De Smet/Castlewood: Nate's Big Dogs of the Game

DE SMET, SD-- Ready for the Big Dogs of the Game? We found ten prospects that opened up our eyes last night in De Smet from both the Castlewood Warriors and the De Smet Bulldogs, because as always at Prep Redzone, no player is off limits! [player_tooltip player_id="161249" first="Booker" last="Schooley"] | LB/OL | Castlewood | 2023 If I had to give out an award to the Castlewood Warriors for their biggest dog of the game, it would go to linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="161249" first="Booker" last="Schooley"]. Booker was a ball-hawk in last night’s game and connect on many tackles throughout the first half. He showed a physical presence at the top of the plays I zoomed in on especially in the first quarter. I also liked his vision as a linebacker, as he showed active feet to move to the ball quickly. We identified Schooley as a ranked prospect in the Class of 2023 in our last update, and he showed last night why he’s on our prospect list. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13841981/5f5cbf5819a59d018c890db5">Game Tape vs. E-H</a> Colt Wilkinson | QB/LB | De Smet | 2022 One of two Wilkinson’s you will see on this list, Colt showed a versatile skill set as QB1 of the De Smet Bulldogs. He showed with his running ability, that he is a punch to the mouth downhill-runner and although the stat sheet doesn’t hit him with tons of yards, it’s how he got his hard-nosed yards that stood out to me. He completed nearly 73% of his passes last night and showed good touch on his deeper throws. He also knows he has playmakers in his receiving core such as WR Rett Osthus, and his ball placement allows them to stretch for the football to make a solid play. He currently holds one football offer from Jamestown, and in my eyes, is due for more opportunities this Fall. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FpCBL">Mid-season Tape</a> Jonah Wiersma | DE/OL | Castlewood | 2022 Aside from Schooley, Jonah Wiersma was another defensive standout in that one half of football. Wiersma went back and forth with Schooley in the first half making plays on the ball and assisting each other on other plays. Wiersma was another prospect that showed a physical presence and good vision, especially in the first quarter when the game was just barely out fo reach for the Warriors. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FgTKW">Game Tape vs. Britton-Hecla</a> Hunter Smith | LB/OL | Castlewood | 2022 Smith had the play of the game for Castlewood. He showed solid vision reading the quarterback’s eyes and using that to his advantage to lock in the football and return it for a touchdown. When I rolled Hunter’s film, I saw a young man that has a really consistent contact level in some of the first few clips of his film. He also shows good awareness, as even if he’s getting outmatched on a block, he still keeps active fighting to make a play. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FUwyK">Jr Tape</a> Kadyn Fast | RB/DB | De Smet | 2024 Fast was one of the younger prospects that caught my eyes in the backfield rotation for De Smet. As just a sophomore, I thought he ran well laterally with loose hips between the defenders. He showed a good mix of speed and power as from the sidelines you could hear the contact he was making with the defender when getting yards with contact. I also liked Kadyn’s vision against Castlewood as likely the running back of the future for the Bulldogs. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14873518/Kadyn-Fast">Hudl Profile</a> [player_tooltip player_id="210629" first="Bryon" last="Laue"] | TE/DB | Castlewood | 2025 Laue was a prospect I actually just identified last week as we started churning out our watch list for the Class of 2025. I did get to watch him on a couple of plays and although his skill set is still very raw due to his age, I saw some skills I liked. As a blocker at the tight end, Bryon showed a good pad level when connecting with the defender. He’ll need to develop a better bend at the waist, and more power from the weight room in his frame (6’6 200) but I’m intrigued to see how this kid develops over the coming years with those developments in play. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FgPDz">Game Tape vs. Britton-Hecla</a> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3584-rotated-crop-1512x993-1633721774.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-214105" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3584-rotated-crop-1512x993-1633721774-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="244" height="160" /></a>Rett Osthus | WR/DB | De Smet | 2022 I wrote about Osthus as one of our Big Dogs of the Week recently, so I was excited to watch this young man’s game in person to start off Week 8. The stat line aside, Rett did the little things right on Thursday night against Castlewood. I really loved his skillset as a lead blocker for the ball carrier, as he had aggression to him that was fun to watch go to work. On his receiving touchdown from Colt Wilkinson, he showed terrific balance to pull that one in along the sideline and adjusted his body nicely as well. Rett was another versatile stud from these #1 ranked De Smet Bulldogs. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11439090/5f6ecc6f32dc6201386544ad">Game Tape vs. Castlewood</a> (last year) <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3583-crop-1512x993-1633721660.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-214100" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3583-crop-1512x993-1633721660-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="244" height="160" /></a>Damon Wilkinson | OL/DL/K | De Smet | 2023 When I grabbed the roster last night and saw the size (6’9 260) of this young man, I knew I had to tune in and watch #81 closely. On the offensive side, Wilkinson showed a bend at the waist that could see some development as well as to where he attacks the defender from but looked solid on the defensive side of the ball. Defensively, he found himself in the backfield multiple times with a sack and some heat on the quarterback. This is for sure a player to keep our eyes on the recruiting front over the next few months. He’s already received a game day invite from a Missouri Valley program in the Dakotas and I know once the dominoes drop that there is a kid of this size with a solid skillset playing 9A football, more scholarship level schools will inquire. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13265568/Damon-Wilkinson">Hudl Profile</a> [player_tooltip player_id="160911" first="Tristan" last="Nielsen"] | QB | Castlewood | 2022 Although it was a rough outing offensively for Nielsen & the Warriors offense, I did see a few skillsets from this young man that caught my eye. When he did have time to maneuver inside/outside of the pocket he showed a solid zip on the football and his throws had a good touch. Hopefully next week against Oldham-Ramona-Rutland (3-3) we will see a cleaner pocket for Nielsen to make plays with his legs and arm more frequently. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FgQ4t">Game Tape vs. B-H</a> MVP <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3582-rotated-crop-1512x993-1633721572.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-214096" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/IMG_3582-rotated-crop-1512x993-1633721572-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="244" height="160" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="152504" first="Kalen" last="Garry"] | RB/DB | De Smet | 2022 There was so much fight in this young man last night it was incredible to watch it unfold. Kalen showed what a workhorse he is as he was an exception getting thru contact on Thursday night against Castlewood. He showed an excellent burst of speed and took it right thru any contact he had to brush off from the Warriors. Especially on his 82-yard sprint to the end zone before halftime, I had quoted in my head from the great Allen Iverson "How’d he do that?" as that was the best way I could describe what was the Bulldogs play of the game by [player_tooltip player_id="152504" first="Kalen" last="Garry"]. Man, it would be fun to see this young man lace up his cleats for the Wolves! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11439081/5fa3603e2aa66507584ce699">Jr Tape</a>