Winona State Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part I
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WINONA, MN– We continue our prospect camp coverage as we headed down the Mississippi River Valley to the city of Winona last weekend to get Prep Redzone subscribers even more in-person evaluations from more camps across the Midwest, as camps…
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Continue ReadingWINONA, MN– We continue our prospect camp coverage as we headed down the Mississippi River Valley to the city of Winona last weekend to get Prep Redzone subscribers even more in-person evaluations from more camps across the Midwest, as camps are a crucial way to get seen, get coached, etc. by a great slew of college coaches. By now you should know the drill, that our standouts list are broken up into multiple parts as we try to scout as many prospects as possible at every camp. This first list from Warriors Country, shows off prospects that performed well from three neighboring states, Minnesota of course, Iowa and my home state of Wisconsin. With our head always on a swivel as far as finding next level talent, we pop into Part I from our time in Winona for our in-person prospect evals.
I was quite impressed at the Winona State prospect camp with the elusive hands Payton showed off. Payton also showed some good fluidity when working on his feet in 1v1 drills in my eyes. As one of the smaller players on the Byron Bears offensive line, when I got to watch more tape on Payton, I was impressed with not just his stance but the strength he showed off, as most of the nose tackles he had reps against he was able to maintain great positioning to assure they wouldn’t get past him as he would usually win with the placement of his footwork I mentioned. He also won a lot of reps with his hand placement, as he kept them consistently under the pads of the defender regardless of what clip I got to watch from his tape. He’ll need to develop more strength in the weight room to grow on getting even better leverage, but I expect Payton to turn the corner in his development as we look to the upcoming season.
Paul Morris
Paul Morris
Paul was a first look RB/LB prospect out of the Madison Area, that showed some promise in the reps I got to watch him run with at the Winona State prospect camp. He impressed me most with his route-running ability as he showed off some proficient cuts to get separation from the defender in 1v1s. His 5’11 200 pound frame on tape shows mostly reps from the middle linebacker spot. He shows good finesse in his movement, as he can travel a mile with his stamina to get to the ball carrier. Paul had 106 tackles, 12 for a loss and 6.5 sacks for the Spartans in the 2021 season. I like watching him lead with his visionary instinct on tape, as this kid has some solid physicality in his arsenal when making his tackles. I would like to see him grow with his shedding ability in 2022 to increase his speed when he gets off blocks. Paul was All-Region and first team all-conference as a junior, and I would be willing to bet he puts up similar accolades in 2022. A MLB from my home area of Wisconsin that I will be tracking this fall.
Only a few times a summer at prospect camps do we really see quarterbacks that have excellent touch on all three levels of the field, and let me just say that resonated with me evaluating Norwood-Young America’s Noah Strickfaden Noah Strickfaden 6’3″ | 180 lbs | QB Norwood Young America | 2023 State MN . On one particular rep I watched from Noah in 1v1s I used the word teardrop meaning the touch he showed on that rep was a dime from his arm from the touch perspective of his throw. Noah’s tape starts off taping off a long run, that just showed the athleticism you get from him when he gets outside the pocket with his legs. The first throw we got to see was similar to what we saw in Winona, as his deep ball accuracy was showed a lot of precision from start to finish. The 6’3 185 pounder has been a heavy-hitter in the NSIC and I expect there will be coming much more attention this fall, as his skillsets with his extensive mobility and arm talent are outstanding to watch on tape.
Highlights
Caden Hotz
Caden Hotz
Despite having family from Waverly, Iowa, I have yet to scout a prospect from there until Cohen Hotz came onto my radar at the Winona State prospect camp. Cohen was another linemen that passed my eye test when it came down to his footwork in the trenches as he ran his feet well in the multiple reps I got to watch in 1v1s. Watching some tape from Caden’s sophomore year, I love the low base this kid gets as far as leverage in the trenches, as it pays divends for him with his physicality in the trenches. Caden also is effective with his pull blocking, as he has a quick first step off the snap to set the tone with his reps in the run game. If you haven’t learned by now, I like offensive linemen that finish their blocks and Caden certainly shows that skillset quite early on tape. His quick swiping ability with his engagement is also another physical trait I love watching to the left side, as you will see it out loud the deeper you get into his tape. The 6’2 260 pounder from Waverly has a couple years to go, but I like the potential of this kid playing on Saturdays somewhere in the Hawkeye State.