, Amon-Ra St. Brown (Mater Dei) and Tetairoa McMillan (Servite).

Maybe, another big-time player on Sundays is on this list.

TOP WIDE OUTS, TIGHT ENDS TO WATCH

Quentin Hale won Offensive MVP at The Opening Los Angeles in February, and later competed at The Opening Finals at the Nike World Headquarters in Oregon. | 247 Sports

Quentin Hale, Corona Centennial, Sr.

College: USC

2025 Stats: At Cathedral, Hale caught 52 passes for 996 yards and 12 touchdowns. He averaged 14.1 yards per reception.

Charles Davis, Westlake, Sr.

College: Cal

2025 Stats: This big-target receiver tallied 30 catches for 526 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall. Expect those numbers to potentially double in 2026.

Austin Miller, Bellflower, So.

College: Ohio State

2025 Stats: Miller is a natural athlete. At wideout, he caught 35 balls for 609 yards and eight TDs as a freshman. He also ran for 883 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Eli Woodard, Chaparral, Sr.

College: Miami

2025 Stats: Woodard hauled in 51 catches for 1,070 yards and 17 touchdowns from star QB Dane Weber.

Chaparral's Eli Woodard returns for his senior season as one of the top targets to watch in SoCal. | Joe Duncan

Demare Dezeurn, Westlake, Sr.

College: Cal

2025 Stats: Arguably the most explosive athlete in the LA City Section last season at Palisades, Dezeurn catch 64 passes for 1,372 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Blake Wong, Norco, Sr.

College: BYU

2025 Stats: An absolute stat stuffer. Wong tallied 84 catches for 1,470 yards and 20 touchdowns last year. He averaged just under 150 yards receiving per game.

Hayden Koo, Tustin, Jr.

College: Undecided

2025 Stats: Koo had a monster sophomore campaign with 53 receptions, 796 yards and seven TDs for the Tillers.

Jaylin Smalls, Rancho Cucamonga, Jr. (TE)

College: Undecided

2025 Stats: Smalls played in just three games last fall, but is expected to have a breakout 2026 season for the Cougars.

DJ Tubbs, St. John Bosco, Jr.

College: Undecided

2025 Stats: Tubbs was the No. 3 wideout behind big-timers like Madden Williams and Daniel Odom as a sophomore last year. Now he's the No. 1 guy for the country's No. 1 team. Caught 28 balls for 493 yards and seven TDs last year.

Max Markofski, Mission Viejo, Sr. (TE)

College: Arizona

2025 Stats: Didn't post huge numbers last year after playing just two games, but be on the lookout for Markofski, who could emerge of one of the West Coast's top tight ends by season's end.

MORE TO WATCH

Note: Some listed players are in the LA City Section.

Nico Bland, Orange Lutheran, Sr.; Tycen Johnson, Chaparral, Sr.; Kennie Leggett, Corona Centennial, Sr.; Hudston Ploog, Orange Lutheran, Sr. (TE); Jack Junker, Mission Viejo, Sr.; Michael Farinas, Chaparral, Sr.; Emmanuel Pullins, Notre Dame, Jr.; Noah Bozeman, Muir, Jr.; Grant Mosley, Santa Margarita, Jr.; Christian Butler, Sierra Canyon, Jr.; Luca Deleon, JSerra, Jr.; Kingston Celifie, Calabasas, Sr.; Matix Frithsmith, Hart, Sr.; Luke Frith, San Juan Hills. Sr.; Landon Lattimore, Saugus, Sr.; Micah Slade, Sierra Canyon, Jr.; JJ Haley, Corona del Mar, Jr. (TE); Kiko Farinas, Chaparral, Sr.; Ty Johnson, Crean Lutheran, Sr.; Gianni Haynes, Cathedral, Sr.; Andrew Cordero, Chaminade, Sr.; Jaxon Brown, Carson, Sr.; Damico Martin, King/Drew, Sr.; Darren Panton, Carson, Sr.; Alijah Royster, Pacifica/Oxnard, Sr.; Travon Garrison, Damien, Sr.; Clark Cokley, JSerra, Sr.; Paul Turner, Birmingham, Sr.; Semaj Smith, Rancho Cucamonga, Jr.; Chase Evans, Oaks Christian, Jr.;

---

2025 CIF-SS RECAP

PALMER LEADS SANTA MARGARITA TO GLORY

When looking back at the 2025 high school football season in the CIF Southern Section, the lede is undoubtedly Santa Margarita — for a multitude of reasons.

Former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer came back to his old stomping grounds and won all the big prizes in year one.

Santa Margarita shared the Trinity League title with St. John Bosco and Mater Dei before going on to win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship and CIF State Open Division titles. The Eagles thumped Corona Centennial at the Rose Bowl 42-7 thanks to 10 catches for 292 yards and four touchdowns (two rushing) from Player of the Year Trent Mosley (who is now at USC).

Palmer would guide Santa Margarita to a rout of De La Salle two weeks later, 47-13, at Saddleback College in December to lift the CIF State crown and finish the season 11-3.

When Palmer lifted the CIF-SS Division 1 plaque at the championship podium in the Rose Bowl, it was the first time a program not named St. John Bosco or Mater Dei lifted the Southern Section's top division trophy since Corona Centennial did it in 2015. 

THE ‘MONEY MAN’

One of the biggest stories in recent prep sports history broke last fall when the emergence of Brett Steigh, also known as the ‘Money Man’, who made an appearance on FATTAL FACTOR, a weekly live sports show via Youtube with hosts Tarek Fattal and Aram Tolegian.

Steigh admitted to years of CIF violations at programs like Narbonne (his alma mater), St. Bernard, and most recently, Bishop Montgomery. The biggest confession came when he admitted to paying families up to $50,000 (plus expenses) to get their sons to play high school football at a program of his choice.

The fallout from the story resulted in Bishop Montgomery cancelling its varsity football season. The head football coach Ed Hodgkiss was fired and the President of the school Pat Lee was forced to resign. More than 20 players were deemed ineligible and hit with Bylaw 202 for falsifying documents, which means the student-athletes can’t participate in varsity athletics for up to 24 months.

The school ended up hiring Oscar McBride this past spring in efforts to start over. McBride is a former college and NFL standout who built Murrieta Mesa High into a CIF championship-level program. Murrieta Mesa was 0-9 before McBride was hired and led the program to a Division 6 title in 2024. 

2025 CIF-SS CHAMPIONS

Click HERE for a quick recap of all the CIF Southern Section football champions from 2025 from Divisions 1 through 14.