The spring season in Florida continues to wind down, and another top high school program took the field on Wednesday afternoon to wrap up its slate of practices.
Chaminade-Madonna, after a spring filled with practices, concluded its pre-summer slate with an intersquad game. No score was kept, but the refs were throwing flags and each series was treated like a real game situation. Within this game, a good handful of players flashed some impressive talent on both sides of the ball. Some made big-time plays on offense, while others helped the defense stand strong.
From an overall sense, the spring game for Chaminade showed that, even with plenty of departures, the Lions should be a fun team in 2026.
Tromon Isaac Jr. Looks Ready for a Star-Turn
After an impressive 2025 campaign, standout 2028 wideout Tromon Isaac Jr. looks ready to emerge as one of the best wideouts not only in Florida but in the entire country.
Isaac Jr. won on his routes all over the field on Wednesday. He showed burst and speed on short and intermediate routes, leaving great windows for his quarterbacks to make throws into. He beat man coverage consistently, and most impressively, he showed great play strength to make contested catches. Oh, and Isaac Jr. made one of the best catches of the spring to end the day, soaring above the defensive back and snatching the ball for a highlight-reel touchdown.
Asked about how he approaches playing the position, the standout wideout kept it very simple for me. “I approach it like I want to be the best in the world. I am hungry, and I want it all. I feel like nobody has given me my respect,” said Isaac Jr.
It is clear to see that, even in just a year, Isaac Jr. has taken multiple strides in his game to become an extremely high-level wideout. With plenty of more time to prepare and refine his game ahead of the 2026 season kicking off, a huge year for the standout wideout looks to be very much on the table.
The Passing Game Shows Elite Potential
Outside of Isaac Jr., Chaminade had multiple other weapons show off their skillsets, along with a quarterback with the tools to be one of the best in the country.
Ah’Mari Stevens, a former Miami commit who recently committed to LSU, looked like the all-around playmaker who made an impact on the Lions in 2025. He was dynamic as a ball carrier, with multiple designed touches resulting in the wideout showing off his burst, speed, and overall athleticism. As a route runner, Stevens created some nice separation, especially on Brady Quinn’s first throw of the game. The performance culminated in the wideout’s biggest play of the day, as he raced past the secondary and hauled in a pretty deep ball from Quinn.
While not heavily targeted in this game, Peter Pierre had one of the best overall plays of the entire game. Beating press-man coverage, the standout athlete hauled in the pass, broke two tackles, and made his way into the end zone for the touchdown. Pierre also had some great blocking reps in the run game, and while he did not play defense today, he showed extremely high upside as a pass rusher last season. The sky is the limit for Pierre, and he showed today that he can be a true asset on offense alongside Stevens and Issac Jr.
As for Brady Quinn, things were not perfect against a very tough Chaminade defense. Outside of a miscommunication that led to an interception, Quinn had to contend with defensive backs who could run stride for stride with some of the best wideouts in the state. He also had to deal with a defensive line that could stuff the run when needed and get after the quarterback.
However, that is the beauty of facing elite competition and of spring ball. It allows players to sharpen their tools and lay a foundation, which they can then build upon in the summer and fall. And when it comes to Brady Quinn, there are many things to get excited about for the quarterback’s 2026 season.
Quinn was decisive and accurate on a wide variety of throws, especially over the middle of the field. He showed no hesitancy to throw the ball when he hit the last step of his drop, and when needing to escape, Quinn moved with purpose and wherewithal. This trait was the main reason Tromon Isaac Jr. got his Randy Moss moment; without sensing the pressure correctly, Quinn never gives his receiver a chance.
My favorite aspect of Quinn’s game was his touch on his throws. Whether on his first touchdown to Isaac Jr. or the deep ball touchdown to Stevens, it never felt like the quarterback aimlessly launched the football at any point during the game. And even on his misses, Quinn was just a hair late or early, showing an ability to repeat his successes when throwing the ball.
Quinn should only get more comfortable within the offense as the season approaches, especially when it comes to working with his wideouts and understanding how to operate the Chaminade offense. If Wednesday is the absolute floor for Quinn, I am very excited to see what his 2026 campaign has to offer.
A Young RB Looks Ready to Emerge
No matter what level of football it is, there are always surprises once the lights come on, metaphorically or literally. And at today’s Chaminade spring finale, one of my biggest surprises was Clinton Jean Pierre Jr.
A 2029 RB, Pierre Jr. steps into a running back room that lost some key contributors from last season, whether it was the extremely explosive Lee Prince Jr. or the standout Derrick Cooper. But based on his touches, the underclassman looks ready to contribute at a high level. Rocking #5 for this game, Pierre Jr. displayed great vision and burst. He found the open lanes, hit them hard, and kept moving forward to gain yardage for his offense. I also loved the contact balance that Pierre Jr. showed; on multiple occasions, he bounced off would-be tackles to pick up extra yardage for his team.
This culminated in one of Pierre Jr.’s best runs of the day. Taking the outside handoff, the running back made a defender miss, turned the corner, and picked up a chunk gain before getting knocked out of bounds.
Not many kids at Pierre Jr.’s grade level move with the combination of smoothness and burst that he displayed. If this translates into the regular season, and there is no reason it should not, then the 2029 running back has a chance to be a key reason for Chaminade’s continued success.
Derrick Jones Jr. Leads a Potentially Elite DB Room
If I were asked to highlight Chaminade’s strength on defense, the answer would be easy and decipherable in an instant. The Lions’ secondary is filled with impressive talent up and down the board, ranging from John Gay III to a young player who could be the best of the group. And on Wednesday, they were the main standouts on the defensive end of the ball.
Even while giving up some big plays on the day, the group did hold its own. John Gay III, a recent Notre Dame commit, had a great early-game rep of coverage. Jacarri Watson had one of the best overall reps of the day, running step-for-step with Tromon Isaac Jr. before knocking away what would have been a diving catch. It was a great throw from Brady Quinn, but an even better play from Watson gave the defense the win.
The biggest defensive standout of the day, though, was Derrick Jones Jr., and it was not close. Not only did Jones Jr. have a PBU, but he had two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six. Along with Watson, he was one of the only players to get the best of Isaac Jr. on a rep; on the other hand, the wideout was one of the few players to beat Jones Jr. in a rep.
His instincts were upper-tier, along with his speed and coverage ability. I loved the aggressiveness and intensity that Jones Jr. played with as well. it was very easy to tell that he badly wanted to win every rep, no matter what the situation was for the defense. Between his mentality and on-field play, Jones Jr. may be one of my favorite defensive backs heading into 2026 at the HS level.
Like the offense, the defense will only get better by facing this Chaminade offense every day in practice. Between Jones Jr., Watson, Gay III, and Angelo Smith, among others, this unit looks to be the backbone of the Lions’ defense in 2026. And if this unit can mesh with the rest of the talent on the overall unit, then there is a good chance the Lions can hit the ground running once the regular season arrives in August.
