Team Breakdowns (Ankeny Hawks)
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There are a lot of schools that always reload with talent every year. Powerhouses like Dowling, Valley, Ankeny, Southeast Polk, etc always seem to have stars that play at the division one level. In this series I will be going…
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Continue ReadingThere are a lot of schools that always reload with talent every year. Powerhouses like Dowling, Valley, Ankeny, Southeast Polk, etc always seem to have stars that play at the division one level. In this series I will be going over the “powerhouse” schools that have traditionally been good and produced a heavy load of talent the past couple of years.
Ankeny (South) Head Coach – Rick Nelson
I thought a good place to start would be the reigning champs Ankeny. This defense is absolutely loaded with talent and experience at all levels of the defense. Offense on the other hand has a 24% returning production rate (Total yards/Total Returning Yards). But it has high level prospects on the offensive side as well. Lets take a look at the best talent returning for the Hawks.
Colin Kadolph Colin Kadolph 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Ankeny | 2022 State IA (HB/ATH) Class of 2022 6-0 190 LBS Twitter Hudl
Colin is a explosive back with great break away speed. Colin is super shifty and makes countless tacklers miss. He has played half back for two years at Ankeny and started both years. But there is a chance Colin plays some slot this upcoming season which would fit him well. He is going to be given a heavy workload this upcoming season and I believe he will be one of the top prospects in Iowa by the end of the season.
Ryan Crandall Ryan Crandall 6'3" | 200 lbs | DB Ankeny | 2022 State IA (S/WR) Class of 2022 6-2.5 200 LBS Twitter Hudl
Ryan is a great tackler at the safety position. He is always trying to make plays on the ball in coverage as well. He is athletic enough to play man which is valuable at the safety position. Ryan has started since sophomore season as well and has been arguably one of the top 3 players on Ankeny’s defense both years. Ryan might be the top ball hawk in the state or at least top 3. He has 8 career interceptions in two years. Sophomore season he was second in the state in interceptions with 5 and his junior season he had 3 interceptions. Overall Ryan is a great ball hawk safety but doesn’t lack in tackling either making him one of the better prospects in the state.
Brady McCullough (WR/S/TE) Class of 2022 6-5 210 LBS Twitter Hudl
Brady is going to raise his stock tremendously his senior season. Brady is a physical wide receiver with quality route running ability. His frame is huge and I could see a college easily try to turn him into a TE. Last season he was the fourth receiver on the depth chart on the best receiving core in the state, He still produced putting up 243 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving Touchdowns, and 14.3 Yards Per Catch. One of his touchdowns helped dethrone Dowling Catholic in the best game of the year. Brady does a great job blocking as well making him a intriguing TE prospect but this upcoming season he will be getting mainly WR reps. Overall one of the highest upsides on Ankeny.
Tamden Webb-Tate Tamden Webb-Tate 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Ankeny | 2022 State IA (ILB/OLB) Class of 2022 6-2 220 LBS Twitter Hudl
Tamden was apart of the best linebacking core in the state last year and this year he will get the chance to lead the linebacking core. He will most likely be filling the role of star linebacker Brecken Manus who was the states leading tackler last year. Tamden blitzed off the edge a ton last season and it worked, Tamden had 13 Tackles for Loss and 3.5 Sacks. He is athletic for a LB his size using his speed to get around blockers and sometimes just bull rushes the blocker to get around them. Tamden also has great pursuit making multiple plays that most linebackers at the high school level would just give up on. Tamden has gotten offers from multiple smaller schools and he will most definetly be getting offers from bigger schools sometime this next season whether it be for football or baseball.
JJ Kohl JJ Kohl 6'6" | 225 lbs | QB Ankeny | 2023 State IA (QB) Class of 2023 6-6 225 LBS Twitter Hudl
JJ very well could end up being the highest rated prospect on this Ankeny team. He already has been looked at by multiple power five schools like Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas AM, and even been invited to camps at Alabama. He has a massive frame at 6-6 225 LBS and a big arm. He has impressed at multiple major camps and I wouldn’t be surprised if a offer from a power five school came around next football season. JJ played at Ankeny Centennial last year and wasn’t able to produce as much as you would expect but in my opinion that will change and here’s why. He transferred from Ankeny Centennial last semester and will have the keys to Ankeny’s offense which has been explosive in past years. Ankeny Centennial is more of a run first playbook meanwhile Ankeny runs a spread offense that features more RPO and Pass plays. Watch out for JJ Kohl JJ Kohl 6'6" | 225 lbs | QB Ankeny | 2023 State IA next season.
Jackson Penningroth Jackson Penningroth 6'0" | 210 lbs | LB Ankeny | 2022 State IA (LB) Class of 2022 6-0 210 LBS Twitter Hudl
Another star linebacker from Ankeny last season was Jackson. Jackson is one of the best tacklers on the team and produced impressive stats last season. He put up 42.5 Tackles, 4.5 Sacks, and 16.5 Tackles For Loss. He is great in blitz packages and seems to always be near the ball. He is also fast for his size and is one of if not the most physical linebacker on the team. He is being moved to inside linebacker this upcoming season and will be given a heavier workload this next season which I expect he will thrive in.
Will Cornwell Will Cornwell 5'10" | 180 lbs | DB Ankeny | 2022 State IA (DB/S) Class of 2022 5-10 180 LBS Twitter Hudl
Will is one of the most experienced players on the team starting since the first game of his sophomore season. Will is a great tackler and is one of the better coverage backs in the state. Last season Will switched to Safety at the end of the season and played well. He had a interception in the state championship game that ended up starting a major run. Will most likely will stay at the safety position next season and it will be interesting to see him play that for a full season. I would assume him and Ryan Crandall Ryan Crandall 6'3" | 200 lbs | DB Ankeny | 2022 State IA will produce a lot together at the two safety positions.
Braden Simonsen Braden Simonsen 6'3" | 235 lbs | DL Ankeny | 2022 State IA (DE/ATH/LS) Class of 2022 6-3 235 LBS Twitter