When you talk about the top programs in the state, St. John’s Prep always has to be in that discussion.

Under coach Brian St. Pierre, the Eagles have won three D1 state titles since 2018.

The Prep always plays a physical brand of football that just presents a winning formula in November and December.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Eagles are expected to be one of the state’s top teams in 2024, as well.

We talked to St. Pierre this week to get a look at some of his top players. There are plenty in Danvers yet again.

As usual, the Prep should have a strong offensive line, led by Graham Roberts (6-foot-3, 285 pounds). He will continue his career at Harvard.

“He’s going to be a three-year starter,” St. Pierre said. “He’s played a lot of ball, a lot of experience. He’s your prototypical lineman. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s reliable. He plays with good pad level. He’s more athletic than you might think from the offensive line position. He’s played against really good competition and excelled. He checks all the boxes. And he’s as good a kid as you’ll ever meet on top of it.”

St. Pierre was asked why the Prep is always so strong up front.

“I don’t really know. I think it’s partly because we take football seriously here,” St. Pierre said. “I think when kids come here, they know the tradition of it, so maybe where a kid would go, ‘I want to be a tight end,’ playing line here, there’s a tradition of really stellar play. I think you want to be a part of that. That entices you to some degree. I think it’s the quality of ball we play, the schedule we play, and the tradition we have.”

The top receiver should be Merrick Barlow (6-5, 215), who will play at Navy.

“He’s a vertical threat,” St. Pierre said. “So he just won the Catholic Conference 100 meters with 11.1. So he moves really well for a kid his size. He has good ball skills, good body control with the ball in the air. Good catch radius. He’s new to football. This will be his third year playing, basically. He’s just scratching the surface. He has a lot of athletic ability.”

Linebacker Jackson Tucker is 6-0, 210 and a good athlete.

“You want to find tough football players that want to stick their nose in. He’s every bit that,” St. Pierre said. “He’s as good an inside ‘backer as I’ve coached. He’s getting FCS and D2 interest right now. He’s coming off an injury last year. We’re anxious to get him back, but he looks great. Very physical. Runs well for the position, he’s athletic, and very, very tough. Very, very high IQ, as well.”

St. Pierre also has a quality fullback in Gael Garcia (6-1.5, 235).

“He’s a masher. He’s the real deal,” St. Pierre said. “We’ve played some with him at linebacker. But he’s so good at fullback, I don’t know if I can afford to give him up. The defensive coaches want him. He played so much for us, and he’s such a big part of what we do. His recruitment is unique at fullback. Who uses (fullbacks)? Who really recruits them? Everybody that watches him, FCS or D2, who watches his film, says, ‘Holy crap!’ He can get it done. Anybody that is looking for an H, fullback-type, there isn’t anyone better around here, in this area.”

Alex Bajoras is a 6-1, 285 nose guard and defensive tackle.

“He’s getting some FCS, some D2, and some high-academic D3, NESCAC-type stuff. A physical kid,” St. Pierre said. “Hard to move in the run game. Very thick lower half. He’s a plugger. He prides himself on taking on double teams and not getting moved. It’s a big part of what we do up front is having guys that can do that. He does a really good job of that.”

Will Kent is a 6-4, 235 tight end who will play an important role on offense.

“He will play somewhere at a high academic. A very good student,” St. Pierre said. “He’s been a good football player for us. He’s solid. He’s good at the point of attack blocking. His route-running is ever-improving. He’s got good hands. He’s got good feel for the position.”

Edwin Castro is a 5-10, 180 wide receiver and defensive back.

“He’s a good football player,” St. Pierre said. “He’s competitive, tough. Sticks his nose in. Physical kid.”

Jeff Quigley is a running back who got some experience last year and is 5-7, 175.

“He’s just a very tough runner,” St. Pierre said. “He’s a very hard runner. He’s faster than you think. Very quick, good feet.”

Defensive back Lucas Pelletier (5-9, 169), kicker Langdon Laws (5-11, 190), and long snapper Thomas Lafferty (6-4, 220) are all players to watch, too.

Quarterback Deacon Robillard (5-11, 170) has started since his sophomore year.

“(Robillard is) 19-2 as a starter with a state title and a state runner up. Just a winner,” St. Pierre said. “A very competitive guy. He’s getting recruited by a lot of the NESCACs right now.”

There is another quarterback who is heading into his freshman season that is already getting major college attention. That is Christopher Vargas (6-4, 180). He and Robillard will battle it out when the season comes.

“What I expect out of him this year is I don’t know. He’s a freshman,” St. Pierre said. “I know this. He was with us last year as an eighth grader practicing every day in practice, and he belonged. That leads me to think that it’s not going to be too big for him, and that everything we saw as an eighth grader is going to be that plus this year as a ninth grader. He just has the mental makeup. It’s hard to explain, but just having played the position, you just see certain things in kids. It’s rare, and he has a lot of those things. I have to see him in live bullets and games and stuff like that, but very even keeled, very much in control. And then the talent is the talent. His arm talent, he throws, it’s pretty close to an NFL ball right now.”

Vargas has plenty of ability, which everyone who watches him throw sees. How does St. Pierre manage Vargas with the quarterback being so young but so talented?

“Yow know what, I don’t know. We worked with him last year. I certainly have no issue playing a freshman,” St. Pierre said. “The best guy will have to play. He knows that, and so does Deacon. We’re coming from a position of strength, obviously. We have a returning quarterback who’s a senior who has won a lot of football games for us. Then we have a guy who’s supremely talented and probably one of the best players at his position in the entire country in his class. I mean, we feel good about our quarterback room, I’ll say that. It’s going to be a competition. . . . He has not played for us, the schedule we play, the caliber of opponents we play. There’s a little bit of a curve there. I don’t care how good you are. I started as a freshman here. I’m uniquely qualified to speak on it. There’s a curve. I don’t have any qualms about him doing it. I think he’s prepared. He’s a worker. He works at his craft. He will be prepared. So will Deacon. We’re just going to let it play out. See what happens. But I feel good for whoever’s under center for us. I feel we have got a winning player for that position, I’m sure.”