SDSU Prospect Camp: Midwest Standouts Part V
BROOKINGS, SD– We wrap up our time at the SDSU Prospect Camp by looking at the final seven “as watched” standouts that caught our eyes from Brookings just over a week ago! Owen Cass | Quarterback | Sturgis Brown (SD) |…
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Continue ReadingBROOKINGS, SD– We wrap up our time at the SDSU Prospect Camp by looking at the final seven “as watched” standouts that caught our eyes from Brookings just over a week ago!
Owen Cass | Quarterback | Sturgis Brown (SD) | 2023
Owen was a recent addition to our Class of 2023 rankings, so I was intrigued to see the Sturgis Scoopers prospect in attendance at SDSU. He did not have the fastest get-out while moving on the run but showed solid touch on the football from the reps I watched. Owen did a run a solid rep in the pro-agility at 4.56.
He shows his best reps inside the pocket and over the middle of the field. He has the mobility to get out of the pocket when needed but doesn’t need to depend on it. His arm strength as was is solid over the middle of the field. Based on the ball of his reps, I see he gets the ball out quickly and is a player that depends on the consistent 10-yard pass vs. going for the bomb every time every play. I think this young man has the potential to be a solid small school prospect at the next level—also, a strong student with a 4.0 GPA.
Brandon Bell | Wide Receiver | Wheaton-Warrenville South (IL) | 2022
Brandon looked like one of the most consistent testers I saw in testing, running his numbers very consistently across all three categories. He tested 9’8 in the broad jump both times and ran his pro agility around a 4.4 with the two attempts he had. Brandon went better by .05 seconds in the second rep of the 40-yard dash with a 4.6 even.
Brandon is a prospect in my eyes that plays a lot bigger than the measurables might show. He has a solid burst off the line, maintains his balance, and can make plays in tight windows. Another skill set I like about his game is his ability to stay active. I found a clip where he consistently had to break free of the secondary and find just enough space to make a play on the ball; even though it was off his route, he still showed the will and endurance to make a play happen vs. just waiting for the football. Brandon also has a knack for being a consistent deep ball target, and on the 99-yard touchdown he had last season, he used his footwork to juke the defense out of their shoes. I was really darn surprised that Bell did not have an offer yet based on what I watched; someone needs to jump on this young man!
Evan Herbig | Quarterback | Mukwonago (WI) | 2023
Evan ran excellent in his pro agility and jumped over the 9-foot mark in the broad jump and ran really solid in the low/mid 4’s in the pro agility on both reps.
When I watched Evan’s tape, I saw a young man with good awareness of where he’s going with the football. His game doesn’t have many flares, but it certainly has some good decision-making in it for sure. He will need to develop a little more touch on the football on the shorter throws, but I like his arm strength on the throws beyond the first down markers. I like how quick his decision-making is when releasing the football, as he has good football instincts focusing on positive yardage. With his running ability, I think he has time to be more decisive and make more effective runs for the Mukwonago Indians. Evan is for sure a QB to watch in Wisconsin over the next two years with those developments aside.
Cayden Holcomb | Wide Receiver | Rochester Mayo (MN) | 2022
Cayden tested in the mid 4.6s and low 4.7s in the 40-yard dash, jumped at 9’4 and 9’5 in the broad jump and tested very consistently in the pro agility logging a 4.36 and 4.35. Holcomb was a top performer too at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase.
Cayden is the definition of a do-it-all prospect coming out of Rochester Mayo. He provides so much versatility for the Spartans and has been a varsity starter for most likely the longest tenure in 5A football, Minnesota’s highest division. He’s not the biggest prospect on paper but has a powerful lower body that makes him hard to tackle. He has an excellent catch radius for his size and is a playmaker, to say the least, as he is really good at creating his own space when the original play breaks down. This young man can stop on his route on a dime and is very explosive with his feet once he gets going on his routes. After watching Cayden multiple times at camps and plenty of his film, I am willing to say that he might be the biggest sleeper in the State of Minnesota in the Class of 2022. No offers as of yet to date, although I do feel he’s overdue for some scholarship level attention as a prospect that exceeds anywhere you line him up, as well as in any sport he’s been able to play at the varsity level at Rochester Mayo.
Eli Oxner | Defensive Back | Rapid City Stevens (SD) | 2022
In my first look at Eli in person versus the film room, I came away impressed with his athletic ability, especially in his lower body. Eli showed the natural ability to turn his hips very quickly in the individual drills I watched in Brookings last week.
One of the impressive things on Eli’s tape is his ability to adjust based on the skillset of the WR he is running with. Some WRs he will run in press man vs. others he will adapt and give them a slight cushion. What doesn’t change is his quick jump off the ball, as is most of his tapes I found; he’s stuck to his wideout like glue and shows a physical presence when the ball comes his way to get the wideout off their route or places them in a spot that makes it difficult to make a play on the ball. The biggest development I can see on tape from Eli is on shorter routes; he positions himself a little too deep, and it creates a little too much space between him and the wideout for the QB to make the quick throw, usually over the middle. If he can work on his jams at the line to flip the momentum his way, it would surely help him on those shorter routes. Eli is the only prospect on this list with an offer on the table, as he just grabbed his first offer a few days ago from an NAIA program in the Dakotas. I have no doubt this young man will see more in the next 3-5 months.
Tony Roberts | Defensive Back | Batavia (IL) | 2022
Tony logged a top-three finish in the pro-agility, checking in at 4.18. He also tested at a high level in the 40-yard dash 4.67 and 4.75 and was competitive in the broad jump at around 9 feet.
When I watched some of Tony’s game film from last season, I saw a young man that although an undersized DB, he can win many battles with his excellent positioning and speed. He does line up with giving the WR some leverage but does an excellent job with his vision and closing in speed to make a play on the football. He also shows a crashing corner that can flip his hips on a dime and get deep into the first level outside running lanes. With Tony’s aggressive ball skills, it’s no wonder his recruiting stock is rising high. He started his recruiting journey with a Division III offer but recently picked up an offer from Indiana State and has picked up a significant amount of Division II offers across the Midwest. Buy stock now in this young man with his excellent skill set, solid GPA (3.5 & Academic-All State), and is DB prospect that plays bigger than his 5’10 body.
Jerry Kaminski | Quarterback | Sun Prairie (WI) | 2023
Jerry looked impressive in the early morning drills with showing one of the higher takeoff speeds amongst the QB group I watched.
I watched Jerry’s game film from Sun Prairie’s spring season and became intrigued by the plethora of throws this young man can make across multiple avenues of the field. He shows excellent poise throwing from the run and is not one that loses touch on the football much while doing so. He also has sound vision and can flip his body to make a throw that takes a strong skill set to compete. Jerry also has a quick release of the football, which is another significant asset to his game. On his deeper throws (20+yards), he shows solid trust and precision in his wideouts by putting the ball in their wheelhouse so they can keep their speed on their route to make an extended deep play on the football. Jerry has no offers yet but is for sure a scholarship-level talent coming out of Sun Prairie with plenty of time of more time to develop.
Next Up: We will head one hour south on Interstate 29, where we check-in at Augustana University for last Monday’s Augie Prospect Camp.