Collegiate Update: Former MN Preps in 2021

One of my favorite parts of each college football season is seeing how Minnesotans and former MN preps are playing and succeeding on the gridiron on Saturdays. Since as long as I could remember, I’ve always had a great memory for where these former Minnesota high school standouts end up and how they are playing, and I will still tailor my game choices to whether there is a Minnesotan on either side of the contest. I am always looking for and checking up on Land of 10,000 Lake products as they navigate the college football landscape at the DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, and JUCO level, and it gives me a special kind of pleasure when I watch a kid I saw play and/or followed when they were a prep. With such an exciting 2021 college season well underway, I wanted to bring to our readers some quick updates on which former MN standouts are balling out this season. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I genuinely feel that Minnesotans succeed on the college level at a higher than average rate, and below I have gathered some evidence to support this claim. From the ACC to the MIAC and everywhere in between, check out which former MN preps are showing up and showing out this season! Thanks for reading. FBS Jermaine Johnson (Eden Prairie -> Florida State) DE. 6’5, 260 lbs. Redshirt Senior. What a ride it’s been for the former Eden Prairie Eagle, Independence Community College Pirate, and Georgia Bulldog defensive end. Mr. Johnson is absolutely blowing his high recruitment status out of the water as his stay in Independence, Kansas - which featured a much smaller role on Last Chance U than he deserved - resulted in him becoming one of the Top-2 highest rated JUCO prospect in his class. The former All-Metro pick and WR/DE ballooned into a massive 250+ lb. pass-rusher who totaled 96 tackles, 19 TFLs, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in just 20 games for ICC that led to him receiving offers from 22 FBS and 21 P5 programs such as USC, Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and the Georgia Bulldogs, where he eventually signed to going into the 2019 season. In a clogged defensive line in Athens that was stuffed with potential NFL talent, Johnson came in and became an immediate contributor and played in all 14 games, totaling 20 tackles, 3 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks against some of the best competition the NCAA has to offer. He built on that ’19 campaign with a 16 tackle, 5 TFL, and 4 sack 2020 season for Georgia, but decided to find a new home to play football at for his last year of eligibility as a grad transfer and ultimately committed to the Florida State Seminoles. In 2021 he is absolutely on fire, and is the best player on FSU’s roster who is flying up NFL draft boards after already posting 44 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 7 sacks through six games of play. I’m not exaggerating when I say he is playing like one of the best defensive lineman in the country, and NFL scouts, analysts, and media are watching. He’s the best Minnesotan in the NFL Draft this year and will most likely be picked in the first round this upcoming April, so as the best NFL hopeful from the Land of 10,000 Lakes I really hope our readers know of and follow this name going forward. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3048437/57e809590aff7a2d8c20db83">Senior year of HS highlights</a> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3048437/5bd9ed572ab19a0dd8f70b1a">JUCO highlights</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/BenFennell_NFL/status/1447998431650320384?s=20[/embed] Boye Mafe (Hopkins -> Minnesota) DE. 6’4, 265 lbs. Redshirt Senior. The next best NFL talent from the state of Minnesota is a homegrown product through and through who is one of the seemingly few Metro products to stay home and play for the Golden Gophers in Dinkytown. Mafe has continued to improve year after year in the Minnesota program and is our best defensive prospect/player in this early ’21 season. His weight room numbers and size led to him being named to Bruce Feldman’s 2021 college football freaks list, and it’s a safe bet that he is going to wow some NFL scouts at the upcoming NFL combine with his measurables and testing results. Prior to college success, he was a Kare11 All-Metro, 2016 MFCA All-Star, and AP Second Team All-Team selection who recorded 78 tackles, 10 TFLs, and four sacks as a senior and earned offers from Minnesota, Rutgers, Wyoming, Northern Iowa, and North Dakota but picked the hometown Gophers and has gone on to develop into an All-B1G player who earned an HM nod in 2020 and is poised for a lot more hardware if he keeps his production up this fall. Through five games he’s posted 17 tackles, 6 TFLs, and 5 sacks as well as a forced fumble, and is on his fourth year of playing for the Gophers D-side. I used to play rugby for Hopkins and had a lot of buddies who were Royals, so to see a kid so close down Highway 100 set to hear his name called in the NFL Draft soon is a very exciting proposition. I also think it’s worth noting that Rivals rated both Mafe and the aforementioned Jermaine Johnson as 2-star products out of high school, so I think that says a lot about how they view MN kids. Ski-U-Mah and big things coming, Boye! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4228608/57e71bbb5caa592b2812a89d">senior year midseason</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/Mostly_Always/status/1276940891018735616?s=20[/embed] Blaise Andries (Marshall -> Minnesota) OL. 6’6, 335 lbs. Redshirt Senior. Another NFL hopeful with a good shot of bucking the sad streak of Gopher lineman not getting drafted comes out of the talent-rich Marshall High School in their former coveted OL recruit Blaise Andries. A mainstay on the Minnesota Movers, Andries was a huge commit for the Gophs back in 2017 and had earned offers from the likes of Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Miami, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, and TCU before deciding to stay home and get his college degree in Dinkytown. He was an AP First Team All-State selection, MFCA All-Star game participant, and Mr. Football finalist who was the #1 ranked player in MN in his class and got his college career started early after redshirting in 2017. He has since started 33 games going into this season and has played all around the OL as a true utility player and one of our most consistent blockers and earned an All-B1G HM nod in 2018 and is a distinguished Academic honoree in both the B1G and the nation. He’s going to continue to maul opponents the rest of the season and I’m excited to see how his football career continues to progress. Marshall is home to straight studs. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2886873/5824c0354ba87706948facf7">senior year</a> Sam Schlueter (Mayer Lutheran -> Minnesota) OL. 6’6’, 325 lbs. Redshirt Senior. The 2016 graduate of Mayer Lutheran High School is another stalwart on the Gophers offensive line who has played in 43 games and started 39 going into this season for Minnesota in his successful collegiate career representing the home state. He also has legitimate NFL chances, and has earned two B1G honorable mention nods in 2019 and 2020 and has started every game so far in 2021. As a prep for the Crusaders he played OL, DL, and occasionally WR and was an AP First Team All-State pick on the OL as a senior and also recorded 87 tackles (7.9 per game), six sacks, and a forced fumble on defense. This resulted in him earning offers from Iowa State, Louisville, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin, but he picked the Golden Gophers and it seems to have payed off and then some. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2344549/5721d69cc124573b547ebf7a">senior highlights</a> Conner Olson (Monticello -> Minnesota) OL. 6’5, 310 lbs. Redshirt Senior. If you don’t see the theme of experienced Golden Gopher lineman hailing from the home state, here is the final installment. I am really going to miss having so much homegrown hog meat starting for the U next season, and Olson is the final piece of the Minnesota Movers that has had himself a heckuva career in Dinky. He’s started all 50 games of his career and has played both guard spots as well as center and has earned two All-B1G HM nods and a Third Team All-B1G selection in addition to three Academic All-B1G picks, and like his aforementioned Golden Gopher teammates he has legit NFL chances and can potentially snap a long-standing streak of Gopher lineman not being picked in the NFL Draft. As a prep at Monticello, he played both OL and DL led the Magic to a 10-2 overall record and a 9-1 mark in conference play in 2015, which resulted in AP First Team All-State honors as an offensive lineman and his only P5 offer from Minnesota. He also held offers from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and South Dakota. I’ll miss him in the Maroon and Gold! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2897127/5721e776b019261f80e8ebf6">2015 highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="2082" first="Bryce" last="Benhart"] (Lakeville North -> Nebraska) OL. 6’9, 330 lbs. Redshirt Freshman. One of the biggest lineman to ever come out of the state, Benhart was an Army All-American Bowl selection and held offers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, Duke, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Oregon before committing to Scott Frost and the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the B1G. As a senior on the gridiron he earned All-State honors from USAToday and AP Second Team All-State honors as well as a 2x All-Metro pick by both Kare11 and the StarTribune. He was also a beast on the wrestling mat and finished 4th in the state as a junior in 2018 at the 3A heavyweight level and followed it up with an undefeated, state championship winning season as a senior. After redshirting his initial year in Lincoln in 2019, he took over the starting RT in the 2020 COVID season and remains the RT in 2021. Nebraska has a dynamic rushing attack, is one of the most efficient offenses in the B1G, and faces off against Minnesota today in a pivotal matchup for both teams. He’s got a bright future ahead of him! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4191636/5c19bb2790ef2f10644514db">highlights</a> Eric Wilson (Benilde-St. Margaret’s -> Harvard -> Penn State) OL. 6’4, 305 lbs. Senior. The COVID-19 pandemic affected football in a variety of ways at all levels of the game, and one of the hardest hit of the D1s league was the Ivy League, who completely cancelled their 2020 season early into process of the NCAA trying to figure out what to do last year. Because of the decision, a couple of Minnesotans from Harvard decided to seek a new home to play football at and ended up up transferring to Penn State. The first of which being [player_tooltip player_id="1586" first="Spencer" last="Rolland"] from Apply Valley - who is transferring after this year - and second being Eric Wilson of Benilde-St. Margaret’s, who is now starting on the Nittany Lions OL. Coming off an accomplished and exemplary Red Knights career that saw him named captain twice, earn two All-Conference nods, an AP First Team All-State pick, the Suburban Red District Defensive Lineman of the Year, the MVP of the South team in the MN All-State game, All-Metro, and a Mr. Football nomination. He also led BSM to a AAAA state championship as a senior and was also an accomplished track athlete and student at the private school in St. Louis Park. At Harvard, he played in 22 games and was a Preseason All-American Fourth Team and Preseason All-Ivy First Team pick by Phil Steele. He was a massive land for the Crimson out of high school as he held offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Florida Atlantic, Miami of Ohio, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State, and 8 Ivy schools, among others, and after playing FCS ball for a few seasons I am pumped to see him finish out his career in the B1G. Let’s see what else his future holds! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4152402/57cce6cd688ec4490c8c19ba">Class of 2017 Senior Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="2335" first="Evan" last="Hull"] (Maple Grove -> Northwestern) RB. 5’11, 210 lbs. Sophomore. Maple Grove has a pretty good history of RBs in the 2010s and Hull tops the list in terms of prospects as he ended up starting in the backfield of a Power-5, B1G squad in the Northwestern Wildcats. Coming out of high school the RB was a team captain, All-Conference, StarTribune All-Metro, and AP All-State First Team honoree who ran for 1,915 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior after putting up 2,177 yards and 19 TDs as a junior. He was also an AP All-State First Team pick as a junior and averaged 226 yards per game in Maple Grove’s four state playoff games in 2017 and ended up setting the Maple Grove career rushing record with 4,140 total yards. He had a boatload of offers from Air Force, Brown, Buffalo, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Eastern Michigan, Kansas State, North Dakota, NDSU, UNI, Penn, Princeton, South Dakota, SDSU, Western Illinois, and Yale but late in his recruitment picked up a B1G offer from Northwestern and committed on January 25th, 2019. He’s since contributed to their offense every year, including 286 yards and four TDs in four games in 2019, 25 carries for 209 yards and two TDs in 2020, and is now the starter in 2021 and has already posted 70 carries for 509 yards and 4 TDs in five games of play. Crimson Pride, baby! Eric Abojei (Robbinsdale Cooper -> Wyoming) OL. 6’5, 325 lbs. Senior. A former Golden Gopher commit, Abojei has continued what is now a pretty strong tradition of Minnesotans finding success at Wyoming and has appeared in 24 games coming into this season with 17 starts after he redshirted in 2017. His 2019 sophomore season ended prematurely due to an injury, but he has helped open holes for multiple All-Mountain West RBs in his career and according to the Wyoming athletics website has had a great spring transforming his body and is one of the leaders on the OL from his LG spot. Cooper has put out so much D1 talent over the years it’s starting to get ridiculous, and Abojei held offers from Minnesota, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Iowa State as a senior before committing to the ’Pokes. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4375727/58731205c124dd0cc06a268b">highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="2096" first="Treyton" last="Welch"] (Buffalo -> Wyoming) TE. 6’3, 230 lbs. Junior. The name [player_tooltip player_id="2096" first="Treyton" last="Welch"] should ring familiar with fans of MN prep football, as the duo of Welch and now Iowa State QB [player_tooltip player_id="10962" first="Aidan" last="Bouman"] were one of the best QB-WR connections the state has ever seen. The big-bodied former WR turned starting TE for Wyoming had a monster high school career that included being named AP First Team All-State twice, a Mr. Football finalist, and a MFCA All-State selection. As a senior he led the state in receiving yards with 1,032, was second in TDs with 13, and third in receptions with 60. Although Wyoming was his only FBS offer, he’s turned into quite the sleeper of a commit for the ’Pokes as he appeared in seven games with one start in his first year of 2019, appeared in all six games with five starts in 2020, and is TE1 for this 2021 campaign. He also held offers from North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Brown, and Western Illinois. Keep it up, Treyton! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7054929/5baba691d45e780eb00f28d6">Senior SZN</a> [player_tooltip player_id="18031" first="Joe" last="Alt"] (Totino-Grace -> Notre Dame) OL. 6’7, 305 lbs. True Freshman. Only a true freshman, Alt has made the list due to his enormous weight gain since he was offered by the Fighting Irish after his junior season. He’s put on around 60-70 pounds since 2019, is now listed at a solid 305 lbs. on the Notre Dame website, he has recently started his first game for Notre Dame last Saturday against Virginia Tech as a LT!! Huge news for Alt and the state of Minnesota, the Irish have started four different LTs in the six games of 2021, but Alt hopes to provide some consistency at the position and I really hope he becomes a four-year starter in those iconic gold helmets. Not bad for a kid who came in as a TE! [player_tooltip player_id="18025" first="Riley" last="Mahlman"] (Lakeville South -> Wisconsin) OL. 6’8, 290 lbs. True Freshman. In what was a loaded 2021 OL commitment class for the Wisconsin Badgers, Lakeville South’s Mahlman has set himself apart and according to Wisconsin’s 24/7Sports insider and Prep Hoops scout Evan Flood, has played the best of any of the freshman lineman, including a former 5-star. The former Cougar two-sport star held a ton of football offers from just about every B1G team including Ohio State, Northwestern, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan State, Iowa, Iowa State, and the Badgers. I’m grateful I got to watch him play a couple of times in high school and expect to see him starting in Madison soon. Keep an eye out for some upcoming Cougars as well! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9929633/5dd68f7432e6d40c184b7de1">Junior Year highlights</a> Nick Kallerup (Wayzata -> Minnesota) TE. 6’5, 270 lbs. Redshirt Sophomore. A former PWO, the Wayzata Trojans product has developed into a real B1G tight end who has been getting consistent reps on special teams and as a blocking TE for the Gophers offense. He held offers from South Dakota and Sioux Falls and also held a PWO from Iowa, but decided to continue the Trojan to Gopher pipeline and wanted to represent the home state at the U of M. He’s put on a ton of weight in the Gopher S&C program and has played in all five games of the 2021 season so far. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7977238/5bccbbd157984f0e10aeb9d6">Senior Year Regular SZN</a> Alex Spillum (Chanhassen -> Coastal Carolina) S. 6’2, 190 lbs. Redshirt Senior. The last of the FBS standouts on this feature, Spillum was an All-American long jumper who placed fifth nationally in the AAU Junior Olympics and put that athleticism to good use on the gridiron as he was a Gatorade Minnesota POY nominee, his conference’s MVP, Second Team All-Metro by the StarTribune, the Metro West’s Offensive MVP, and a MFCA All-Star game pick who somehow only held three offers from North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and FBS Coastal Carolina. In part thanks to Spillum, the Chanticleers are now one of the premier G5 teams and had an electric 2020 season last year that included some of the most exciting games in the entire NCAA. After redshirting in 2017, the QB turned safety played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman, played in nine games and started eight as a redshirt sophomore in 2019, and was a Third Team All-Sun Belt in 2020 after starting in 12 games and posting 60 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, four interceptions, eight PBUs, and two fumble recoveries. He’s again a starter at safety in 2021 in his last season of college football and has 20 tackles through the first six games of the season. What a college career the former Storm standout has had in South Carolina! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2832467/581782aabd75203008480630">Ultimate Highlights</a> FCS Noah Gindorff (Crosby-Ironton -> North Dakota State) TE. 6’6, 265 lbs. Senior. One of the Bison’s 2021 captains comes out Crosby, Minnesota (population ~2800) and is yet another Minnesotan this year with an NFL pedigree and pro aspirations, which I think is more than doable given the history the Bison have in putting MN natives into the National Football League. Gindorff is the typical small town MN baller who played a ton of football in his high school career and played all over the field, as he was a four-year starter and two-year captain who played QB, TE, DL, LB, K, DB, and holder and won All-Conference, All-District, All-State, Team MVP, District Offensive POY, and Area POY honors while playing for the Rangers. His stats from his days under Friday night lights are nuts, as he passed for 2,822 yards and 28 TDs, rushed for 3,318 yards and 43 TDs, and also caught seven passes for 193 yards and two scores in his offensive high school efforts. Defensively, he totaled 317 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 8 interceptions, and five forced fumbles and set multiple scoring records in the school’s history. Also noteworthy, he choose the Bison over a Gophers offer and also held offers from Wyoming and four other MVFC suitors. Gindorff began his Bison career with a redshirt season in 2017 and then played in 12 of the 15 NDSU contests of the 2018 campaign, mostly on special teams. As a sophomore in 2019 he played in all 16 games with eight starts and recorded 10 catches for 170 yards and six TDs, and followed it up with a Second Team All-Missouri Valley season in the spring of 2021 and caught three TDs in his 11 catches. Keep your eyes and ears open for the small schooler the rest of this season as the Bison continue their quest for yet another FCS national championship. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2809614/581b8815688ec245bca44b44">Senior Highlights</a> Nash Jensen (Osseo -> North Dakota State) OL. 6’4, 325 lbs. Senior. Jensen was one of the more versatile lineman I’ve seen in my day as an Osseo Oriole standout, as he played every position on the OL and would also step in as a TE or FB and would indeed help out in the passing game at his massive 6’4, 300ish pound size. The former MFCA All-Star game selection was an All-Conference contributor as a junior when Osseo had one of the most miraculous state title runs in MN state history under now Augsburg University coach Derrin Lamker, and followed it up with almost 90 pancake blocks as a senior under my former DC Ryan Stockhaus. He picked NDSU over the likes of Wyoming, Georgia State, New Mexico, Montana State, SDSU, UNI, and Illinois State, and redshirted in 2017 before playing in all 15 games as a RS freshman in 2018, mostly on special teams. He moved into a starting role as a sophomore in 2019 and started all 16 games at LG and was a HEROSports FCS Sophomore All-America Team pick for his efforts. He also started all 10 games in the spring of 2021 and is the starter this season as well. You can always bet your butt there will be a Minnesotan on the NDSU OL. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2860978/581348217bddf70e90797607">Senior Year</a> [player_tooltip player_id="2132" first="Omar" last="Brown"] (MPLS North -> Northern Iowa) CB. 6’1, 190 lbs. Sophomore. The Polars product out of North Minneapolis made a huge splash in the FCS ranks as he earned the starting job at the Northern Iowa Panthers CB spot as a true freshman and earned a litany of awards for his performance such as the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week and the Newcomer of the Week after picking off two passes against Illinois State as well as the STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week for that game. At the end of the season he was picked to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team, the All-Conference team, the Hero Sports All-American Team, AP All-American Third Team, FCS Defensive Freshman of the Year, and the Phil Steele All-American First Team. He had 77 tackles and six interceptions that season and made a grand entrance against Iowa State when he tallied 11 tackles (seven solo). Last spring as a sophomore he started all seven games and posted 30 tackles, an interception, five PBUs, and a blocked kick to earn All-MVFC honorable mention honors. So far in the fall of 2021 he has made 22 tackles, 2 TFLs, a FF, an INT, and two PBUs, and forced that fumble in the near upset against Iowa State Week 1. He’s got an NFL ceiling and it’s always awesome to see kids coming out of the North side succeed. Congrats and keep it up, Mr. Brown! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4538150/5b9b19b2e985240ef4429239">Senior SZN</a> Isaiah Weston (St. Michael-Albertville -> Northern Iowa) WR. 6’4, 210 lbs. Redshirt Junior. Unfortunately, Weston was injured today in the UNI matchup against South Dakota in a hit that the referees called targeting on. However, the STMA product was having a heckuva year up until that point and was coming off a five catch, 181 yard and 1 TD performance against the mighty Bison on October 9th. He had recorded 16 catches for 415 yards and 4 TDs through five games of 2021 and is coming off a spring season of three starts with seven catches for 152 yards and a TD, including taking the first play if the Western Illinois game to the crib on a 75-yard catch. Somehow, the big-bodied wideout only held offers from South Dakota State and UNI coming out of high school following a 2x All-Conference, District WR of the Year, District MVP, AP All-State and Minnesota Vikings All-State career for the Knights, and his decision to head to Cedar Falls has been a good one. He followed a redshirt season in 2016 with an All-MVFC Newcomer Team selection after playing in all 13 games and starting five as a freshman in 2017, and posted 22 catches for 380 yards and 5 TDs, and also was named a Phil Steele Freshman All-American. Sadly, he missed 2018 with an injury but had a heckuva 2019 and started all 12 games to lead the team in receiving yards with 1,053 and TD catches with 10. He’s a mismatch nightmare and has been a fun one to watch for the Panthers. I hope that injury isn’t too serious. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2DyRv1">Senior Highlight Film</a> [player_tooltip player_id="1584" first="Matt" last="Waletzko"] (Rocori -> North Dakota) OL. 6’7, 305 lbs. Senior. Yet another Minnesota native to go play FCS ball and catch the eye of NFL scouts, Waletzko was featured in a tweet by the Reese’s Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy this summer to let NFL fans know that he was on the radar of pro scouts, and it’s no surprise as the massive Cold Spring native has developed into one of the best lineman in all of the FCS. In the spring of 2021 he earned the Hero Sports "Top FCS Player to Wear #76" going into the season after being named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America honors and to the HERO Sports Preseason All-America Team. He’s also been awarded a All-MVFC Second Team nod, an All-America Second Team pick by Phil Steele, and a First Team All-MVFC selection from Phil Steele as well. We may have another NFL sleeper on our hands from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and it’s extra exciting considering the fact that North Dakota was his only offer out of high school. Hard work pays off. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4185899/59078e40e97ab830dc20e2f0">Senior Highlights</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/JimNagy_SB/status/1401132583321227264?s=20[/embed] Ty Okada (East Ridge -> Montana State) DB. 5’11, 185 lbs. Junior. After only holding offers from Southwest Minnesota State and the Montana State Bobcats, Okada has developed into a starting safety of the FCS Big Sky competitor and has received a ton of media attention since he ended the 2019 season as the starter in the defensive backfield. He’s having himself a heckuva 2021 season and has already posted 44 tackles, 4 TFLs, 2 interceptions, and 2 PBUs through this ’21 season. The toughness shouldn’t come as a surprise when you remember his athleticism as a Raptor QB as well as state championship caliber wrestler. He was his District’s Offensive POY as a senior and also an All-Conference baseball player. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2E9P5g">Senior Highlights</a> Malik Lofton (Hopkins -> South Dakota State) CB. 5’10, 190 lbs. Senior. Another stud Hopkins graduate, Lofton is in his third year contributing to the Jackrabbits secondary and was the primary starter in the SDSU spring of 2021 campaign that saw them almost win the FCS national championship, and posted 16 tackles, an interception, and a PBU on the year. As a prep he was an All-Metro pick and chose SDSU over offers from Wyoming, Montana State, NDSU, UNI, and South Dakota. He primarily made this list due to his outrageous TD against Southern Illinois that was one of the craziest football plays I’ve ever seen. Check it out below! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/4664580/57e6fb06bd75201524e3b8cb">Senior Highlights</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/GoJacksFB/status/1446947504034041858?s=20[/embed] Division II Brandon Alt (Park of Cottage Grove -> Bemidji State) QB. 6’2, 200 lbs. Sophomore. After two seasons being cut short to injury and the 2020 season cancelled due to COVID, I am pumped to see Park graduate Brandon Alt really step into the reigns of the Bemidji State offense and is second in the NSIC in passing with 155 completions on 298 attempts for 2,271 yards and 22 TDs to nine interceptions. In high school he was a 4x letterwinner in football and baseball and a 3x letterwinner in basketball. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2675519/581f6429f5605e19502c3c1f">Senior YR</a> Hunter Trautman (St. Francis -> Northern State) QB. 6’, 200 lbs. Grad Student. The very experienced DII quarterback out of St. Francis had started 29 games for the Wolves going into the 2021 season and had gone 514-918 for 6,105 yards and 47 TDs to 26 interceptions, including a 2,132 passing yard and13 touchdown 2019 season that saw him named All-NSIC honorable mention. In 2018 he was an All-NSIC Second Team pick after posting 2659 total yards with 24 TDs. He’s currently #1 in the Northern Sun in passing and has gone 152-244 for 2,056 yards and 24 TDs to just 2 interceptions. I smell more hardware coming his way soon! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/1683852/5721d2c94df6124b7020281c">Full senior year highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="1578" first="Onte" last="Burns"] (Robbinsdale Cooper -> Southwest Minnesota State) LB. 6’, 205 lbs. Junior. The 2018 graduate of Robbinsdale Cooper has been one of the most consistent defensive presences in the Northern Sun and a tackling machine like he was in high school. The former Montana State commit posted 136 tackles, 10 TFLs, and six interceptions as a senior for the Hawks and was named his District’s MVP, a MN All-Star, and a Kare11 All-State selection for his efforts, and ultimately committed to Marshall’s Southwest Minnesota State. He came in as a true freshman and immediately started as the Mustangs MLB and finished his first year of college with 48 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, half a sack, and interception, and a forced fumble. He followed it up with an All-NSIC First Team pick in 2019, a First Team All-Region performer, as well as a Don Hansen Third Team All-American after leading the NSIC with 108 tackles. He also posted 5.5 TFLs and an interception, but lost his 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far through 7 games in 2021 he already has 72 tackles, 3 TFLs, and a sack. The kid can play! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6086616/59d075daa018960890ebba92">Senior Year 3 game</a> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6086616/5e0933a332dced09a803197f">Freshman year SMSU</a> <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6086616/5e0a67a00dcaad04900f8019">Sophomore Year SMSU</a> Brent Laing (Lakeville North -> Minnesota-Duluth) OL. 6’4, 290 lbs. Redshirt Senior. Another former MN prep to catch the eye of Reese’s Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy, Laing was a four-year starter in high school who was an All-Conference and All-Metro pick who was also voted the Panthers Lineman of the Year. He’s in his second year of starting for UMD and I really hope he stays on NFL radars. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/2843788/57f06db7688ec5295852daca">Senior Midseason</a> [embed]https://twitter.com/OliverJamesWes1/status/1404465021036421122?s=20[/embed] [player_tooltip player_id="11008" first="Gabe" last="Hagen"] (Blooming Prairie -> Minnesota State-Mankato) TE. 6’5, 260 lbs. Redshirt Freshman. A massive TE who is playing his first year of college football after losing 2020 to the pandemic, Hagen is looking just as studly as he was as a Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossom, where he was an All-District and All-State awardee who helped Blooming Prairie to their first state championship in school history. Through seven games he has 5 catches for 143 yards and 2 TDs, including a 70-yard catch the opening week of the season against Northern State. He’s going to be a beast throughout his time in ’Kato. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7952417/5daf42361762860838e100f5">Senior Highlights</a> Division III Sam Smith (Anoka -> UW-Platteville) LB. 6’, 225 lbs. Junior. Through 5 games the Anoka graduate is second in the WIAC in tackles with 50 and added 10 more today. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3026175/57fa9a4b5caa581fe4567b9c">high school highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="18178" first="Isaiah" last="Karels"] (Buffalo -> UW-River Falls) LB. 6’2, 195 lbs. Freshman. The freshman was the WIAC leader in sacks coming into today with 4. Not bad for a first-year! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11352142/5fcee9c3dfe35406fc2b6dae">Senior SZN</a> Cade Sheehan (Rochester Mayo -> Augsburg University) QB. 5’9, 170 lbs. Sophomore. Is leading the MIAC in passing yards per game (275) and passing TDs (22). <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6915590/5db637462aa6860c044749ca">Final Ride</a> [player_tooltip player_id="1911" first="Brandon" last="Foster"] (Northfield -> St. Olaf) LB. 5’11, 210 lbs. Senior. The Northfield native is leading the MIAC in tackles with 56. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3887293/584722a35b3cb12e2c0a035e">Junior highlights</a> JUCO Bilhal Kone (Apple Valley -> Iowa Central) DB. Has exploded onto the recruiting scene and earned D1 offers from Eastern Kentucky, Incarnate World, and Northern Colorado through the midseason point of the NJCAA season. Quientrail Jamison-Travis (Minneapolis North -> Iowa Western) DL. Recently attended the Minnesota Gophers game and is receiving P5 interest as an Iowa Western Reiver. He was an All-State selection as a prep and one of the most dominant players in the state as a senior. I would be so psyched if he ended up as a Gopher.