2019 All-MIAC Awards: MN Prep Highlight Edition (2nd Team Offense)

In my two previous features for Northstar Football News, we have reviewed and highlighted the former Minnesota prep stars who have gone on to distinguish themselves in one of Division III’s top-2 conferences: the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). Players from across the nine-team MIAC have been balling out for years under bright Friday night lights and crisp Saturday afternoon sunlight in our Land of 10,000 Lakes, and deserve to be honored and appreciated for their hard work and great representation of Minnesota athletics and sportsmanship. This third of five part edition today will highlight the MN boys on the All-MIAC Second Team Offense list, and we no doubt have some heavy hitters on the report. From former Mr. Football Finalists to All Conference HM selectees, from seniors to sophomores, and from as far South as Goodhue and as far North as Alexandria, these seven MN honorees are some studs who deserve to have their careers highlighted and applauded. I hope you enjoy! QB: Jaran Roste (6’4, 241 lbs.) Sophomore. Bethel University. Alexandria, Minn. Jefferson High School. Coming out of high school at Alexandria-Jefferson High School up North, Roste stood 6’3 and weighed somewhere around 230 pounds, usually making him the biggest player on the field. Well, he has only grown larger and still usually remains the biggest player on the field when he represents the Bethel University Royals on Saturday afternoons. If you read my previous article about the All-MIAC First Team Defense list, you would have saw that Roste transferred from the University of Minnesota’s football program to Bethel’s. If you weren’t aware, he accepted a preferred walk-on offer to join the Golden Gophers as a quarterback after a lofty prep career that included being named a Mr. Football Finalist (one of the top-10 players on the state), First Team All-State, 2016 Vikings MFCA All Star Team, 3X First Team All-Conference, and All-Section. [caption id="attachment_15831" align="alignright" width="300"] Roste.[/caption] Roste finished his prep career with 5,591 passing yards, 56 passing TDs, 1,721 rushing yards, and 39 rushing touchdowns. After trying his hand at D1 signal calling, he found himself in Arden Hills where he immediately made an impact and started at QB his freshman season. He led the MIAC in rushing TDs with 20 as only a freshman, while going 86-151 (57%) for 1,101 yards while only throwing two picks and taking only five sacks. He was rewarded for his 2018 efforts by being named Second Team All-MIAC, and became a 2X honoree this year in 2019. Building on his ‘18 freshman campaign, Roste went 121-175 (69.1%) while throwing for 1,563 yards and 15 TDs through the air. Still dynamic with his legs, the Alexandria native rushed for 1,023 yards yards with those 20 TDs in ‘18, and rushed for 535 yards and seven TDs in ‘19. With a duo of senior First Team All-MIAC QB studs graduating, Roste is poised to be one of the top signal callers in the MIAC in 2020. Senior Year Hudl: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2ATJc7">http://www.hudl.com/v/2ATJc7</a> RB: Sam Gibas (5’10, 180 lbs.) Junior. Bethel University. Elk River, Minn. Elk River High School. Gibas joins his Bethel teammate Roste with his 2nd Second Team All-MIAC selection. An awardee in 2018 when the Elk River native started 13 games for the Royals and rushed for 1,092 yards (84 per game) and added nine TDs. Five of his touchdowns occurred in Bethel’s prolific end of the regular season/playoff run, where they beat St. Thomas 21-15 to the end the regular season, then rattled off wins against Wartburg (IA) 41-14 and North Central (IL) 27-24 before falling to perennial D3 contender Wis.-Whitewater 26-12. This year, Gibas rushed for the fourth most yards per game of any conference RB (70.9), and totaled 567 yards off 120 carries (4.7 average). He scored four times on the ground and added two scores and 149 more yards from receptions. What makes the 180 pounder particularly unique is his versatility, as he can do everything that could be asked of a running back. The MIAC Christian McCaffrey can run the rock, catch the ball, and pick up blitzes in pass protection. [caption id="attachment_15832" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by Eric Oslund of Gibas at the All-Star Game.[/caption] He also packs a punch, and I can personally attest to the difficulty of tackling #25, as I had more than a few run-ins with Gibas when I was in the MIAC. None of this should be surprising as Gibas led Elk River to a 2016 5A State Championship and was selected AP All-State, Vikings All-State, All-Metro Utility Player, a finalist for Mr. Football, and was awarded Offensive MVP in the 2016 MN All-Star Game. He was also an All-State wrestler for the Elks. He’ll easily be a First Teamer in the MIAC in 2020. Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3064156/58406bc05b3cda0728a86407">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3064156/</a> WR: Drew Larsen (6'1, 181 lbs) Senior. Bethel University. White Bear Lake, Minn. White Bear Lake High School. The third of four Minnesota Royals to make the All-MIAC Second Team Offense, Larsen also joins his teammates Roste and Gibas as a 2X Second Team honoree in 2019. Bethel's undisputed WR1, the White Bear Lake native and graduate ranked sixth in reception yards per game (82.9) and totaled 52 receptions for 829 yards and 10 TDs in 2019. He had a season high 197 yards and three TDs vs. UW-River Falls in Week 2, and his totaled 124 receptions for 1,879 yards and 21 TDs in his MIAC career. 2018 MIAC Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7158950/5c04b0d4ff0c390d5c6a1a9c">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7158950/5c04b0d4ff0c390d5c6a1a9c</a> TE: <a href="https://www.northstarfootballnews.com/player/isaac-coutier/">Isaac Coutier</a> (6'3, 220 lbs.) Sophomore. St. Olaf College. Minneapolis, Minn. Bloomington-Kennedy HS. The first Minnesota Ole to be selected onto one of the lists, my former teammate Isaac had a breakout year in 2019 and earned himself his first All-MIAC award after catching 32 balls for 438 yards and 4 TDs in his first season playing tight end. His freshman year my guy came in as a receiver after playing QB for the Bloomington-Kennedy Eagles. Last year as wideout he showed some promise as the then 205 pounder caught seven passes for 73 yards with a long of 33 yards against No. 5 St. John's. He also returned six kickoffs for 120 yards. The coaching staff at Olaf used Coutier in swipe back passes, rollouts, and seam routes, and adding the fact that Coutier excels at as a blocker, his sneaky route running capabilities came to light. He's put on around 15-20 pounds since his freshman year in 2018, and I'm excited to see how he can build on this year to become a force as an upperclassman. Coutier was a 4x letterwinner, three-year starter, and All-District selection as a prep. HS Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4168086/59cde504688e4925a05947f0">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4168086/59cde504688e4925a05947f0</a> OL: Aaron Austin (6'4, 285 lbs.) Senior. Augsburg University. Red Wing, Minn. Goodhue High School. Augsburg University had to travel to St. Olaf/Carleton and GAC territory to pluck Red Wing native and Goodhue graduate Aaron Austin up to Minneapolis, and the trip was well worth it. Austin was a 2018 All-MIAC Honorable Mention selection and has played in 40 out of 40 regular season games for the Auggies, while starting in over 20. Austin helped Goodhue win their section tournament and advance all the way to the A state semifinals where I believed they met a Rushford-Peterson squad led by stud Michigan track commit and now Gopher football player Noah Carlson. Austin was named an All-Conference HM pick as a prep. Congrats on the good finish to a strong MN football career. Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2713715/5721d9079a91677e74abd78e">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2713715/5721d9079a91677e74abd78e</a> OL: Gunnar Johnson (6'2, 260 lbs.) Junior. Gustavus Adolphus College. St. Cloud, Minn. St. Cloud-Tech HS. This is Johnson's first MIAC distinction and the junior forsure deserves the award as he has put on at least 30 pounds since entering GAC out of St. Cloud Technical HS three years ago. Coming out of St. Cloud, Johnson was an All-Section player and a track letter winner at Tech HS and anchored a GAC oline that threw for a conference best 3,376 yards (387.6 per game), 14.7 yards per completion, and 40 (!) TDs as well as ran for 1,185 yards on 329 carries with 23 touchdowns! Johnson will be needed dearly next year as four-year starter Veldmann and senior stud WRs Panning and Kirk graduate and GAC needs to reestablish its offense. Hudl: <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4199717/57fc51615caa580c38dba9cd">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4199717/57fc51615caa580c38dba9cd</a> OL: Danny Munoz (6'1, 260 lbs.) Junior. Bethel University. Monticello, Minn. Monticello High School. Our last MN selectee to be highlighted in this Northstar Football News feature, Munoz is an aggressive olineman from a strong Monticello program who nearly took one of my old St. Olaf teammates heads off in Bethel's 2019 matchup with the Oles. [caption id="attachment_15871" align="alignright" width="204"] Munoz with a big hit for Monticello.[/caption] His first All-MIAC award, Munoz has played in 28 career games for Bethel and will help anchor the physical Royal olineman in 2020 with fellow All-MIAC selectee (1st Team) teammate and fellow junior Jack Fiedler from STMA. BU averaged 221.5 passing yards per game and 236 rushing yards per game in 2019 largely thanks to the work of Munoz. Keep an eye for #51 on the line, who was a First Team All-District selection as well as teammate of the year, defensive lineman of the year, and defensive MVP in high school. Hudl: <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/2720485/5721d34f19a53e2a18751f10">http://www.hudl.com/video/3/2720485/5721d34f19a53e2a18751f10</a> I hope you enjoyed the All-MIAC Second Team Offense list review and highlights of our Land of 10,000 Lakes selectees. Stay tuned for the 4th edition of the series in which we will honor the MN preps from the Second Team Defense. Stay tuned!