A.J. Jackson, Andre Adams, Gavin Strang and Amiron Leavell are building résumés that deserve attention

By Triple Threat Sportscast | September 14, 2026

Every week, Triple Threat Sportscast’s Tuesday Talent series is about more than finding the player with the biggest stat line.

It is about identifying football players who are producing, winning, developing, responding to pressure and putting something on film that college coaches should see.

This week’s group checks all of those boxes.

There is a record-setting Colorado commit.

There is a 6-foot-5 Class of 2028 quarterback whose recruitment is beginning to take off.

There is a Class of 2027 quarterback who just helped pull off one of Middle Tennessee’s biggest early-season upsets.

And there is a Class of 2028 all-purpose weapon who has already reached double-digit touchdowns for an undefeated team.

Different schools.

Different recruiting situations.

Different styles.

But all four have earned the TTS Tuesday Talent spotlight.

A.J. Jackson — Smyrna

QB/ATH | No. 2 | Class of 2027 | 6-foot, 185 pounds
Triple Threat D’s Tuesday Talent

For college coaches searching for a senior quarterback whose stock may be moving faster than his recruiting profile, A.J. Jackson deserves another look.

Jackson’s senior season at Smyrna has already produced 779 passing yards and six passing touchdowns on 49-of-77 passing, a 63.6 percent completion rate.

Add 77 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, and Jackson has accounted for 856 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns through four games.

MaxPreps lists him at quarterback and wide receiver, while his public player profile describes him as a QB/ATH.

Those numbers tell part of the story.

The circumstances tell even more.

Smyrna opened the season with two heartbreaking one-point losses.

Then came Oakland.

Against one of the area’s premier programs, Jackson helped engineer a 22-21 upset of Oakland.

He threw for 107 yards and a touchdown, added 27 rushing yards and, with only 33 seconds remaining, found Jordan Edwards for the game-winning two-point conversion.

The victory was Smyrna’s first over Oakland in more than a decade.

That is the type of situation evaluators should pay attention to.

It was not a comfortable lead against an overmatched opponent.

The game was on the line.

Smyrna decided to go for two.

Jackson had to execute.

Then Smyrna followed the Oakland win by beating Siegel 34-0, pushing the Bulldogs to 2-2 after the difficult start.

Jackson was again involved as both a runner and passer.

That response matters.

Smyrna could have allowed two crushing one-point losses to define its season.

Instead, the Bulldogs answered with back-to-back wins.

There is an off-field number that deserves attention too.

Jackson’s public player bio lists a 3.8 GPA, along with his 6-foot, 185-pound measurements and QB/ATH designation.

As of September 14, his public Rivals/On3 recruiting profile did not show a college commitment or current recruiting status.

That is exactly why his senior film matters so much right now.

The recruiting case for Jackson is simple.

He is producing at quarterback.

He gives an offense another scoring dimension with his legs.

He has responded after adversity.

He has already delivered in a late-game pressure situation against Oakland.

And his academic profile gives evaluators another reason to take a deeper look.

Some players already have the stars beside their names.

Others spend their senior year forcing people to notice.

A.J. Jackson looks like a player trying to do exactly that.

Andre Adams — Antioch

QB | No. 10 | Class of 2027 | 6-foot-3, 185 pounds | Colorado Commit
Triple Threat Tray’s Tuesday Talent

If Jackson is a player whose recruitment deserves more attention, Andre Adams is the example of what happens when production becomes impossible to ignore.

Tray’s selection entered this week already committed to Colorado and then delivered one of the cleanest quarterback performances you will find anywhere.

Against McGavock, Adams completed 13 of 14 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns as Antioch rolled to a 76-0 victory.

Thirteen completions.

One incompletion.

Four touchdowns.

And it was not an isolated explosion.

Through four games this season, Adams has completed 50 of 68 passes for 937 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

He has also rushed for 328 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 1,265 yards of total offense.

Antioch is 4-0.

That means Adams is completing 73.5 percent of his passes, averaging more than 316 yards of total offense per game and has accounted for 13 touchdowns without throwing an interception.

But his résumé did not begin in 2026.

As a junior, Adams produced 4,273 total yards and 48 touchdowns, throwing only one interception all season.

That earned him a spot on the 2025 MaxPreps Junior All-America Team.

He was also named a Tennessee Titans Mr. Football finalist in Division I Class 6A.

Then there is the game that permanently put his name in the Tennessee record book.

Against Centennial in September 2025, Adams threw for 507 yards, rushed for 207 more and accumulated 714 yards of total offense, breaking the TSSAA single-game record.

He accounted for six touchdowns in Antioch’s 54-40 victory.

College programs noticed.

Adams committed to Colorado on April 14, 2026, choosing the Buffaloes after a recruitment that included programs such as Florida State, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

His broader offer sheet also included programs such as Arkansas and Auburn.

ESPN lists Adams with an 82 scout grade, ranking him No. 9 at his quarterback position, No. 6 in Tennessee and No. 139 overall in its recruiting database.

For recruiters, his résumé now includes size, production, efficiency, dual-threat ability, national recognition, state-record production and Power Four recruiting validation.

Colorado already has its commitment.

Antioch still gets the benefit of watching him finish the job.

Gavin Strang — Brentwood

QB | No. 10 | Class of 2028 | 6-foot-5, 210 pounds
Coach Daniel’s Tuesday Talent

Sometimes one of the most important things on a quarterback’s résumé is not what happens when everything is going right.

It is how he responds when it does not.

That is part of what makes Gavin Strang’s recent stretch at Brentwood so interesting.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound junior went through a difficult night against Brentwood Academy.

Then he answered.

Against Summit, Strang completed 11 of 14 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns as Brentwood won 34-0.

One week later came an even bigger test.

Brentwood faced Page, the defending state champion carrying a 17-game winning streak.

The Bruins won 20-14.

The streak was over.

Page’s unbeaten start was over.

And Strang had helped quarterback Brentwood through one of the biggest wins of Week 4.

For a Class of 2028 quarterback, those moments matter.

College programs were already paying attention before the Page victory.

Strang’s sophomore season helped establish him as a major quarterback prospect.

He completed approximately 65 percent of his passes for nearly 2,000 yards and accounted for 19 total touchdowns in 2025.

Oklahoma’s interest accelerated after Strang impressed during a throwing session, and the Sooners offered him in May.

The offer sheet has continued expanding.

Recruiting databases currently list offers from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, Boston College, Memphis, UConn, Kent State, UMass and Eastern Kentucky.

And the physical profile is difficult to overlook.

At 6-foot-5 and approximately 210 pounds, Strang already possesses the kind of quarterback frame that attracts college evaluators.

Reporting surrounding his Oklahoma recruitment has also highlighted his arm talent, while his sophomore production shows this is not simply a projection based on size.

His recruitment remains open based on the public profiles checked for this feature.

For Coach Daniel’s selection, the Page victory could eventually become another important line on a rapidly growing résumé.

Big frame.

Big arm.

Power Four offers.

Big-game experience.

And plenty of high school football still ahead of him.

The recruiting story surrounding Gavin Strang is probably nowhere near finished.

Amiron Leavell — Springfield

RB/FS | No. 13 | Class of 2028

If a college recruiter wants to find a player who can impact a football game in multiple ways, Amiron Leavell’s first four weeks deserve attention.

Springfield is 4-0, and Leavell has already scored 10 total touchdowns.

Ten touchdowns.

Four games.

MaxPreps currently lists the junior as Springfield’s leading rusher at 82.3 rushing yards per game and the team leader with those 10 total scores.

It also lists him at running back and free safety, giving him legitimate two-way versatility.

His breakout started immediately.

Leavell reported seven carries for 105 yards and three touchdowns in Springfield’s season-opening win over Rossview.

Against Clarksville the following week, he generated 164 total yards and two touchdowns as Springfield won 35-17.

Then he showed that he did not need to live exclusively in the backfield to make an impact.

His Week 3 numbers included two receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Week 4 supplied another dimension.

Against Station Camp, Leavell rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns in Springfield’s 35-21 victory.

That performance was ranked No. 1 among the Nashville area’s top individual performances for Week 4 in local coverage.

But there was more.

His full stat line also included two punt returns for 109 yards, including a 61-yard punt-return touchdown.

That means he affected the game as a runner and return specialist while helping Springfield remain undefeated.

Think about the variety already on film.

He has scored rushing touchdowns.

He has produced 100-plus receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

He has returned a punt for a touchdown.

He is listed on the defensive side of the roster at free safety.

And he is doing all of this as a Class of 2028 prospect.

Rivals/On3 has already created a recruiting profile for Leavell and lists him as a 2028 running back at Springfield, but a current public college offer or commitment was not verified for this feature.

That makes Leavell one of the most intriguing players in this week’s group from an exposure standpoint.

College recruiters love players who make themselves difficult to remove from the field.

Leavell’s early-season production suggests exactly that kind of versatility.

Running back.

Receiver.

Return weapon.

Defensive option.

Ten touchdowns in four games.

That is a résumé worth opening.

The TTS Take: Four Players, Four Different Recruiting Stories

Andre Adams is already nationally recognized, already in the Tennessee record book and already committed to Colorado.

Gavin Strang is at a different point in his recruiting journey. He is a Class of 2028 quarterback with multiple Division I offers already on the table.

Then there are A.J. Jackson and Amiron Leavell.

Those may be the two names college coaches should circle specifically because their current production is giving evaluators new information.

Jackson is a senior quarterback and athlete with 10 offensive touchdowns through four games, a signature upset of Oakland, a 3.8 GPA listed in his public player bio and an opportunity to continue raising his recruiting profile.

Leavell is a junior two-way athlete with 10 touchdowns through four games, undefeated Springfield behind him and documented production as a runner, receiver and returner.

That is what Tuesday Talent is supposed to be about.

Not simply repeating who already has the most stars.

Not simply chasing the biggest school name.

It is about production.

Development.

Winning.

Versatility.

Big-game response.

And identifying players who deserve another set of eyes on their film.

A.J. Jackson.

Andre Adams.

Gavin Strang.

Amiron Leavell.

Four Middle Tennessee football players.

Four different recruiting journeys.

Four players who have earned the TTS stamp.

The Final Word

That TTS stamp does not mean the evaluation is finished.

It means the evaluation should continue.

Adams already has the national recognition and Power Four commitment.

Strang has major offers and a recruiting story that is still developing.

Jackson is producing during a senior season where every new piece of film matters.

Leavell continues to show that one positional label may not fully describe everything he can do.

There are players everybody already knows.

There are players everybody is about to know.

And then there are players who simply need somebody to point the camera in their direction and say:

Watch this kid.

This week, TTS is pointing toward four of them.

A.J. Jackson. Andre Adams. Gavin Strang. Amiron Leavell.

College coaches, recruiting staffs and Middle Tennessee football fans should keep watching.

The 2026 season is still being written.

So are their résumés.

TTS Tuesday Talent.

Covering High School Sports. Building Culture. Respecting the Game.

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