2022 Wildcards

This article is to name a few players who may fly under the radar in South Dakota. These players are on teams who play a tough schedule each season and may not appeal to a college team’s eye. A few of these players I was able to watch play whether it was on a live stream or in person. The idea of this article is to spread coverage to the teams who have either below .500 records or players who don’t have a lot of offers to play at the next level. WR/DB- [player_tooltip player_id="93086" first="Reece" last="Proefrock"]- Vermillion Reece emerged as a big playmaker for the Tanagers this past season. He seemed to be the go-to guy when it came to needing a big play. He had a lot of sneaky speed, he doesn’t look like he’s running that fast, then all of a sudden he’s burned the DB. He has good size, despite his Hudl saying he’s 5’10", 150 lbs. he plays a lot bigger than that. I liked the way he positions himself for jump balls on both offense and defense, he really boxes out his opponent and goes up and gets it. He seems to have good awareness on defense, really reading the QB and still running with his receiver. He has good hands and focus when it comes to catching the football. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Ew2mW">Junior Season</a> QB- [player_tooltip player_id="93092" first="Sam" last="Rohlfs"]- Aberdeen Central Rohlfs had a breakout season in his Junior season. Watching his film, he made a lot of big plays despite what the scores read at the end of the game. He is very mobile in the pocket, he scrambled really well and kept his eyes downfield still looking to get the ball to his receivers. He has breakaway speed as well, once he breaks contain and gets in open space, he’s going to turn it into a big gain. He is also shifty when it comes to making defenders miss in the backfield or in the open field. Don’t sleep on his arm either, he can hit the deep ball with a lot of touch at any time. He is also patient, letting his receivers get open and delivering a strike to them. He has plenty of room to grow at the QB position for his Senior Season. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FG3tW">Junior Season</a> TE/DE- [player_tooltip player_id="56538" first="Sellyck" last="McManus"]- Chamberlain McManus had a quiet, but effective Junior Season in Chamberlain. He has a big frame with his height and looks like he has quite a bit of strength. He plays assignment football, does his job and makes plays in his position, not looking to play hero on every play. His height makes him a good red zone threat where his QB just has to lob it up and he will come down with it. He is a good run-blocker as well, can really drive his defender off the ball. Defensively he shakes his block quickly and strings out plays to make a sure-handed tackle in the backfield. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11561362/5fb5795e6899630bc0df36f8">Junior Season</a> RB/LB- [player_tooltip player_id="56508" first="Tash" last="Lunday"]- Flandreau Lunday had a season to put him on the radar for his Senior Season. Listed at WR, he has the size of a TE but has speed and hands to make him a serious threat. His size and strength make him a serious problem for his opponents on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he is hard to defend on pass routes, but also comes out of the backfield and makes big hits when blocking. Defensively, he just overpowers his blocker and then finds the ballcarrier for a big hit, does not let them fall forward. I liked the way he makes plays both with and without the football. He can make big plays after the catch and doesn’t go down easy. He also takes pride in blocking for his teammates, really throwing the big blocks to spring his guys free. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EdzcP">Junior Season</a> RB/DB- Aiden Erickson- Elkton/Lake Benton I got the chance to watch Erickson play in person this season and I was impressed by the way he is always in position to make a play. Defensively, he holds his contain on the perimeter and makes great form tackles when the ball gets to him. He also has the speed to run with his receiver, but still recover to come back and make a play in the run game. Offensively, he is very shifty and has great vision. He seems to know what move he’s going to make as soon as the defender shows himself. He has a great deal of breakaway speed and makes himself a good target out of the backfield and split out wide. The one thing that stood out in the game against Viborg-Hurley was his will to finish plays. Two times he made big plays out of potentially disastrous plays, scooped up his own team’s fumble and made it into a big first down and caught a ball off a defender and ran it for a TD. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EVjuA">Junior Season</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;