Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part II
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MARSHALL, MN– We close the book on our time at the Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp with more in-person prospect evaluations coming from Mustangs Country. This list compels a competitive mix of Outstate and Metro prospects that passed our eye…
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Continue ReadingMARSHALL, MN– We close the book on our time at the Southwest Minnesota State Prospect Camp with more in-person prospect evaluations coming from Mustangs Country. This list compels a competitive mix of Outstate and Metro prospects that passed our eye test in a camp setting. All five prospects but one have offers on the table, and the one that doesn’t is certainly worth a look if I am a college coach recruiting SW Minnesota specialists. Take a look at Part II of our standouts from one of our last prospect camps of the year out west!
The amount of growth I have seen athletically from Greg from our recent Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcases to now has been entertaining to watch over the last year. He’s shown that speed and active burst at our showcases, but after watching him at the SMSU prospect camp, you can tell he’s worked his tail off all summer, growing on his instinctive movements with his take-offs. Pulling up into Greg’s tape, that straight line finished speed he has really shines out when you open up his tape as you won’t have to worry about this kid’s stamina when finishing a long run as he’s got a lot of it. I also like Greg’s awareness in the backfield as a pass-catcher, as he shows a significant turn with his body to get his head to the ball’s sweet spot with his strong vision. The most significant development I would like to see from Greg is working on his agile movement with his cuts, as he’s typically a one-cut back with that elusive foot speed, but there is more fluidity left in the tank for this young man when heading off to the next level at getting in a college football system. He also has shown off sound strides with his growing football IQ from when we evaluated him around a year ago for the first time at our PRZ Minnesota Showcase. Holds one offer from right up the road from Cottonwood, and I would love to see more programs get into the mix for him this fall, with a booming senior season in the making starting in the coming weeks.
Highlights
Peyton Gillund
Peyton Gillund
You do not see too many prospects at camp jump over the 9’0 foot mark in the broad jump, and you see a lot less of them that are kickers like Minneota’s Peyton Gillund showed off at the SMSU prospect camp. Peyton has a sizeable kicking leg and shows significant speed in his windup that you will not see at too many 1A schools in Minnesota or even at the 4A or 5A levels, perhaps. Which position do Peyton’s skillsets match up at at the next level? I think right now, due to his significant hang time on his punts, but developing distance punter in the weight room would be a nice look for this young man at the next level and handling kickoffs as he develops his hangtime in that department. College programs would like to know that Peyton also has Grade A character when we met him at the SMSU prospect camp. A small town sleeper of a specialist from SW Minnesota to watch this fall for sure in my eyes.
Karson continued to do what he does best at every camp I have seen this summer, working his tail off on every rep he was given. From early June to now late July, I have seen Karson grow longer with his length athletically in his lower body, and he showed that off a bunch in another live evaluation at the SMSU prospect camp. Watching Karson in the QB room this summer, we have seen plenty of growth from his QB play as he’s really grown on his mechanics and throwing on intermediate routes. Karson also carries a sideline-to-sideline skillset at cornerback that will go well out of his way to make his tackles and adds intense physicality with those tackles from the other end of the field, showing excellent stamina. Wherever Karson ends up at the next level, just know that there are not too many team leaders like Karson on and off the field he was a four-year varsity captain, and I wouldn’t at all doubt that by the time he is an upperclassman in college that will change, as over the last several years I have scouted him he has become one of my favorite prospects from a character perspective across Minnesota, and college programs across the Midwest should be raving to get this kid on campus next year.
Highlights
In my first look in-person evaluation of Ethan, there was a lot to like about his footwork as he brought some of the best of it in the OL group I watched for most of the day at the SMSU prospect camp. At 6’3 245 pounds, Ethan showed off some significant length as far as his reach against the small group of defensive linemen in the 1v1 groups. He also showed smooth hands within his contact level with the punching abilities he showed off in Marshall. Also adds a lot of strength from his track and field background by throwing the shotput for the Rangers. Ethan has had a solid camp season with four offers to his recruiting trail at the D3 level. I certainly expect this young man to develop even stronger into his senior season and hope we can get some tape on it!
Jaiden showed some finesse, especially once we got into 1v1 reps at the SMSU prospect camp. What did he do well? He showed a developed stance in his reps that showed sizeable ambition to make a play on the ball. I also liked how Jaiden attacked the hip off the ball carrier and provided a tight angle with his immense focus on his football IQ. When taking a deep dive at Jaiden’s junior tape, you see a gunner of a special teams artist that just has the clinging ability to be the first one downfield with his sizeable motor and provides a quick stance to add the most physicality he can on the ball carrier with his hitting ability. He shows off a reactive first step when he advances up a level of the field to serve his skillsets well in the run game. Jaiden shows off efficient footwork with his crossover running ability in pursuit. Scholarship-level prospect, in my eyes that will have an exciting, senior year for the Centennial Cougars.