Two local athletes shined on sports’ brightest stages this year. Who’s next?

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

EASTERN IDAHO — A pair of Highland High School graduates forever etched themselves in the lore of two separate NFL franchises this season.

Taysom Hill, who graduated from Highland in 2009, has spent all nine of his NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints, solidifying himself as a NoLa hero. Tommy Togiai, a member of Highland’s 2018 graduating class, was part of one of the best defenses in the league this season — adding the first NFL touchdown of his career to an already impressive highlight film, in a Week 18 victory over the Colts.

A HUMONGOUS HUMAN TOUCHDOWN FOR TOMMY TOGIAI TO END THE GAME‼️pic.twitter.com/X1FCLA6bDr

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 4, 2026

At 26, Togiai’s career, which has seen him play for two different franchises, is just getting started. But he may have found a long-term home in Houston, after starting six games and recording 27 tackles to go with 1.5 sacks and the scoop-and-score.

Hill, 35, is reportedly mulling retirement. If he does choose to hang up his cleats, a retirement ceremony may be in the future as he has become a fan-favorite for the Saints.

This season, “The Mormon Missile” became the first player in the NFL’s Super Bowl era (1967-current) to record 1,000 yards rushing, 1,000 yards receiving and 1,000 yards passing. The epitome of a “Swiss Army knife,” Hill has done everything the Saints have asked of him, and he has done so with a smile on his face, endearing himself to fans not just of the Saints but of the sport as a whole.

With those two representing the present of east Idaho athletic success, the question can now be focused on the future.

So, who is the next former local prep sports star ticketed to make an impact on the professional sports world?

Two names just out before most can finish the question: Oregon State’s Dax Whitney and Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq.

Sadiq was a four-star recruit before graduating from Skyline High School in 2023. After three seasons with the Ducks, he has become, by most experts’ estimation, the top tight end prospect in this season’s NFL draft, expected to be taken in the middle of the first round.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Sadiq runs an unofficial 4.5-second 40-yard dash and has big-play tight end written all over him — garnering comparisons to Pro-Bowlers Dalton Kincaid and Evan Engram.

Whitney, a 2024 graduate from Blackfoot High School, burst onto the season with the Beavers last year, finishing his freshman season with a 6-3 record, 3.40 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 76-2/3 innings (14.1 per 9 innings pitched).

He is Baseball America’s top-ranked pitcher in the 2027 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Dax Whitney slo-mo 😮‍💨

The Oregon State RHP is the top-ranked arm in our 2027 college draft rankings.

See here: https://t.co/pReKJxSA4o pic.twitter.com/mSmHXr5Mk7

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 1, 2026

Whitney and Sadiq could have their jerseys hanging in closets across the country in just a few short years. Who will be next?

Markell Bowens, a three-star edge rusher out of Highland, just finished a redshirt season at Boise State, and Zyan Crockett, who led Skyline to this season, has already committed to Idaho State University. And that is just two names on a list that includes dozens who are in the midst of transitioning from high school legend to college star.

There is no shortage of incredible athletic talent in eastern Idaho. And the best way to get more scouts’ eyes on that talent is for players from here to achieve success at the highest level. Success like what Hill has done for nearly a decade, and what Togiai is showing flashes of, and what Sadiq and Whitney promise.

So then. Who will be next?