The Last Ride: What to Expect From Dion Myers Jr. and St. Anthony in 2026

Five days.

That's what's left between right now and the rest of Dion Myers Jr.'s football life. St. Anthony opens the 2026 season Friday, August 21 at 7 p.m. against Canyon Springs. Ten games after that, the Class of 2027 defensive back either has a scholarship offer or he has a highlight reel and a lot of phone calls to make.

No pressure.

Except — and let's be honest about this — Myers has already shown you exactly how he handles pressure.

First, Remember How This Ended

Halloween night, 2025. Studio City. St. Anthony sitting at 3-7, playing Harvard-Westlake in a game that was functionally an elimination round. Overtime.

The Saints didn't run it. They called a halfback pass. Majesty Aupiu took the handoff, ran toward the line of scrimmage, then tossed it to Dion Myers for the game-winning overtime touchdown — a 13-10 win that locked up the third automatic playoff spot out of the Del Rey League.

Three weeks before that snap, Myers had told RepMax Media what he wanted college coaches to remember about him: his character, and his ability to show up in crucial moments.

Then the ball came down in his hands with a season attached to it.

That's the tape. That's the reputation. And that's the standard he now has to hit for ten straight weeks.

The 2026 Setup: They're Going Hunting Early Again

Head coach Jeff Magdaleno has a philosophy that borders on masochism, and it's the best thing that could happen to Myers' recruitment: schedule up, get punched in the mouth in September, be dangerous in November.

It worked in 2024, when the Saints rode a brutal slate all the way to the CIF championship game before losing to Silverado. It worked again in 2025 — a third straight playoff berth, the second under Magdaleno.

Here's how the front end of 2026 sets up:

Date Opponent Why It Matters Fri, Aug 21 vs. Canyon Springs Season opener. First film of senior year — coaches watch Week 1 tape more than any other Fri, Aug 28 vs. Ontario Christian Home. A chance to stack a clean second week Fri, Sep 4 @ St. Margaret's First road test of the year

Then the Del Rey League gauntlet arrives — Salesian, La Salle, Crespi, Harvard-Westlake — and that's where evaluations get made.

Here's the part recruits' families need to understand: that non-league schedule isn't a burden on Myers' recruitment. It's the asset. Every rep against a program that outclasses you on paper is a rep a college coach can actually evaluate. Nobody gets recruited off blowout wins over overmatched opponents.

What We Expect From Him: The 2026 Projection

Let's be upfront about our methodology. Myers does not have a publicly verified 2025 stat line, so we're not going to invent one and we're not going to project off numbers that don't exist. What follows is a role and impact projection based on documented usage, program need, and senior-year trajectory.

Expectation 1: He becomes a full-time defensive anchor

Myers played safety at No. 6 last season. The single most valuable thing that can happen to his recruitment in 2026 is 60-70% of his defensive snaps coming at one position. "Athlete" is a compliment in June and a problem in December. FCS and Group of Five defensive coordinators need to see a player they can slot, not a player they have to figure out.

Our projection: primary safety with nickel and box responsibilities, plus situational offensive packages.

Expectation 2: The two-way usage doesn't go away — and shouldn't

The overtime catch wasn't a gimmick. Myers has been listed across the roster at receiver, tight end, and outside linebacker in various local previews. A senior who can genuinely help on both sides of the ball on a team playing a top-heavy schedule is going to be on the field. Expect St. Anthony to keep manufacturing touches for him in high-leverage situations, because last November proved it works.

Expectation 3: Leadership becomes the loudest thing on his tape

This is the underrated one. He told us his mind goes to who he'd be letting down if he didn't come through. That's a captain's brain. On a program that will absolutely get hit in September, the senior who keeps the sideline together in the third quarter of a rough one gets remembered by every coach in the stands.

Expectation 4: The offer list finally moves

Right now the public recruiting footprint is quiet — no verified offers, visits, or commitment activity. That is the single number that has to change in 2026, and everything above is in service of it.

The Three Scenarios

CEILING — "Somebody's getting a steal" Myers locks in at safety, posts verified testing numbers at a fall or winter combine, produces a handful of splash plays in league play, and St. Anthony makes another deep Division run. Group of Five staffs — San Diego State, Fresno State — start making calls in November. This is absolutely on the table.

REALISTIC — "The FCS pipeline opens" A clean, healthy senior year at a defined position with a strong reel and that 3.4 GPA in hand. UC Davis, Sacramento State, Cal Poly, San Diego. This is the honest center of the projection and it's a genuinely good outcome — these are programs that develop multi-role defenders into four-year starters.

FLOOR — "The tape exists, the trail doesn't" He plays well, but the testing never gets verified and the film never reaches the right inbox. He ends up in the preferred-walk-on and D2 conversation with more talent than his recruitment reflects. This is the outcome that keeps us up at night, because it has nothing to do with how good he is.

Our current internal grade has him as a developmental prospect with an FCS/D2 projection. We'd love for him to make us look wrong by January.

The Four Games That Decide His Recruitment Week 1 vs. Canyon Springs (Aug 21) — First tape of the year is the tape that gets watched. Coaches pull Week 1 film in September when they're building boards. The Salesian game — Last year's version was a 0-40 loss. How a senior leader responds to that matchup on the schedule tells a staff everything about him. The Harvard-Westlake finale — He has history there. If it's a playoff-clinching game again, he's already proven what he does in that moment. Round 1 of the CIF playoffs — St. Anthony entered the Division 11 bracket as the top seed last year and lost 13-18 to El Monte on November 7. A one-score exit. There's unfinished business, and postseason film travels further than anything else on the calendar. Where He Should Land Tier Programs The Case Reach (needs a big senior year) San Diego State, Fresno State Physical, versatile DBs with size fit these rosters — if the testing tightens up Best Fit UC Davis, Sacramento State, Cal Poly FCS programs that value length, toughness, and multi-role defenders. The 3.4 GPA plays especially well at Davis Strong Landing Spot University of San Diego Academic fit plus DB/special teams utility — a real four-year opportunity Hometown Value Long Beach-area programs Community ties and a family that can be in the stands every week

If you're an FCS staff in Southern California building your secondary out of local, high-character, multi-position defenders — Long Beach should be circled on your September map.

What He Told Us, and Why It Still Matters

Before any of last season happened, Myers described a summer that didn't look like a normal high school kid's:

"I tried my hardest to prepare myself like a collegiate athlete because that's what I aspire to be."

Two-a-days. The 3.4 held up the whole way through. Working out alongside his younger brother to help him get better. He said his elusiveness improved most, and credited his trainer, Sir Parker.

Ask him where he'd play one game if he could pick anywhere and he says the Coliseum — because that's where he saw his first football game, and he wants his mom and dad in the stands for it.

That's not a recruiting pitch. That's a kid who knows exactly what he's chasing and exactly who he's chasing it for.

Ten games left to go get it.

The Bottom Line

Dion Myers Jr. is the most interesting senior in Long Beach that most of the country hasn't heard of yet. High floor. Open ceiling. A documented ability to produce when the season is on the line. And a recruiting file that is one strong fall away from looking completely different.

The film is going to be there. The question — the only question — is who's watching.

Friday, August 21. 7 p.m. It starts.

💬 CALL YOUR SHOT: What's your line on Dion Myers Jr.'s senior year — FCS offer, G5 offer, or does somebody sleep on him again? And how many games do the Saints win in 2026? Drop your prediction in the comments. We'll come back in December and see who called it. 👇

📲 Coaches and parents: got a Long Beach-area senior who deserves this treatment? Send us the film. That's the whole reason we're here.