Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part I
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MARSHALL, MN— We turn our attention to one of the last prospect camps of the summer; as we checked into Southwest Minnesota State last Friday to see what the new Mustangs staff was bringing to the table as far as…
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Continue ReadingMARSHALL, MN— We turn our attention to one of the last prospect camps of the summer; as we checked into Southwest Minnesota State last Friday to see what the new Mustangs staff was bringing to the table as far as college-level rated prospects. What is a quick overview of what we saw? The camp was not the biggest, but the amount of under-the-radar talent we could find was significant that had college-level potential. Plenty of prospects that we compelled our notes on do not have offers at the moment, and we will certainly be shedding plenty of light on them throughout this multi-part list of standouts from SMSU. We dive into Part I of our standouts with prospects from four states, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota are all on this list! Let the fun begin with our in-person evaluations from Marshall!
The defensive line group wasn’t the biggest, but it was easy to see early who my DL MVP would be from the Southwest Minnesota State prospect camp in Sun Prairie East’s Nolan Olson Nolan Olson 6’2″ | 260 lbs | DL Sun Prairie East | 2023 State WI . Nolan’s amount of strength, along with his hand placement, showed excellent strides when it came down to his leverage and shedding ability as he won several reps in 1v1s I got to watch up close. When I got a peek at Nolan’s junior tape at now Sun Prairie East, you get to watch a kid that shows a workhorse mentality that will do whatever it takes in the trenches to get to the ball or get his hands on the ball, as his movement showed off versatility from all sides of the line. Nolan also has elusive vision, as his football IQ shows a strong awareness. He also shows an athletic shedding ability that gets off quick with a balance first step off the snap and the power with his pounding footwork and range to be an asset around the ball no matter where he strikes from. Somehow under the radar, as Nolan doesn’t have an offer yet although there is a lot to love about athletic ability with his 6’2 260 pound frame going into fall for the Cardinals.
Highlights
Stevie didn’t just show off a lot of speed & burst at the Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp, he showed excellent fluidity with the consistent measure of his footwork. He also showed an insinctive gene with the speed he showed off in Mustangs Country that allowed him to get some tremendous reps in at the WR position in Marshall. Stevie lines up as a sprinting tight end that has a sizeable first step to get into the open field to give his QB a favorable look on the outside of the field, and a complete mismatch for the poor linebacker that has to drop back in pass coverage to catch this kid. My eyes showed at SMSU, that this young man shows more juice in his legs from an in-person evaluation, which is why I love watching prospects like Stevie in a college camp setting, because you can unleash his strengths at a higher rate. Do not be fooled with his blocking either, as Stevie has that finisher skillset I love to see from guys that play on the interior. He also has a sound ball-tracing ability and awareness when tracking the deeper routes. There is also more length and reach that we caught with this in-person eval of this young man. A sleeper of a WR from south central Minnesota I will be tracking this fall out of BOLD.
Highlights
Devan Nguyen
Devan Nguyen
When I got to watch Devan in testing, you could see that he shows valuable realization in his athletic movement during testing as well as satisfying preparation. On his junior tape, Devan shows a low base out of his stance which allows him to sneak thru coverage and get separation. On his intermediate routes, this young man shows superb patience adjusting his route based on the ballWhen I got to watch Devan in testing, you could see that he shows valuable realization in his athletic movement during testing as well as satisfying preparation. On his junior tape, Devan shows a low base out of his stance, allowing him to sneak through coverage and get separation. On his intermediate routes, this young man shows superb patience in adjusting his route based on the ball placement. Devan has some churning upward development when it comes to his physicality, as I certainly see more balance brewing in this young man come fall when it comes to getting his steps together to finish the play with more enthusiasm. Yes, Minnesota, Dassel-Cokato will continue to have college-level prospects in this 2023 class, and that includes Devan Nguyen, who has good versatility in multiple positions on both sides of the ball.
Isaiah was a first look prospect for me at the Southwest Minnesota State prospect camp, and one that kept catching my eye from the early testing sessions into 1v1s later in the day. He showed great amounts of explosion with his footwork, whether that was his straight line speed or side to side. Getting to watch Isaiah’s tape a bit, you see a running back has a lot of durability coming off of first contact from the inside and can bounce with those feet we mentioned to get to the outside perimeter of the field. He shows off longer strides than you would expect in his 5’10 185-pound frame out of the backfield, as this young man comes with another gear of instinctive vision on Friday nights in Bettendorf, Iowa. I would to love to see Isaiah grow on that second level of the field with his alertness in an open field setting, as I think there is more fluidity in his steps with his agility skillset. Yet another UTR prospect on this list out of the Quad Cities that should produce for college football attention this fall.
Tate showed significant fire in his early testing coming from the broad jump, as I liked Tate’s ability to open up his hips in that setting, as he showed a stout upper body that you can tell would show great amounts of power thru early contact when you get the pads on him. Rolling Tate’s sophomore tape, you see what I saw in Marshall, as the bulk of Tate’s early tape jumps out by not just moving the defender out of his way, he does a lot with his stiff arm and that durability by man-handling the defender out of the way with his power ability when he has the ball in his hands. His diligent ability inside with his vision shows guided patience of taking what his O Line gives him, and he uses his athletic movement to do the rest. He got very close to closing in on 1000 all-purpose yards as a junior for Miller-Highmore-Harrold, and I would expect that would be a goal for him as a senior, along with growing on his developed burst. A big senior season coming for this young man for the Rustlers.
Highlights
Headshots from the Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp from this Part I Group:
Nolan Olson Nolan Olson 6'2" | 260 lbs | DL Sun Prairie East | 2023 State WI , DL, Sun Prairie East (WI) 2023
Stevie Mcmath Stevie Mcmath 6'0" | 170 lbs | WR BOLD | 2023 MN , WR, BOLD (Olivia) (MN) 2023
Devan Nguyen, ATH/TE, Dassel-Cokato (MN) 2023
Isaiah Martinez Isaiah Martinez 5'10" | 185 lbs | RB Bettendorf HS | 2023 IA , RB, Bettendorf (IA) 2023
Tate Hoffman Tate Hoffman 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Miller/Highmore/Harrold | 2023 State , RB, Miller/Highmore/Harrold (SD) 2023