Studs of the MN Showcase: Session 1 Offense

What an event that was in Rosemount, MN on Sunday! Nearly 200 athletes loaded with talent that will be able to translate to the college level. I was lucky enough to attend this high energy Showcase, and now I want to take the time to shine the spotlight on the individual athletes that caught my eyes the most. For a lot of these athletes, I also noticed other scouts, trainers, and college coaches have their eyes get caught by these same dudes. To begin this series highlighting my Studs of the Showcase, I want to dive into the first session and look at the performances of the top offensive players from that session. That group was made up of offensive linemen and running backs. It is going to be a big group of kids, so let’s get it started! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116284" first="James" last="Morrison"], 2022 OL- Cretin Derham Hall (MN)</strong> The offensive line had some eye popping frames on full display during session one this past Sunday. James was one of the studs standing at 6’6’’ 335 lbs. He first grabbed my attention during the individual position drill work. Multiple times I went to write down in my notes how Bib #56 looked so smooth in his movements, and I kept having to remember that I had already made note of it. That’s how impressive it was, though. Every time I saw it I had to make sure I made note of it. James isn’t just an easy mover. He is also a heavy handed lineman that was able to control his opponent over and over in the one on one drills with his upper body strength. That movement ability was key in the drills too as the DL brought some prospects with high end speed. Not much was phasing James on Sunday, though. Great day by him. He definitely has a new fan in me. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49928" first="Patrick" last="Lavin"], 2022 OL- St. Anthony Village (MN)</strong> Patrick has made huge improves over his time attending past Prep Redzone Showcases. I first saw him at a Showcase back in December at the first Wisconsin event. Where he is now compared to then is crazy to see. It’s in every way too. His play has improved. He moves better, his technique is consistent and solid, and even his mentality has changed. He seemed so confident and I could tell he was having a blast on Sunday. Especially during the 1 on 1 battles where he got a ton of reps at center. He repeatedly showed us that he has the anchor to be able to keep the pocket from collapsing on his QB against some very talented IDL. Patrick is the type of kid I would want in my locker room based off what I saw Sunday, and how I have seen him develop physically and mentally over the past several months. [embed]https://twitter.com/OliverJamesWes1/status/1389254350946533376[/embed] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="19004" first="Peyton" last="Lange"], 2023 OL- Minnehaha Academy (MN)</strong> The most impressive prospect of Session 1 was definitely Peyton. I believe he’s 15 years old and already stands at 6’9" and 380 lbs. The first thing that jumped out to me, besides the immense size and length, was his hands. They are so heavy when he plays. Even during position drills when they were going about 70%, since we don’t have pads on, I could not be looking and tell when he was up because it even sounded different when he landed his punch. Then when we got to the 1 on 1 drills he quickly proved that he wasn’t just a big body. The kid can move around in his pass set, and put that elite size and length to even better use as he was able to get in a good position from the snap. I heard a lot about this manchild leading up to the event. He lived up to the hype. With 2 years of high school ball ahead of him, I have no doubt he can develop into a D1 talent. Probably even Power 5 talent. <strong>Cole Stevens, 2023 OL- DC Everest (WI)</strong> My final standout offensive lineman is from the cheese state. I wish I had more of a bead on Cole coming into the event, but he definitely had my attention by the end of the day. The 6’1" 253 lbs sophomore is well on his well to developing a frame ready to play at the next level. That frame is going to come with a nice athlete too. He did well in the testing portion of the day, and then when we got to the 1 on 1 battles he really grabbed my attention. Cole did a good job of utilizing his size and anchor strength to stifle linemen that wanted to outmuscle him and he further showed off the light feet as he let his reactive athleticism lead him to successfully mirror speed rushers. You can believe I will be following Cole closely this fall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="118351" first="Carson" last="Hansen"], 2023 RB- Lakeville South (MN)</strong> The first RB I want to ID as a Stud of the Showcase is Carson. The RB2 for the Class of 2023 in Minnesota showed why he earned that ranking. He checked in over 6’ and around 180 lbs. His testing portion of the day proved how freaky his athleticism is for his age. As a sophomore, Carson ran 4.5 40s and broad jumped 10’. The kid is explosive in the short area and carries it right into his long speed. During the 1 on 1 battles Carson was impossible to cover for the LBs. He beat them with every route. Whether he was shaking defenders with his very good change of direction on routes like a quick angle route or burning them with his speed on just a go route, Carson was able to leave his defender in the dust. The natural hands were on display too as he plucked the ball out of the air. I believe Hansen has a shot to play at a very high level of college football. <strong>Gus Theisen, 2022 RB- Regis (WI)</strong> Wisconsin’s best RB at the event, and one of the best overall, was Theisen out of a very loaded Regis team in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Gus let his athleticism take over the day. He ran one of the fastest 40s of our entire Spring Showcase Series with a 4.50 and proved to be just as explosive in the short area with a great 9’10" broad jump. That athleticism comes with a compact and powerful 5’10" 200 lbs frame. Gus was another RB that was giving the LB group fits trying to cover. Gus’ start stop ability, quick hands, and razor sharp route running proved to be too much for one of the RBs selected to battle it out in one of our Best vs Best reps at the end of the camp. Spoiler, he won that battle too. [embed]https://twitter.com/MJ_NFLDraft/status/1388943559102017537[/embed] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18445" first="Darius" last="Givance"], 2022 RB- Champlin Park (MN)</strong> The RB that created the most buzz throughout the event was [player_tooltip player_id="18445" first="Darius" last="Givance"]. He started the day off jumping out of the gym; posting a 10’8" broad jump, which was the longest of the event by a large margin. That explosive ability shined through in his change of direction drills too where he posted a 4.34 5-10-5 Drill. When we took the drills for the 1 on 1 battles everything about his insane testing came through on the field. The burst out of his cuts and the top end speed were borderline unfair as the 6’2’’ 190 lbs RB made it look easy hauling in pass after pass. I expect Darius to have a pretty high profile recruitment. I know he already has a couple D2 offers and an offer from SDSU. Just getting started. [embed]https://twitter.com/OliverJamesWes1/status/1388944065320869891[/embed] <strong>Emmanuel Bingham, 2023 RB- Madison East (WI)</strong> My biggest surprise of the RB group comes from the home state of Wisconsin. This is a great example of how not having a season can hurt these kids. I didn’t have Emmanuel on my radar coming into this event, and if he didn’t come to this event he probably would of flown under the radar until the fall because he is about to enter his junior year, but only has one season of high school football under his belt. This is because Madison area schools and MIlwaukee area schools didn’t get a season due to the pandemic. It was a great move by Emmanuel to attend the camp and prove what he has. He has my full attention going forward. The RB shined in the individual drills where they let the kids show off their agility, change of direction, and burst/ acceleration out of cuts. Bingham killed those drills and showed me those three areas are some of his main strengths. The 5’8" 185 lbs RB is set to have a good fall and you can bet I will be there watching. Get on this kid early! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="146560" first="Ian" last="Andrews"], 2024 RB- Regis (WI)</strong> I have already mentioned one of the starting RBs out of Regis HS in Wisconsin. Now it’s time to look towards the future of the program. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id="146560" first="Ian" last="Andrews"] came out with Theisen and another teammate to show what they are working with at Regis. The future is in good hands based off what I saw out of Andrews. He runs a 4.6 40 already, and is developing impressive strength during this offseason; he has recently hit 250 lbs on bench. Check out the video below to see how he was shaking older defenders all day long in the 1 on 1 battles. Ian has a lot to work with and develop going forward. A name to know over the next few years. [embed]https://twitter.com/ianandrewss/status/1389025506704646154[/embed] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49867" first="Gus" last="Gartzke"], 2022 RB- Mankato East (MN)</strong> We wrap up the offensive studs from session one with Gartzke out of Mankato East. Gus isn’t a newcomer to these Showcases as he has earned a spot in these articles during past events. Great to see that the 5’9" 185 lbs RB has continued his great performances into Sunday’s showcase. I didn’t catch up with Gus until the 1 on 1 battles, but I liked what I saw once I got my eyes on him. His body control is next level while running routes. It looked easy for him as he quickly cut at the break of his routes and accelerated to create separation from the LBs in coverage. No doubt he can be a weapon at the next level. Check him out!