MN's Camp SZN Standouts: Biggest Winners so Far

We made it! The dead period is finally lifted and "Camp SZN" has officially begun. Because it has been so long since recruits and college programs were allowed campus visits, in-person meetings, workouts, camps, and all of the other joys normally associated with the summer recruitment process, things have really kicked off hard since June 1st. Whether it’s a college or university’s official camp, a mega camp hosted by a school that allows dozens of programs and coaches from all levels of college football in to evaluate, or even an unofficial or official visit, stud high school football players from around the state of Minnesota have been traveling all over the country to get themselves in front of the eyes of college football teams, and for some, it has been a very lucrative summer so far. Despite it being close to just two weeks since the dead period ended, we’ve seen some MN preps really capture some attention due to their performances or visits, and I have some of the biggest winners so far. Find out who is showing up and showing out this summer below, and thank you for reading. [player_tooltip player_id="116197" first="Zach" last="Juckel"] (Lakeville South) LB. 6’3, 200 lbs. C/o 2022 The Cougar’s hard-hitting LB has seen his stock continue to shoot up after finally getting in front of D1 coaches at the Minnesota Gophers individual camp as well as the Lindenwood mega camp. After his performance at the U of M the junior LB - who held offers from Princeton and Air Force going into the summer - was called into the office of Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck, a distinction only given to the top performers. He also caught the eye of the Gophers DC, and it’s safe to say that the Gophs will be keeping a very close eye on the homegrown product. Additionally, after the camp he was offered by Yale as well as North Dakota. Later in the week he traveled with some Lakeville South teammates to Missouri for the Lindenwood mega camp and earned an offer from Southeast Missouri State for his efforts. Keep it up, Zach! [player_tooltip player_id="18525" first="Cade" last="Conzemius"] (Minnetonka) WR. 5’10, 165 lbs. C/o 2022 The Minnetonka Skippers product attended the Minnesota and Iowa State individual camps and exploded onto the recruiting scene by receiving Power-5 PWO offers from both the Gophers and the Cyclones. The Gophers legacy Conzemius was receiving limited reported interest heading into June, but seems to rise to the occasion and has a well developed route running repitore that really shined during 1 on 1s during the camps. His recruitment is going to continue to grow and evolve, and even since those camps he’s started receiving interest from Wyoming, which is a country mile from the Concordia-Moorhead interest he was receiving prior to the camps. No offense to the Cobbers obviously as I’m the MIAC’s biggest fan, but this kid really showed that he has a D1 ceiling and some impressive physical attributes in his game. Congrats, Cade! [embed]https://twitter.com/cadeconzemius/status/1400301185052155904?s=20[/embed] [player_tooltip player_id="116204" first="Toby" last="Anene"] (East Ridge) OLB. 6’3, 230 lbs. C/o 2022 The Raptor’s monster OLB has some really impressive film so I’m not surprised by this offer but without the dead period being lifted Anene’s first offer would not have come quickly, so thank you #campszn! Either way, the 2022 linebacker/athlete took a visit to Fargo and the Mighty North Dakota State Bison and left with a scholarship offer from the FCS heavyweight. Great move by the Bison and an exciting first offer for Anene, who I’m sure will see more scholarship opportunities come his way by the time things are all said and done. [player_tooltip player_id="18429" first="Logan" last="Larson"] (East Ridge) DE. 6’3, 260 lbs. C/o 2022 Another East Ridge Raptor standout who came in and balled out at our most recent PrepRedzoneMN Showcase has had a busy summer so far in DE [player_tooltip player_id="18429" first="Logan" last="Larson"]. With great length and a strong first step he’s caught the attention of coaches at the Iowa State individual camp, the Lindenwood mega camp, Wisconsin’s individual camp, Northwestern’s individual camp, and visited North Dakota State. He was asked to stay later at the UW camp (a good sign), and popped off with that rep I’ve tagged below. Additionally, he earned that coveted first D1 offer from Eastern Illinois after his performance in Missouri at the Lindenwood mega camp. More are coming! [embed]https://twitter.com/loganlarson22/status/1402038472404307973?s=20[/embed] [player_tooltip player_id="116251" first="Jamal" last="Dixon"] (Moorhead) DB. 6’2, 180 lbs. C/o 2022 The offers starting rolling in prior to June for the Moorhead Spud’s long, athletic, and physical DB [player_tooltip player_id="116251" first="Jamal" last="Dixon"] as NSIC school’s started to reach out in May and he was offered by MSU-Mankato, Bemidji State, and UMary. However, it was the in person performance at the Minnesota Gophers individual camp early this month that led him to receive his first D1 scholarship offer from the awesome Coach Brookins from Northern Iowa. He also visited the North Dakota State Bison on June 4th and will continue to grow as a sought after Missouri Valley recruit. [player_tooltip player_id="22923" first="Eli" last="Gillman"] (Dassel-Cokato) ATH. 6’, 195 lbs. C/o 2022 Not as big of a blow up as some of the other athletes listed here due to him already holding FBS and FCS offers coming into the summer, but Gillman’s great performance at the Minnesota Gophers individual camp led to his fifth D1 opportunity from the Northern Iowa Panthers. He’s also camped at Wisconsin so far this June! [player_tooltip player_id="116206" first="Brett" last="Kelzenberg"] (Wayzata) OL. 6’4, 270 lbs. C/o 2022 The next great Wayzata Trojans offensive lineman has been cemented for the class of 2022 and his name is [player_tooltip player_id="116206" first="Brett" last="Kelzenberg"]. He earned his first offer from Bemidji State on the 2nd of June prior to the Gophers individual camp and followed it up with an offer from the University of Mary the day after, but it wasn’t until a visit to Grand Forks that the Trojan bruiser really saw the benefits of camp season. After an in person visit with North Dakota Fighting Hawks and head coach Bubba Schweigert, Kelzenberg received his first D1 scholarship offer from the up and coming Missouri Valley heavyweight. It was great to see the visit pay off and I would be very surprised if more MVFC competitors don’t enter his recruitment! Atta kid, Brett. [player_tooltip player_id="140175" first="Tommy" last="Hamann"] (Wayzata) DE/OLB. 6’3, 220 lbs. C/o 2022 Another Wayzata Trojan has made the list except this time I did not see this blowup coming. I have to be honest, I did not have the junior OLB on my radar going into this summer but he really made me look stupid as he started his camp grind off by competing at the Nebraska individual camp and then turned things up in Ames where he earned a Power-5 PWO opportunity from the Iowa State Cyclones! On tape, Hamann shows that he is lethal on twists, has an explosive first step, and possesses the strength to defeat blocks and the closing speed to finish plays. His film is a fun one to watch and after seeing it there’s no surprise he started his recruitment off with a bang. I’m very interested to see if/when NSIC and Missouri Valley schools start getting on him now. [player_tooltip player_id="116255" first="Carter" last="Loesch"] (Sauk Rapids-Rice) DE. 6’3, 220 lbs. C/o 2022 Loesch was one of the first 2022s in the state of Minnesota to earn a college offer as a stellar performance at MSU-Mankato’s camp in the summer of 2020 led to a scholarship offer, and he has followed it up with a UMD offer in April and a UMary offer on the first of June to set himself up with a solid list of offers going into camp season. He camped with the Iowa State Cyclones and received a P5 PWO offer from ISU after his performance, completing a solid showing by MN preps down in Ames. I’m excited to see where he’s heading to next! [player_tooltip player_id="49821" first="Spencer" last="Alvarez"] (Columbia Heights) TE. 6’7, 245 lbs. C/o 2022 Perhaps the biggest winner from camp season so far comes out of the St. Paul area and Columbia Heights physically gifted TE, DE, and hooper Alvarez. He’s coming off a ACL tear so he wasn’t able to camp and compete at the U of M but instead visited for a couple of days, was offered, and committed on the spot. Can’t get much better than that, and as a bonus that was Alvarez’s first college football offer overall! He’s a really intriguing athlete with a lot of talent and upside and I am very excited to watch him in Dinkytown! Additionally, this is major for the Columbia Heights program and they deserve it. [player_tooltip player_id="116203" first="Nathaniel" last="Staehling"] (Brainerd) LB/ATH. 6’2, 220 lbs. C/o 2022 The Brainerd Warrior QB - who projects as a LB at the next level - came into our inaugural PrepRedzoneMN Showcase and ran really well at his size and cemented himself in my eyes as a D1 prospect after seeing him compete live and in person. He was offered by Bemidji State at the beginning of May and received an offer from Northern State on June 3rd, but really stepped up his recruitment after taking an in person visit to Grand Forks and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. After speaking with Head Coach Bubba Schweigert he was offered his first D1 offer to play FCS ball in the Missouri Valley, and the next day he made his way to Fargo and visited with NDSU. [player_tooltip player_id="116196" first="Devin" last="Lockerby"] (Fairbault) OL. 6’5, 300 lbs. C/o 2022 Another PrepRedzoneMN Showcase standout out of Southern MN, Fairbault’s Lockerby came into June with offers from South Dakota, Bemidji State, and Minnesota State-Mankato but got busy five days into the month as he camped in St. Paul with the University of St. Thomas and was offered a FCS non-scholarship opportunity from the Tommies. He then traveled the 5 hours and 15 minutes from Fairbault to Grand Forks and after meeting with the North Dakota staff in person he was offered his 3rd Division 1 opportunity. He followed that up with a visit to North Dakota State for their junior day. Keep it up, Devin!