Cottage Grove Scrimmage: Notes & Standouts

<strong>COTTAGE GROVE, MN-- </strong>We were out at Park High School in Cottage Grove last Friday morning for a four-team scrimmage that featured plenty of talent across the board. We knew it was a loaded slate, which is why we sent two Prep Redzone scouts to cover one of the first scrimmages of the year. We dive into the notes of who was there and who stood out as we enter the month of August with practices getting in full swing here shortly. <strong>NOTES &amp; NOTABLES</strong> The scrimmage was hosted by Park, but the football programs of Cretin-Derham Hall, Tartan, and Shakopee were also in attendance. These were some of the other notable prospects in attendance: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116190" first="Martin" last="Koivisto"], OL | Shakopee | 2022</strong> Central Michigan Commit. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18436" first="Luke" last="Floysand"], QB | Cretin-Derham Hall | 2022</strong> <strong>Ari Gaithers, DB | Shakopee | 2022</strong> <strong>Blake Johnson, RB/DB | Park | 2022</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49870" first="Micah" last="Runion"], DB | Park | 2022</strong> <strong>Will Haider, RB | Cretin-Derham Hall | 2022</strong> <strong>Dominik De Los Rios, OL | Cretin-Derham Hall | 2022</strong> <strong>STANDOUTS</strong> As you may have seen on Friday afternoon, I shouted out the bulk of these young men on Twitter as my standouts from Friday morning. We will now dive into why these seven prospects stood out to us, for the Prep Redzone Minnesota subscribers. [embed]https://twitter.com/thebrickwahl87/status/1421218757465227264[/embed] <strong>AJ Burns | Wide Receiver | Tartan | 2022</strong> The first thing that stood out to me about AJ was the long length he brought to the wide receiver position for the Titans. Every time I saw the ball in this young man’s hands he showed terrific athleticism with nearly every ball I saw him catch. Burns got the bulk of his reps in motion and showed off some solid durable especially on screenplays. This young man has a well-put-together frame, especially in his lower body. He also has the Tartan Titans school record in the high jump so he certainly has some springs in his legs to get vertical. Burns is a dominant three-sport athlete that I believe needs more college football attention in the future. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Ejp3D">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/AJBurnsJr2">Twitter</a> <strong>Sam West | Wide Receiver/Tight End | Shakopee | 2022 </strong> West was another wide receiver prospect from Friday morning that made some fantastic plays. Myself and my colleague Oliver West were witnesses to one of the best catches we saw all day when West high topped the football with his long reach and showed great body control to pull the ball in with ease. West lines up at both wide receiver and tight end for the Sabers and although doesn’t have any football film from last season, expect this young man to be a 6’4 205 pound WR/TE combo prospect to watch this season as I see him as a solid red-zone threat for Shakopee. Heck of an athlete on the hardwood from what I have watched on tape recently. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11557513/Sam-West">Hudl Profile</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/samwest44">Twitter</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="49893" first="Evan" last="Bearth"] | Quarterback | Park (Cottage Grove | 2022</strong> Bearth was one of two quarterbacks I got to watch from the Wolfpack on Friday afternoon and looked to have the best touch on the ball of the two. He showed a quick release and solid arm strength when he had to stretch past the first down markers for his throws. I also was a fan of his accuracy as he showed on multiple reps that he could put the football right in the wide outs bread basket to advance up field. He could develop a little more arm strength on his deeper throws, but regardless the Wolfpack are in good hands in 2021 with two solid quarterback options. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EZxFd">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/evanbearth">Twitter</a> <strong>Durelle Hall | Defensive Back | Cretin-Derham Hall | 2022</strong> You can learn more about Hall from my recruiting report on him <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/08/recruiting-report-durelle-hall-cretin-derham-hall-2022/">here</a> from last summer. After circling back at my notes on what I had down about him from Friday, I am strongly convinced our other scout, Oliver West used every adjective I used to describe the way Hall performed on Friday morning: [embed]https://twitter.com/OliverJamesWes1/status/1421175267091963907[/embed] <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112073" first="Maurice" last="White"] | Running Back/Linebacker | Tartan | 2023</strong> White was a grinder at tailback for the Titans from what I watched early on Friday morning. He showed solid hip flexibility and had no problem shifting either way from what I had witnessed when Tartan was scrimmaging with Park. I have a gut feeling with this young man’s measurables (6’0 205) and solid lower body strength that he will have no problem in 2021 gaining key yards after contact with his running ability. He also has a solid burst when he sees an open hole in the defense. White also got my attention at linebacker, as he showed excellent vision on reading where the play was going. One of the youngest in my standouts group from Friday will two seasons to go. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2C948t">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/maurice20654074">Twitter</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116272" first="Aaron" last="Lee"] | Defensive Back | Shakopee | 2022</strong> Lee has also been a Prep Redzone Showcase standout in our most recent showcases. He showed on Friday some matching skillsets you will see in his film, as he is a ballhawk that makes a herd of plays on the run. On Friday in Cottage Grove, Lee showed his versatility as he was effective in crashing into the inside run as well as using his solid reach to make waves on passing plays. Aaron also has a solid contact level on his tackles and has some solid explosiveness. I certainly think he plays a lot stronger than his 5’10 160 pound frame and will be a strong small school prospect with some juice. <a style="background-color: #edeef0; font-size: 1rem;" href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/7050408/5fc0b034f31c53105cc90154">Jr Tape</a><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> | </span><a style="background-color: #edeef0; font-size: 1rem;" href="https://twitter.com/AaronLee2022">Twitter</a> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116284" first="James" last="Morrison"] | Offensive Line | Cretin Derham-Hall | 2022</strong> I was really impressed with how well efficient Morrison’s attack level was when he was in the early drills for the Raiders. Obviously, this young man has a lot of size (6’6, 315), but he 100% knows how to use it to his full advantage. He showed a strong stance and was a hog molly prospect that could land multiple punches on different defenders. I watched James at our Prep Redzone Showcase this winter, and I love the improvement I have seen in that span of time as I think he certainly has improved his footwork since that time. There is some surprise in me that Morrison has just one Northern Sun offer here in early August as I think this young man is due for a few more as he’s also a terrific student with a 4.02 GPA. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/12765478/5fc446e35b3d55098c478fe5">Jr Tape</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/j_morr99">Twitter</a>