January 6, 2023

Cub Football - “DB High” - Loyola has another great prospect

LOYOLA FRESHMAN BRANDON LOCKHART WAS NAMED DEFENSIVE MVP AT ALL-AMERICAN COMBINE Cub freshman BRANDON LOCKHART, the first freshman in Loyola football history to start in the secondary as a ninth-grade corner on the Cub varsity, has established himself as a top level major college prospect.

Following LOCKHART’s first scholarship offer from Oregon on the heels of a first team All-Angelus League selection, the 6’ 2” freshman was invited to the prestigious All-American Combine in advance of the All-American Bowl game, featuring the top prep seniors in the nation, which is being played in San Antonio today.

The uber talented freshman impressed in the workouts of underclass invited standouts to such a degree that he was named the Combine’s Defensive MVP.  LOCKHART’s performance was stunning given his status as a class of 2026 recruit.

Following his exploits in San Antonio, it is anticipated that LOCKHART’s recruitment by major college football programs will sky rocket in the immediate future.

The precocious freshman is likely to join the ranks of recent Loyola defensive back stars, including MATT WARE ‘01 (2000 CIF Division I Player of the Year, UCLA Freshman All-American, All PAC-12 DB, multi-year NFL Player), CHRIS CONTE ‘06 (2005 All-CIF DB, University of California star, multi-year starting NFL safety), DAVID LONG, Jr. ‘16 (2015 All-American/All-State/All-CIF DB, All-Big 10 at Michigan, Los Angeles Rams) and MYLES BRYANT ‘16 (2015 All-State, Loyola MVP, All-PAC-12 at Washington, New England Patriots), and current college standouts CEYAIR WRIGHT ‘21 (All-CIF, 2020 California State Defensive Back of the Year, Freshman All-American Hon. Mention at USC) and ZAKHARI SPEARS ‘21 (All-CIF, now at the University of Connecticut).

Loyola has a long history of producing outstanding secondary athletes who played with distinction at the major college level.

LOCKHART’s fellow freshmen Cub football players went undefeated (9-0 Angelus League champions) at the freshman level last fall, and a large number of those athletes are expected to join him on the 2023 varsity squad.

Three other starters from last season’s Angelus League champion varsity defensive backfield will be returning as well, safety JAKE ARELLANO, corner CHAZ AUSTIN and corner/safety ELIJAH BRADLEY.