2019 Preseason All-Metro Team (Offense)

As a kid I always remember running home to watch Randy Shaver’s Prep Sports Extra every Friday night in the fall to see what happened across the state. Shaver will always be Minnesota high school sports legend. Therefore his pre season All-Metro (from the Twin-Cities area) team is arguably the most prestigious honor you can receive prior to the beginning of the season. So let’s see what stood out from this year’s team.

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks:

Jalen Suggs Jalen Suggs 6'4" | QB SMB | 2020 State MN , SMB, Senior
Aidan Bouman Aidan Bouman QB Buffalo | 2020 State MN , Buffalo, Senior

Pictured above: [player_tooltip player_id="10962" first="Aidan" last="Bouman"]

Nobody really should argue that Suggs and Bouman aren’t right choice the represent the best quarterbacks in the state. Both are clearly the most talented at their position in Minnesota.

Suggs obviously is one of the best two-sport athletes Minnesota has ever seen with offers from all over the country to play either basketball or football and in some cases both. Jalen has shown that he is a “big-game” player while coming up in big moments. Having five total touchdowns in last years state tournament.

Bouman is arguably one of the most talented throwers in the entire state. He already has accuracy of a division one QB and has the velocity of a player well beyond his years. Suggs and Bouman should both have monster senior years and show the state why they’re the best at their position.

Snubs:

Kristoff Kowalkowski Kristoff Kowalkowski 6'2" | QB Totino-Grace | 2021 State MN , Totino Grace, Junior

Running backs:

Isaiah Smith Isaiah Smith 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Kenwood | 2021 IL , Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Senior
T.K. Marshall, MPLS. Southwest, Senior

Picture above: [player_tooltip player_id="10981" first="Isaiah" last="Smith"] (Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine)

Minnesota had quite the running back class graduate in 2019 including Jason Williamson Jason Williamson RB Owatonna | 2019 State MN , Evan Hull Evan Hull RB Maple Grove | 2019 State MN , and Matt Cavanagh Matt Cavanagh ATH Edina | 2019 State MN just to name a few. I believe Isaiah Smith Isaiah Smith 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Kenwood | 2021 IL and T.K. Marshall are the right choice to replace the talent from last year.

Isaiah Smith Isaiah Smith 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Kenwood | 2021 IL is committed to the University of North Dakota heading into his senior year. Last week the BSM twitter page tweeted out that Smith maxed out at a ridiculous 325 for bench, 455 for squat, and 225 for hang clean… standing at only 5’10″ 188 pounds. In the regular season of his Junior year Smith averaged an absurd 9.8 yards per carry in route to 977 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.

I go more into detail about T.K. Marshall in my Mr. Football 2019 preview here. But Marshall is clearly one of the most talented backs in the state and is in line for a monster senior year.

Snubs:

Alexander Flucas Alexander Flucas RB Mayer Lutheran | 2020 State MN , Mayer Lutheran, Senior

Wide Receivers:

Wyatt Schroeder Wyatt Schroeder WR Cambridge | 2020 State MN , St. Francis, Senior
Terry Lockett, SMB, Senior

Wide receiver is arguably the deepest position in the state. Therefore there are a plethora of other players that you could argue deserve to represent the metro. But rather than talking about them lets talk about the players that were selected. Wyatt Schroeder Wyatt Schroeder WR Cambridge | 2020 State MN is the highest ranked recruit in the history of St. Francis. He stands at a big 6’4″ 225 pounds making him a great red zone target for any quarterback throwing his way. In his Junior year Schroeder totaled almost 500 yards and three touchdowns. Heading into his senior year Schroeder has accepted a scholarship offer from P.J. Fleck into a scholarship for the Gophers.

Last year Terry Lockett was playing basketball at Spire Academy in Ohio with LaMelo Ball… yes that LaMelo Ball. Prior to last year Lockett spent his whole football career playing with his SMB teammates. Now he has decided to return to Minnesota and play with his lifelong friends for his senior year. Similar to his teammate Jalen Suggs Jalen Suggs 6'4" | QB SMB | 2020 State MN , Lockett is a terrific two-sport athlete. In football he holds offers from Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Iowa, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Michigan State. And in basketball he holds an offer from Hampton University. Lockett is a very versatile player that can either carry the ball or go deep and take the top off the defense. Schroeder and Lockett are both in line for monster Senior seasons.

Pictured above: Terry Lockett

Snubs:

Johnathan Mann, Rosemount, Senior
Thai Bowman, Robinsdale Cooper, Senior
Raja Nelson Raja Nelson DB Lakeville North | 2020 State MN , Lakeville North, Senior
Ryan Samuelson Ryan Samuelson 6'3" | WR Jordan | 2020 State MN , Jordan, Senior
Jaice Miller Jaice Miller 6'4" | WR Champlin Park | 2020 State MN , Champlin Park, Senior

Tight end:

Russell Corrigan Russell Corrigan TE Hutchinson | 2020 State MN , Hutchinson, Senior

[player_tooltip player_id="2195" first="Russell" last="Corrigan"] Pictured above

Tight end is the only position on the All-Metro team with one player representing, and Russell Corrigan Russell Corrigan TE Hutchinson | 2020 State MN is definitely well deserving. He held 11 total division one offers before just recently committing to Boise State. Corrigan has contributed all of the field during his time at Hutchinson. He played has played tight end primarily, but he has also shown the ability to play outside linebacker, he has even shown some quarterback film on Hudl. The strength of Corrigan’s game is definitely his blocking where he consistently pile drives opposing players into the ground. He also is one of the best deep ball threats in state making him one of the most interesting players in Minnesota.

Snubs:

Jimmy Murphy Jimmy Murphy 6'2" | TE Hopkins | 2020 State MN , Hopkins, Senior

Offensive Line:

Jalen Travis Jalen Travis 6'7" | OL DelaSalle | 2020 State MN , DeLaSalle, Senior
Riley Mahlman Riley Mahlman 6'7" | OL Lakeville South | 2021 State MN , Lakeville South, Junior
Bastian Swinney Bastian Swinney 6'6" | 285 lbs | OL Edina | 2021 State MN , Edina, Junior
Bennett Webber, Waconia, Senior

Minnesota has always been a hot bed for offensive linemen and this year is no different. There is no doubt Jalen Travis Jalen Travis 6'7" | OL DelaSalle | 2020 State MN is one of the most talented players in Minnesota and I have written a whole piece on him where you can read about here.

Pictured above: [player_tooltip player_id="18025" first="Riley" last="Mahlman"]

Riley Mahlman Riley Mahlman 6'7" | OL Lakeville South | 2021 State MN is the highest ranked junior in the state of Minnesota. He spent last season playing tight end as well as offensive tackle. He currently stands at 6’7″ 270 pounds and holds scholarship offers from just about every BIG 10 program. He has clearly showcased his athleticism and blocking ability, but if he wants to play at the next level he obviously still needs to add more weight.

Edina has a clear void for a leader on the offensive line now that Quinn Carol has graduated and Bastian Swinney Bastian Swinney 6'6" | 285 lbs | OL Edina | 2021 State MN WILL fill that void. He also has great size standing at 6’6″ 260 pounds. Swinney is the classic hard-nose lineman who will dominate at any level. He currently holds an offer from Iowa State and I expect many more to come.

Bennet Webber adds to the trend of great “hard-nosed” linemen. He is 6’4″ 275 pounds while being highly skilled. Webber primarily plays guard, and currently holds one offer from North Dakota State heading into his senior season.

Snubs: