Will Brysen “B Fye” Wright reclass?

“Dad, I should’ve reclassed,” my oldest son told me one day towards the end of his freshman year of high school. It was a small thought prior to him starting high school but never a huge consideration. He’s always been one of the smaller kids until recently. He’s still not big. However, holding him back to reclass could’ve helped him during his 1^st two years of high school. Currently he’s about 5’11 and starting to fill out a little more towards the end of his sophomore year. Starting his sophomore year with the way he looks now would have certainly helped him on the football field and basketball court.

When he started high school he was about 5’7 and 12 pounds lighter. However, there is a lot more that goes into the reclass decision than physical maturity. For any parents considering their options, I’ll be honest, I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. Even as I begin to discuss this topic I’m not sure if we made the right or wrong decision with not reclassing him. And here comes son number two with another decision to make.

Let me start by saying, I don’t have “the answer.” I’m about a year away from making that decision again, to reclass or not. I truly won’t know until this time next year what the final decision will be . However, in the same way that it was never a huger consideration for my oldest son. It actually has always been a huge consideration for my youngest son. They have different personalities, different needs, and honestly, different birthdays.

My oldest son, Myles, was born in March and will turn 18 his senior year and graduate as an 18 year old. My youngest son, Brysen, was born in late August and will start college at the age of 17. Essentially, Brysen will be a full year behind his peers mentally and physically in terms of growth. I thought about “reclassing” him before his first day of Kindergarten. But he went ahead and enjoyed his 1^st day of school, a full soccer season, and his first tackle football game at age 4.

Looking at Brysen at 4, and even now, you’d never think to hold him back or reclass because he stands out physically amongst his peers. But for me there is a lot that goes into that decision. Part of the reason I didn’t reclass him at an early age is because he was so much bigger than his peers. He often got in trouble because when he exchanged blows with his peers, playful or not, only his peers got hurt. I actually use to keep his birth certificate in the car because, the “He’s not 6!” or “No way he’s 8!” chants were constant. He’s been playing up in age most of his life in sports.

But once again, it’s not just physical maturity or sports success that determines the decision. For me, the following factors have and will impact my final decision to reclass:

Physical Maturity – How big is he? What’s his coordination like? How skilled is he?

Education – How is he doing in school? Grades? Behavior? General Knowledge?

Sports Success – How good is he? How does he perform against competition or in big moments? Rankings?

Maturity – How does he behave and interact relative to his peers? What’s his decision making like? How does he respond in different situations?

Sports Opportunity – Who does he play with/for? Is he challenged or getting exposure? Does he get to play his position?

Social – Who are his friends? How is his environment at school and on his teams?

Additionally, I have to determine not only if I will reclass him, but when I would reclass him. I decided that his 7^th grade school year would be the determining factor a few years ago for a variety of reasons. A huge factor was that some states won’t allow it following 8^th grade. Therefore, instead of trying to figure out if it would be an issue or not I just decided 7^th grade would be best if that is the route we decided.

Of the above mentioned categories, Myles checked off every box except physical maturity and sports success at almost a 10/10. He was still high in the sports success category. I’d say a 7 because he’s always been a major factor in his teams’ ability to win. However, I wouldn’t describe him as a dominate player in his primary sports. He has always been one of the most skilled on the field or court so I knew he would catch up to his more athletic peers. When I brought up the idea of reclassing following 8^th grade his mom mentioned the social aspect of it. (side note: I did some research and in Florida there isn’t a rule against when you do it. I last checked in 2020.)

Also, I loved Myles’ sports opportunities. His 2024 class is a special group in our area and loaded with a ton of talented kids. He has played with some of them since he’s been 5 years old and others we’ve met along the way. Those kids compliment each other well and have had a ton of success together. I knew who would play with in high school and the timing has been good for him. So hoping that he grew would be the only reasoning for holding him back and it just wasn’t a good enough reason at the time.

Brysen is the opposite. In terms of physical maturity and sports success he’s an 11/10 in both categories. He’s well known and has played up most of his career except the past two tackle football seasons. In fact, he played 10u unlimited football in 2019 and then came back and played 10u again this past fall of 2021. As a result a mistake was mad in terms of his player rankings.

Brysen is currently ranked as the 34^th player in the country and 4^th at WR in the class of 2028. WR is his primary position but he also plays S & QB. The kid who was ranked #2 in 2029 moved up to #1 at ATH when Brysen was removed and was ranked  #3 overall for 2029. A reclass immediately positions him in the top 3 at minimum. If you pay attention to the NFL draft, different players come out early or return to school because of this exact reason. With the NIL landscape being what it is, being in a class that maximizes your child’s positional/overall ranking has to be a consideration.

People forget that Quinn Evers was the #1 player in the high school class of 2022 but reclassed and graduated in 2021. He enrolled at Ohio State with a very lucrative NIL deal that he couldn’t have if he was still in high school. Travis Hunter then became the #1 player in 2022 and earned himself a few NIL deals when he committed to Jacksonville St.

NIL shouldn’t be only determining factor, but I’d say for sure attend as many camps and combines as possible in 7^th and 8^th grade to get a view of the landscape. It actually might be better to stay in your current class because the lower class is just loaded at your position. If your child plays QB you might start HS as soon as the current starter graduates. Or you might reclass and end up coming in the same year as another kid who is a talented QB. Every year is different and every child is different.

It’s on the verge of happening, but in most places high school kids can’t have NIL deals. Reclassing backwards could be delaying opportunities for your child financially. So there is a lot to consider. Taking it back to the 6 factors I named earlier I mentioned Brysen is 11/10 on two. But over the next year I’d say education, sports opportunities, and maturity will be the determining factors. If he is close to a 10 in those three as well then we will remain on his current track. However, if I don’t like his progress then 2029 here he comes. Stay tuned! Until next time, B U!