PrepRedzoneIA Showcase MVPs and Standouts: OL/DL

This past Saturday at the TBK Sports Complex in Bettendorf, over 100 of the Midwest’s finest from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and even Indiana came together for a day of hard work and competition at the second-ever PrepRedzoneIA Showcase. Held over the course of one session across three hours, athletes participated in athletic testing, individual coaching, and 1 on 1 competition to culminate the event where our scouts and the college coaches involved got to evaluate a ton of talent across every position group on the offensive and defensive sides of the football. From corn-fed, naturally strong trench warfare specialists, to burners and speedsters at the skill spots, we had a diverse array and variety of prospects and recruits that kept us busy and intrigued throughout the afternoon in Bettendorf. To start things off, we’re going to dive into the OL and DL position groups and name some of the standouts and MVPs from the big boys at the camp, and I want to make sure to emphasize the "big" in the big boys that will be named below. We had some great battles and a ton of total reps between the two lineman positions, and I was definitely impressed with the size and strength of the group as a whole. Check out who balled out below, and thank you for reading! Offensive Lineman Brock Garrison (Muscatine) 2022. 6’4, 280 lbs. With an impressive frame and some long arms, Garrison played with a good base and was strong enough to handle bulls, push-pulls, and long arms and quick enough to handle kids trying to get upfield or work back inside. He was also aggressive and packed a whallop in his punch. He’s garnering a ton of well deserved DII interest and visited Winona State as well. [player_tooltip player_id="125574" first="Cody" last="Fox"] (East Buchanan) 2024 (!!) 6’5, 250 lbs. Definite potential to play D1 football from Winthrop, Iowa. With a great frame already as a freshman and a ton more room to grow, Fox continued to catch my eye throughout the days individual coaching portion and 1 on 1 part of the event, and flashed some really impressed frame and body control for his age. I will continue to keep my eye on this kid going forward. [player_tooltip player_id="23978" first="Easton" last="Eledge"] (Underwood) 2022. 6’2, 295 lbs. Played with a ton of power and was also looking to finish from his interior OL spot, Eledge was great at coming out of his stance with a balanced base and was light on his feet, but was tremendous at eating up power rushes and was strong enough to handle every DL at the Showcase. He had the DII coaches at the event excited. [player_tooltip player_id="23994" first="Liam" last="Becher"] (Iowa City West) 2022. 6’6, 310 lbs. My personal MVP from the OL position group on Saturday came from the All-State Iowa City product who is built like a walking refrigerator. With exceptional arm length and some impressive nimbleness for a 300+ lber., Becher was very hard to beat for opposing pass-rushers in Bettendorf as he used his length to his advantage but had impressive timing on his punches when he chose to engage. He possesses a strong lower body and chest that helped him keep defenders away from his chest and getting to his toes, and had a good pass-set that helped him handle speedier rushers trying to get the corner on him. He was fun to watch and I think his stock is going to rise once he hits the camp circuit this summer. Thanks for coming, Liam! Logan Nemmers (Bishop Garrigan) 2024 (!!) 6’5, 330 lbs. Another standout freshman OL with D1 potential, Nemmers originally caught my eye during testing, when he looked good running the 40 and the short shuttle, and he continued to look and play more like an upperclassman rather than a first year. He possesses a lot of natural strength and was light on his feet and able to adjust and react to quicker pass-rushing opponents. He’s going to continue to get better fast, and that’s going to be a scary sight for DL that have to face the Algona based program in the future. Big things coming, Logan! Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="148788" first="Ryan" last="Whitson"] (Marion) 2022. Measured in at nearly 6’5 and 245 lbs., the junior could move well laterally and was light on his feet at 245 lbs., looking good in both the testing and positional coaching phases of the showcase. His length was one of the best parts about his game, and combined with his strong punch when meeting OL he was able to take control of most pass-rushing situations and extend his arms to set up other moves and counters. He was also strong and hard to move out of his base, and fought to the whistle on every rep. I liked what I saw from the junior. Jalyn Mingo (Dubuque) 2023. 5’11, 230 lbs. Was one of the top performing defensive lineman at the event who I came away really impressed by at the end of the afternoon at the TBK. He was twitchy, with a thicker lower body for his age and an impressive ability to use his hands to prevent OL from even making contact on a lot of his reps. He did a good job of driving upfield when setting up inside breaking pass-rush moves, and showed some loose hips that he unlock consistently during 1 on 1s. He had a good day and was fun to watch get after the QB. [player_tooltip player_id="101038" first="Andrew" last="Harris"] (Southeast Polk) 2022. 6’1, 230 lbs. Had a strong base who played and won as the low man and had good balance and body control for a defensive lineman. He was able to beat blockers with quickness or strength, and utilized a strong rip and a good first step to win at the point of attack, and win often. He played well against bigger offensive lineman and was a strong rusher all day in Bettendorf. [player_tooltip player_id="152868" first="Landon" last="Stolte"] (Lisbon) 2023. 6’2, 230 lbs. Loved Stolte’s power and technique for his age, as he proved a tough matchup for opposing offensive lineman and had a lot of fight and a high motor as well. If he continues to grow and grind he’s going to be a big problem on the Lions DL as an upperclassman. [player_tooltip player_id="152820" first="John" last="Powell"] (Bettendorf) 2023. 5’10, 315 lbs. One of the biggest surprises of the Showcase for me personally, Powell came in listed as an OL but ran with the DL on the Saturday, and during 1 on 1s when his turn came up I was expecting to see bull-rush city. However, Powell has some quickness in his frame and flashed an impressive first step for size that helped get the whole group "oooohing" and "ahhhhing" after his first initial reps. It was awesome to see and really livened up the energy in the group to end the afternoon.