Prep Redzone Wisconsin: Spring Player of the Year

The time has come to announce our winner of the Player of the Year for the 2021 spring season! We began this process with 30 athletes from across the state that exemplified the requirements of this award. To recap those requirements, first and foremost the player has to be a huge key to the team’s success. If that player wasn’t there would the team be nearly as competitive and successful as they were with them on the team? The second most important requirement was did the player put up numbers that were unmatched by others? After finding those initial 30 players, we went through the process of diving in even further to uncover the impact of these players and narrowed the group down to a list of 10 Finalists. From there it was continuing to dive in deeper and discussion back and forth with my fellow scout, Oliver West. After the back and forth conversation and plenty of deep diving into these players’ seasons we came to an agreement on who was most deserving of the award! This player met and exceeded each requirement that we look for in our Player of the Year here at Prep Redzone Wisconsin, and added in the fact that he has the talent to be a very successful college football player. Without any further delay, your 2021 Prep Redzone Wisconsin Spring Player of the Year is <strong>QB/LB [player_tooltip player_id="30790" first="Kyle" last="Walljasper"]</strong> from Fond du Lac High School! When it came down to it, nobody checked off every box that we look for like Walljasper did this Spring. The two way star for Fond du Lac High School dominated his opponents on both sides of the ball as he led his team to a perfect 7-0 record and #1 ranking in the state for Large Schools! It wasn’t an easy road either. Fond du Lac ended the season with back to back highly anticipated games vs #4 Appleton North, and #2 Kimberly. The matchup with #2 Kimberly was for the #1 ranking in the state, and Walljasper stepped up huge as he led his team to the shootout victory that saw over 110 points be scored! As a team, Fond du Lac broke 40 points in every game, broke 50 points in all but one game, and broke 60 points in 4 out of 7 games! Kyle’s role on that electrifying offense, as well as his defensive impact, are what earned him this honor. Let’s dive into the individual stats  right now! Kyle did it in every way on offense. Through the air and especially on the ground. He fully embodied the dual threat QB play style as he led the state in rushing yards with 1,467 yards, tied for the lead in rushing TDs with 21, and averaged the most rushing yards per game with 209.6 yards a game! Walljasper was completely unstoppable on the ground. To give a closer look at how unstoppable he was on the ground take a look at this stat. He averaged 19.1 yards per carry. Every time he touched the ball he was averaging almost 20% of the entire field. Kyle was a walking big play waiting to happen. Every touch had a chance to go for six points! Then you look at his work through the air. While he didn’t have to go to the air often Kyle was efficient when he did. He posted a 124.5 QB Rating that was good enough for 8th best in the state. His 63.2% completion percentage proved how accurate he could be when called upon to go to the air. Walljasper continued to emphasize his importance with his two way play. As an LB, Kyle was able to consistently shut down the inside run as well as pursue sideline to sideline. He even was able to get after the QB. His 7 TFLs, and 2 sacks prove that he not only knew how to read and recognize plays, but also turn that recognition into production. Earlier I mentioned a lot of offensive team success. Here is a look into his impact towards the team’s defensive efforts. As a team Fond du Lac held their opponents to one score or less in four out of seven matchups, and six out of seven times they were able to hold teams to 21 points or less! So not only could teams not stop the Fond du Lac offense, they couldn’t move the ball against their defense. Kyle was right in the middle of both of those units leading the way. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq340mQG8WI[/embed] Unfortunately for most schools, Walljasper is not a 2021 still looking for a home. Back on August 28th, 2020 he committed to play for the University of Minnesota- Duluth. There is no doubt that Duluth is getting a very talented, and versatile player this fall. I personally cannot wait to see what Kyle does at the next level. I also can’t wait to see how he is used because he proved this season that he can help a team win big in a lot of different ways! Congratulations, Kyle on the well deserved award!