Northern State Camp: Big Man Standouts and Day 1 Studs

ABERDEEN, SD-- Just about a week and a half ago, I made my first ever trip to Aberdeen, South Dakota, to check out what was brewing in Wolves Country at Northern State University. I got to see firsthand what they are building at Northern State, which includes a state-of-the-art new football stadium, Dacotah Bank Stadium. The glimpses I saw inside makes me know it will be one of the most dynamic stadiums at the Division II level and better than some Division I facilities. See the photo below from my tour! <img class="wp-image-169874 alignnone" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3058-1-300x133.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="176" /> I also got to watch a handful of football prospects too. I checked in for the last hour of their skills camp on Monday and got to watch the skill positions go at it, and I came out with the following standouts from Day 1: [player_tooltip player_id="22946" first="Karson" last="Lindsay"] | Quarterback | Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (MN) | 2023 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3043-rotated-crop-1512x993-1626146807.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-169872 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3043-rotated-crop-1512x993-1626146807-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="231" height="152" /></a>Lindsay is a prospect that I have seen his game develop a ton over the last year, especially at the quarterback position. In the limited reps I watched of him on Monday afternoon, he showed an extended comfort level inside the pocket and put excellent arm strength on the football, especially on his shorter throws. Lindsay is also a high academic player that carries a 4.0 GPA and has grade A character to go along with it. If you want any more dialogue that I have written on Lindsay, see these below! <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/03/roster-breakdown-jwp-bulldogs/">JWP Football</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/06/city-rankings-mankato-area-qb1-rankings/">City Rankings: Mankato Area QB1 Rankings</a> [player_tooltip player_id="49912" first="Matthew" last="Donovan"] | Wide Receiver | Kasson-Mantorville (MN) | 2022 Donovan is a Prep Redzone Minnesota alumni that really looked in tune with the deep ball from what I grasped on Monday night in Aberdeen. Donovan is not the biggest wide receiver out there but showed great instincts on his longer routes. Check out what my colleague Oliver West had to say on a recent evaluation of Donovan from last winter: West: The younger brother of former KM Komet and University of South Dakota WR standout Riley Donovan, younger brother Matt was kind enough to make the drive to our PrepRedzoneWI Showcase back in December, and I was pumped to see he had a lot of the same juice his older brother had back in the day. Although he plays QB for the Komets, Matt competed as a WR at the showcase and was especially dangerous in his release at the LOS, giving opposing corners fits trying to get a hand on him. He’s got some great lateral quickness and burst, and on film, you can see that he’s dangerous with the football in his hands, showing off vision and impressive speed at the top-end that helped him score more than a few exciting TDs last season. He’s also currently in the middle of a fantastic hockey season, so I’m all in on his athleticism and think he is a sleeper MVFC prospect that would make for an explosive wideout at the college level. Jackson Isakson | Quarterback | Aberdeen Roncalli (SD) | 2023 Isakson showed off one of the quicker releases I saw from the last hour of the NSU skill camp from the Class of 2023 talent that was out there. My colleague [player_tooltip player_id="2138" first="Jake" last="Evans"] just wrote a recruiting report below last week on Isakson speaking about not only how solid of a QB1 he is for the Cavaliers but how he could be one of the best kickers in the Dakotas in the Class of 2023. Read more here: <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/06/recruit-report-jackson-isakson-qb-db-23-aberdeen-roncalli/">Jackson Isakson Recruit Report</a> BIG MAN CAMP This list of prospects consisted of offensive and defensive linemen, who were the ones that turned the dial and played at a high level in Aberdeen last Tuesday afternoon. [player_tooltip player_id="93081" first="Paden" last="Johnson"] | Offensive Line | Watertown (SD) | 2022 Johnson showed off the most significant upsides by far on the day. Walking into Aberdeen at 6’9 300 pounds, this young man has some raw yet solid skills that we learned will undoubtedly compete at the next level. He started off his day by showing some decent speed in the 40-yard dash for his size. Johnson offered a vicious punch and a sound pad level from what I watched from Indy drills. He also uses that footspeed to be an offensive lineman that can get out the gates and be a tough pull blocker that not many opposing defenders want to see in front of his tailback. Johnson showed an excellent hand swipe, especially when aiming at the left side of the defender. He can definitely develop a more muscular lower body and improve on his footwork to become more of an asset on the offensive line in his senior season. Johnson picked up his first college football opportunity from this camp and indeed rose his stock higher on our radar with our Class of 2022 rankings. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14496041/601a242f4bb2ec10749d7ebf">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/johnson_paden">Twitter</a> [player_tooltip player_id="56452" first="Kendis" last="Ledbetter"] | Defensive Line | Sioux Falls Washington (SD) | 2022 <img class=" wp-image-114530 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/02/IMG-4650-e1614573630568-194x300.jpg" alt="" width="139" height="215" /> Ledbetter was one of the most familiar prospects at the Northern State big man camp and really showed why he’s the top defensive end in the Dakotas. He started his day in Aberdeen by displaying a solid hip flex and ran at a strong level in his pro agility time, where he showed a stable balance in his turns and got into a quick stance that looked natural from my eyes. Ledbetter also offered the best launch level of the defensive linemen at the camp in individual drills. He also showed how flexible he could be with his hands as he could turn them in either direction with ease and had some of the more vicious hand slaps of the group in Indys. Kendis also showed a solid shedding ability when coming in on 1on1s from an angle. Ledbetter is now up to three Northern Sun offers, with FCS potential opportunities looming at the moment. If you haven’t seen this clip yet, it might be time to watch it against the #1 tackle in the Class of 2022: [embed]https://twitter.com/KendisLedbetter/status/1409225885677404160[/embed] <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EY6Mz">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/KendisLedbetter">Twitter</a> [player_tooltip player_id="151257" first="Christian" last="Heerde"] | Defensive Line | Harrisburg (SD) | 2022 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3019-rotated-crop-1512x993-1626146620.jpg"><img class="wp-image-169870 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3019-rotated-crop-1512x993-1626146620-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="231" height="152" /></a> I really liked how well Heerde flipped his hips in some of the individual drills. He also showed off a competitive motor, and off the snap, Christian could cause a tremendous hip explosion into the backfield. Heerde also had me locked in with his striking ability with his hands as he gets a strong pad level with a lower strike. He shows a defensive lineman that can cover some ground with his stamina despite having a solid frame on tape. Every tackle on tape I see Heerde make is at a high physicality level which is why I am confident this young man will be a jumper in our next Class of 2022 rankings. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11516675/5f57a5080dc01907387a1de4">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/HeerdeChristian">Twitter</a> [player_tooltip player_id="151169" first="Jackson" last="Geerts"] | Defensive Line | Sioux Falls Lincoln (SD) | 2022 Geerts was another prospect that showed some strong movement in the trenches when moving in transition in Indy drills. I got to watch him back-to-back days at Augustana and Northern State and saw the progression in this particular drill get better even with back-to-back days of reps. Geerts showed a strong punch going up against the most sizeable offensive linemen in the group in [player_tooltip player_id="93081" first="Paden" last="Johnson"] despite Johnson having a significant size advantage. He also showed off his motor when coming off the edge in Indy drills. He also showed excellent footwork in his 40-yard dash at the Augie Camp the day before. Geerts currently holds one NAIA offer and, as a top 25 prospect in our 22’ rankings, is flying under the radar at the moment. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2F33Kc">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/geerts_jackson">Twitter</a> [player_tooltip player_id="105499" first="Carson" last="Leonhardt"] | Offensive Line | Faulkton (SD) | 2024 Leonhardt was one of the more under-the-radar prospects I watched in Aberdeen but left a mark as one of the top prospects that caught my eyes from the younger group. What impressed me about Leonhardt was his contact level and how it remained consistent throughout the camp. I especially saw how high his contact level was when he took his punches out on the dummies as he landed excellent contact in that drill. Leonhardt sticks out to me as an edge rusher on tape as he is a solid shedder off his blocks and will end up inside on the ball carrier. Offensively, I like the pad-level this young man stays on as he showed that same consistency I saw in Aberdeen with the way he packs a punch. Leonhardt is still raw and hopefully has a growth spurt shortly, but I see this kid as a small school prospect in the coming years that can hopefully raise a higher ceiling than that. Leonhardt is on our watchlist for the Class of 2024. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FVWZ1">Fr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/CarsonLeonhard5">Twitter</a> Jacob Kriewald | Offensive Line | Bellevue West (NE) | 2022 Kriewald was a prospect I got my eyes on at the Northern State Big Man Camp early last week. Kriewald showed solid flexibility in his lower body in the 40-yard dash and was a prospect all day. I was very intrigued by his big motor. He also showed active footwork in the broad jump session. When Kriewald got into drills, he led a solid pad level which gave him good leverage against the competition. He also showed a strong stance in 1on1s to go along with it. When I picked up some of Kriewald’s game tape, I saw a young man that has an adequate pad level and gets solid corner leverage on his blocks. He gets his punches in early and is a stout run blocker that focuses on positioning the defender so he can get a solid angle block to draw the defender out of the way of his ball carrier. Kriewald also shows a solid ability to have the speed to drive upfield to make a block. He’s an undersized prospect at 5’11 245 but already holds one NAIA offer from Doane and is deserving of more scholarship level opportunities based on his excellent work ethic. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2E6wwC">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobKrie78">Twitter</a>