The Long Beach area is once again proving to be a hotbed for talent in the high school football recruiting scene ahead of the upcoming season.
With Week 0 set to begin on August 21 and Week 1 on August 28, 247 Sports has ranked the top 61 players in California’s Class of 2028 and nine of the prospects are from the Press-Telegram area, from schools in Bellflower and Long Beach.
St. John Bosco, which went 9-2 overall last season (with consecutive losses to Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran) is No. 1 with six juniors on the list, led by four-star offensive lineman Elisha Mueller and four-star safety Brandon Nash.
Long Beach Poly, Millikan and Wilson each have one top recruit.
Here is a look at where the local juniors are ranked in California by 247Sports:
Rank, Name, High School, Position, Height, Weight, Number of college offers
5. Elisha Mueller, St. John Bosco, OL, 6-4, 295, 23 offers
13. Zion Anderson, Long Beach Poly, ATH, 6-0, 160, 13 offers
14. Brandon Nash, St. John Bosco, S, 6-2, 200, 15 offers
26. Elijah Tuua, St. John Bosco, DE, 6-6, 205, 12 offers
32. DJ Tubbs, St. John Bosco, WR, 5-10, 175, 15 offers
39. Simote Tupou, St. John Bosco, DE, 6-1, 235, 6 offers
42. Odell Simms, Millikan, CB, 6-1, 175, 11 offers
44. Koa Malau’ulu, St. John Bosco, QB, 6-2, 180, 16 offers
54. Jemel Grigsby, Wilson, ATH, 5-9, 175
Wilson running back / defensive back Jemel Grigsby takes part in a spring football showcase on Friday, May 1, 2026, at Wilson High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)