County Prospect List: Aitkin County

<strong>AITKIN COUNTY-- </strong>If you take Hwy 169 from the Twin Cities about 2 hours to the north, you will run right into Aitkin County, located just north of Lake Mille Lacs. The one thing I have learned as a scout of multiple sports driving up Hwy 169, this is precisely where you find those "diamond in the rough" prospects we love so much at Prep Redzone Minnesota. This county is home to one of the best high school team names in the state, the Aitkin Gobblers. Usually, on PrepRedzone.com, I like to build all-county teams, but I like to have at least five schools in the given county to do that so I am calling it my "County Prospect List" in which we will evaluate prospects from Aitkin County that may be worthy of playing college football at the next level. <strong>The Football Programs of Aitkin County</strong> <strong>McGregor Mercs</strong> <strong>Class:</strong> 9-Man <strong>2019 Record: </strong>5-5 <strong>Aitkin Gobblers</strong> <strong>Class:</strong> 3A <strong>2019 Record:</strong> 6-4 <strong>Hill City/Northland Hornets</strong> <strong>Class:</strong> 9-Man <strong>2019 Record: </strong>4-6 <strong>The Prospect List, McGregor Mercs:</strong> <strong>Drew Dean, RB (2021)</strong> The 5’11 180 pounds running back in the Mercs backfield is a running back that can undoubtedly break some tackles. He also has some craft in his running as he’s able to make some substantial cuts. From the earlier film, Dean has good speed, but when you break it down after the one minute mark, you get to see more of a burner type RB. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2DGwhC">Junior Tape</a> <strong>Willie Glunz, QB, (2022)</strong> Although not much film, Glunz on this ball below shows some solid touch on the football with limited effort. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2BcJ8b">42 Yard Pass vs. Hill City</a> <strong>Ethan Bohn, TE/LB (2023)</strong> As just a freshman, Bohn showed off some skill on both sides of the football for the Mercs. I was impressed by his tape at linebacker as he shows off a player that can do a little bit of everything. At tight end, he outsizes most of the players he goes up against and creates a nightmare for the secondary. Bohn has time to develop, so if there was something I saw on film he could work on is making his hands more smooth vs. showing awkward hand motions within his catches. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Diumj">Freshman Tape</a> <strong>Dante Benjamin, RB/SS (2021)</strong> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11655548/5db89aa6b3d2af0dd0aba4c7">Big Catch vs. Isle</a> <strong>The Prospect List, Aitkin Gobblers</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18176" first="Owen" last="Miller"], RB/WR (2021)</strong> Miller is, in my opinion, the best college prospect Aitkin County has to offer. Where to do you line this guy up? He’s a one cutter speedster at running back, a bouncy wide receiver with excellent feet and also plays some defensive back. I think Miller would be a great slot receiver at the next level, as you can see how athletic he is primarily around the 40-second mark of his film.  Miller is a prospect that loves to battle, as he plays hockey in the winter. Also, an excellent student with a 3.97 GPA. Has interest coming in from St. Thomas, Concordia-St. Paul, Bethel, Concordia-Moorhead, Mayville State, and others. <a href="http://https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10013084/5ddc17d464deeb17c8722029">Junior Tape</a> [embed]https://prepredzone.com/2020/02/recruiting-report-owen-miller-aitkin-2021/[/embed] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="23749" first="Jeremiah" last="Smythe"], OL/LB (2021)</strong> Smythe, another hockey player, I can see being a tough outside linebacker at the college football level. Runs 4.8 speed, and has the motor to blow up plays on defense based on his film. He had filled out to 205 pounds from 185 pounds from when we interviewed him on PrepRedzone.com earlier this year. Holds interest from Minot State and Wisconsin-Eau Claire, to name a few. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10012939/5e9cb270da510908d0fbb36f">Junior Tape</a> [embed]https://prepredzone.com/2020/02/small-town-recruiting-report-jeremiah-smythe-aitkin-2021/[/embed] <strong>Joey Simonson, TE/DE (2021)</strong> Simonson is a tight end prospect that I think is very under-recruited for what he brings. Due to injury, played only three games last year but should be on track for a great 2021 season. Joey is a tight end that has good take-off speed, reliable hands, and provides excellent size at 6’3 around 210 pounds. Simonson also is a potent blocker as a defensive end, even though I think he would be an ideal fit at tight end. Simonson holds interest from Northern State, Bethel, Minnesota-Moorhead, Minot State, and Wisconsin-River Falls. The Falcons would be getting a steal in Simonson, in my opinion. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2D6GWc">Junior Year Tape</a> [embed]https://prepredzone.com/2020/02/small-town-recruiting-report-joey-simonson-aitkin-2021/[/embed] <strong>Austin Price, RB/MLB (2021)</strong> Price provides a nice 1/2 punch with [player_tooltip player_id="18176" first="Owen" last="Miller"] in this Gobblers offense. Another burner type running back that can burst for speed like you will see in the run below. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2BkJxh">Big 61-yard Run vs. Virginia</a> <strong>Caiden Kjelstrom, QB/KR/PR (2021)</strong> Kjelstrom would be a pleasant small college prospect on special teams from the outstate, as he has set his film up below to show that off at the next level. He can take off quickly if you give him any lane, which I don’t recommend. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10050312/5bc34989e97a580d34c117e6">Big QB Run</a> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10050312/5daf33c8dfd8a70e20f6ad43">KR/PR Tape</a> <strong>Jackson MacDonald, ATH, (2021)</strong> <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CFhty">Tape vs. Esko</a> <strong>The Prospect List, Hill City-Northland Hornets</strong> Hill City-Northland was the only football program in Aitkin County that did not have individual film. Here is some game tape from a couple of their games along with their 2019 roster. Player of Note from Film: <strong>Carter Ammermann, FB/LB (2022)</strong> Ammermann is one of in on every single play linebacker. Ammermann is a quality run stuffer that plays with a lot of grit. You can see his grit on the offensive side of the ball, being the fullback paving blocks for his running back. Ammermann was a sophomore getting significant playing last year for the Hornets. See tape below for film, and look for #42. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CNe7e">Game Tape vs. McGregor</a> <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CHEAp">Game Tape vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl</a> <a href="https://www.mnfootballhub.com/schedule/day/league_instance/119173?subseason=683573">Hill City-Northland Roster</a>