MN Recruiting Hotbeds: Rochester Century, Mayo, Lourdes, JM

I wanted to bring back and revamp last year’s spring PrepRedzoneMN series where we took a deeper look into the rosters of high school programs in MN but expand on things and widen the net of the recruits we highlight. I’ll try to accomplish that goal by highlighting various cities, counties, or conferences from programs around the state - with an emphasis on non-Metro areas - and take a detailed analysis into the players from the class of 2022, ’23, ’24, and maybe even some ’25s on the mentioned teams. We’ll start things off by checking out the city of Rochester’s four high schools: Century, Mayo, Lourdes, and John Marshall, and the players that make up their programs going into the 2021 season. To check out who the heavy-hitters are, the young bucks you need to know, as well as get a sense of which classes have some real depth to them, just scroll below! Thanks for reading. Rochester Century 2022s: [player_tooltip player_id="18454" first="Zach" last="Herber"] - WR/SB. 5’7, 170 lbs. Received recruiting interest from SMSU. Junior tape shows a quick athlete with good lower body strength who can run through weaker tackle attempts. He can really take a hit, with good balance through contact and impressive toughness that help him make catches over the middle and create solid gains on seemingly innocuous bubbles or screens. He is really exciting to watch run the ball and is a strong kid with a good center of gravity who could potentially play WR or slot receiver at the collegiate level. Kuniah Silikpoh - CB. 5’7, 150 lbs. Only has a couple of game clips from last season, but at the cornerback position I saw some good patience in his technique and an ability to get out of his breaks that can affect and break up passes. He’s also got some fight for a little guy. Matt Haun - QB. 5’11, 165 lbs. In the limited game film he posted from the 2020 season I saw Haun hit a decent variety of passes as well as showed that he could take off and hurt defenses with his legs. I’m pretty sure it was JV film, but as the incumbent QB1, he’ll get a lot more snaps in the varsity spotlight next season. Dillon Jergenson - WR. 6’3, 160 lbs. In his 2020 season game film, I saw a versatile prospect who plays both ways for Century and showed that he has the speed to track down ball-carriers and has the hands and route-running ability to make a difference as a possession receiver. With a long frame and good toughness, I think he’s a really good-looking DIII recruit. Cole Elbing - RB. 5’10, 185 lbs. - Doesn’t have updated film from this past season, but in his 2019 tape the RB who’s a lot of good qualities on tape and a good slipperiness as a back and some toughness as a special teamer. I hope he played last season. Jack Cambern - WR. 6’1, 170 lbs., Aidan Marcou - OT/DE. 6’2, 185 lbs. 2023s: Riley Olson - OG/DT. 6’1, 241 lbs. - Has been playing some varsity and looks like he can hold his own out there. Yohanis Dorry - DE, Raul Rios - 5’10, 155, Josh Zobitz - 5’7, 130, Griffin Langer - 5’8, 130, Zach Jacobson, Adam Kunz - 6’, 225, 2024s: Logan Day, Carson Skime, Isaak Douangdy, Abram Thorstenson, Eli Thompson - 6’1, 170, Ricky Wengert, Simon Moore, Sami Abdallah, Dylan White 2025s: Harold Mesumbe, Junior Mesumbe, Chris McCreary-Kujawa, Joseph Corrigan, Aiden Yochim Rochester Mayo 2022s: [player_tooltip player_id="116202" first="Michael" last="Mankaka"] - WR/S. 6’2, 180 lbs. Our #33 overall ranked junior and the #6 ranked wideout is a really promising two-way prospect who is part of a talented crop of 2022 talent for the Spartans and is hearing from Columbia, Wyoming, Dartmouth, UNI, and South Dakota State so far in his recruitment. He has standout and noteworthy speed, moves in the open field, and burst out of his cuts. Those are three of the straits that stood out to me the most, but I also saw a ton of other positives in his junior tape such as his lack of hesitation to lay a big stick from his safety spot, the natural range he shows as a DB that helps him cover ground and make an impact on out or deep breaking routes, and his ball-skills from both positions. He’s still a little raw, but there’s talent and athleticism evident on his junior Hudl. [player_tooltip player_id="116208" first="Cayden" last="Holcomb"] - WR/DB/ATH. 5’10, 170 lbs. Our #62 ranked overall prospect in the 2022 class has been seeing varsity reps since his eighth-grade year for Mayo who can do just about anything asked of him on the gridiron. He’ll line up all over the field, and with his impressive quickness and toughness, he makes splash plays on both sides of the football and makes it all look easy. With good speed he’s dangerous at the LOS as a wideout who can burn a DB deep if his speed isn’t respected, but can also breakdown his routes on a dime and start and stop with ease. He’s also dangerous after the catch and is a tough runner with a wide variety of moves in the open field to make defenders miss. I personally think his game shines the brightest at the CB position, where he can get in and out of his breaks with a lot of power and has the recovery speed to bait QBs into tough throws. He’s also awesome when the ball is in the air, and although I’ve said it before I have no problems saying it again that he’s a really natural football player with instincts, a high football IQ, and a ton of reps under his belt. Someone should and will take a flyer out on his sooner or later. [player_tooltip player_id="116270" first="Bennett" last="Ellsworth"] - QB. 6’2, 185 lbs. The All-Conference QB1 for Mayo is an impressive prep signal-caller who has crisp footwork in the pocket who can throw the ball with some zip and velocity and get the ball to the receiver in a hurry. On inside breaking routes he shows good accuracy, can hit the open target, and I love how he keeps his eyes downfield when he breaks the pocket and can throw an accurate dart on the run to wideouts. He’s a prototypical pocket-passer who can make a ton of different throws and shows a good understanding of when to put touch on the ball or when to fire it into the target with force. He’s an overlooked QB prospect at this point in time. [player_tooltip player_id="116488" first="Caden" last="DeJong"] - OL. 6’3, 255 lbs. The starting LT for the Spartans is a forceful down blocker who can wash opponents into the dirt or over multiple gaps, and I like the initial pop he shows when dropping into pass-pro. He’s got a good motor and will continue to work and block through the whistle, and if he gets hands on you it looks tough to disengage from. There’s a decent amount of pass-pro on his tape too which I like to see. Noah Smith - RB/OLB. 6’, 180 lbs. A well-built RB prospect, Smith does a great job of following his blocks and has good vision once he hits the open field, and also does a good job as a tackler when lined up as an OLB. He showed he has the ability to run through arm tackles when toting the rock, and has the athletic ability to make an impact on special teams as a returner for Mayo. There aren’t a lot of different games on his junior tape but I like what I saw from his tape against Byron. Dominic Stencel - OLB. 6’3, 180 lbs. Junior tape displays a disruptive OLB prospect who can blitz and hold the edge for a defense. He explodes up the middle when blitzing the A or B gap, and is a more than willing tackler who plays with good angles and technique. Also great size to continue growing and getting stronger. Max Vande Kieft - CB. 6’3, 170 lbs. A really nice-sized CB prospect who plays the ball great in the air and uses his length to his advantage, Vande Kieft showed a good rep where he got his inside arm to punch the receiver, get a hand on, then rode him hip to hip and got his head around just in time to make a play on the ball. He’s also physical, and although I saw some reps where his tackling form could improve, there’s a lot to like about his length and his game. Ayden Messmer - WR/DB. 5’11, 165 lbs. Nolyn Martinson - 6’2, 160 lbs., Joel Wehyee - 5’11, 195 lbs., Spencer Pearson - 6’, 165 lbs. 2023s: Tore Pappenfuss - RB. 6’, 180 lbs. The rising junior showed on his sophomore tape that he has great vision from the FB position who runs hard and can also catch the ball out of the backfield. As a FB/HB in the Mayo offense, he did a lot of different things in the run and pass game, and did them all well. He also had a rep on his film where he knocked a blocker right on his butt on kickoff, and he’s a physical and tough prospect who has some really good football in front of him. He’s a name to keep an eye out for going forward. Cade Snider - 5’11, 165 lbs. Jorge Martinez - 6’, 210 lbs., Muhammad Fadlia - WR/K. 6’, 140 lbs. 2024s: [player_tooltip player_id="105365" first="Carter" last="Holcomb"] - ATH. 5’9, 160 lbs. The #1 ranked athlete in the class of 2024 is - just like his brother - an already experienced athlete who has been contributing to the Spartans since his eighth-grade season, a feat impressive in itself. Also like his brother, Carter is a natural football player who lines up all over the field and can do a ton of different things on the gridiron. Primarily playing at WR, he has some standout speed and strength for his age who can make people miss in the open field or run them over if they come in hot. I also like his tackling ability that he displayed on special teams, and he’s also an effective blocker who will do the dirty work to get his team points. He can also LS if need be. Big things coming from the young buck! Spencer Kober - 5’7, 175 lbs. Rochester Lourdes 2022s: AJ Birdseye - OT. 6’4, 205 lbs., Gannon Fix, Braden Mlenar 2023s: Daniel Wildfeuer - OG. 5’11, 205, Hudson Fix, Dylan Dahle, Eli Haight - RB. 5’8, 150 lbs. 2024s: Will Roth - DT. 5’11, 215 lbs., Thatcher Bochmann - 6’4, 205 lbs., Adam Sellner - 5’10, 140 lbs., Mardoche Pierson - 5’9, 175 lbs., Collin Weinschenk - OL. 6’1, 200 lbs. Rochester John Marshall 2022s: [player_tooltip player_id="18542" first="Peter" last="Ladu"] - WR. 6’1, 175 lbs. A big threat at the LOS as a WR, where he eats up DBs cushions with ease and is shifty in his directional releases. He also has great concentration and made some tough catches in 2020, and his top-end speed make him a very real and potent deep threat who can break a defense wide open. I also like his game as a DB, where he is a physical tackler who will put his body on the line to get a guy down. He’s also got great size for either position, with a ton of length for either spot, and his speed is really something serious. I messed up and I think he’s a little too low in the rankings at this point in time. [player_tooltip player_id="49850" first="Ben" last="Laack"] - OC. 6’4, 280 lbs. The JM Rocket has been starting since he was a freshman in high school and brings excellent size to the position. Primarily playing at OC, Laack uses leverage to his advantage and can handle lineman coming from different gaps or twisting and stunting, and he’s also a good finisher who plays the position with violence. I also like his game at DT, where he shows off some quickness for his size and a good first step. He’s got some good strength in his chest and lower-body and does a good job of being effective in his hand placement as well. Will Luedtke - DE. 6’4, 220 lbs. 2020 was Luedtke’s first season playing football but looked far from a rookie as a standup DE with great size playing on the edge of the Rockets defense. He’s got a good get-off at the snap and is a solid tackler despite it only being his first year, and he’s also physical when taking on blockers. He really gets into the backfield in a jiffy and has a lot of physical tools that would make a college DC very excited. Keep your eyes and ears out for Luedtke. [player_tooltip player_id="18557" first="Danny" last="Ta"] - WR/CB., Logan Fiksdal - DE. 6’1, 180 lbs., Rhys Wallace - 6’, 215 lbs., Gunnar Dokken - 6’1, 175 lbs., Cole Gappa - 6’2, 220 lbs. 2023s: [player_tooltip player_id="112177" first="Preston" last="Burgeson"] - 6’2, 205 lbs. Michael Nicometo, [player_tooltip player_id="112176" first="Jacob" last="Brumm"] - QB. 2024s: [player_tooltip player_id="105380" first="Darius" last="Jordan"] - QB. 5’10, 140 lbs. I’ve written about Jordan pretty extensively despite his young age, as I heard a lot of good things about the freshman who came in for cleanup duty a couple of times during the 2020 season. Although film is limited, he sounds like a great athlete who can hurt defenses with his arms or his legs. It also didn’t sound like the varsity spotlight makes him nervous, so I think the future is really bright for the freshman. Nolan Laack - OL. Zechariah Ladu - SS. 6’2, 150 lbs. Jaricho Mims, Lael Martinez, Caden Ngoun 2025s: LeeAndre Harvey, Jordan Bell