Second NEO Rising Legends Showcase kicks off football camp season

Even freshmen get a chance to make name for themselves before they put on the pads this fall.

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UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — When DeShane Bloodworth and Ken Roye graduated from high school eight years ago, they didn’t have the football opportunities they are now trying to provide players in Northeast Ohio.

Bloodworth played safety for St. Edward, while Roye lined as a linebacker and running back for Cleveland Heights, next to Ohio State recruits Jaylen Harris and Tyreke Smith.

Unlike those high-level Division I recruits, it’s not as easy for high school football players who do not have the highest trajectory on the recruiting trail.

That’s why Bloodworth and Roye are offering additional paths, both with their Next Generation Sports Media and the second NEO Rising Legends Showcase, which they have formed with former St. Edward standout Shaun Crawford and his Local Legend Foundation.

They attracted about 100 area football players Saturday to John Carroll University and Don Shula Stadium for the second straight year, giving them a showcase event to prepare for the upcoming college camp season with 7-on-7s and individual competition.

Northeast Ohio’s fastest man and strongest arm were crowned, as Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Savion Lewis outran the competition and Maple Heights quarterback Luke Anzlovar outthrew everyone else for those titles.

Who is Northeast Ohio’s fastest football player? NEO Rising Legends Showcase settled itMay. 24, 2025, 9:20p.m. Find out which Northeast Ohio quarterback has the strongest armMay. 24, 2025, 8:52p.m. Strongsville selects new boys basketball coach, who arrives from nearby rivalMay. 23, 2025, 10:22a.m.

“This is definitely an opportunity for local kids to compete with guys who are bigger than them,” Bloodworth said. “Going forward, we’re trying to give the kids proper exposure because we’re already giving it to them through the camera lens.”

Bloodworth and Roye founded Next Generation Sports in 2019. Roye likened their goals to Steve Newton’s 3rd Coast Hoops, which has set the tone for the last 15 years around Greater Cleveland and Akron for basketball highlights and all-star games.

“When we graduated, we wanted to kind of do a 3rd Coast for football,” Roye said. “I was playing football since I was 7 years old, so it was always embedded to me. It’s like paying it back for what we wish we had.”

Bloodworth’s St. Edward connection with Crawford, who went on to play at Notre Dame and spent time in the NFL, led to last year’s initial showcase. Bloodworth credited recent Shaker Heights standout Trey McNutt, who is graduating this year and headed to Oregon, for serving as a catalyst that pushed for the Ohio High School Athletic Association to relax its restrictions for offseason football events.

That allowed Glenville’s Garry Pritchett to participate last year as an eighth-grader, ahead of his freshman season at Glenville, where he earned varsity time in the Tarblooders’ playoff run to the Division IV state semifinals.

“I feel like Next Generation is doing something big for the youth,” said Pritchett, who came back and played on the winning 7-on-7 team. “They’re trying to put their name out for other people.”

Pritchett picked up his first Division I college scholarship offer already from Syracuse. He is one of a few ninth-graders from Glenville already getting that kind of attention — cornerback Jaylen Edwards, who just picked up a Colorado offer, along with 6-foot-4 receiver Emiere Lemons (Indiana, Kentucky and Syracuse offers) and Jaquan Gibson (Indiana and Syracuse) —and the Next Generation team were the first to notice them last spring with invites to the initial event.

Glenville sophomore receiver DeAnthony “Duke” Crittenden came to last year’s event and returned, despite running in the track and field district championships that day at Perry. Crittenden, who has football offers from Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Purdue, won district gold Saturday in the 200- and 400-meter races.

He was so fast that he still arrived in time for two of the final plays at the football showcase.

“I love the game,” Crittenden said. “It’s the same amount of love watching others get after it. I still wanted to play.”

Crittenden caught a few of his high school teammates celebrating the 7-on-7 championship, led by Pritchett and defensive back Aaron Scales. They teamed once more with quarterback LaMarques Greenwood II, who transferred to Cleveland Heights after starting the second half of last season as a sophomore.

“They’re all my brothers,” Greenwood said. “It’s all love.”

Greenwood got an invite last year and returned once again to the showcase.

“It’s always good to work with the best players around Northeast Ohio,” he said. “Iron sharpens iron. I feel like I got better today. Now I know what I’ve got to work on for camp season.”

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