King of the Gridiron: Standouts, Part I

<strong>BIG LAKE, MINN-- </strong>We did not have to travel too far this weekend to learn about all the talent at the junior-high level! My home of Big Lake, Minnesota hosted the King of the Gridiron event which brought top-tier talent from all over the Metro as well as the Outstate. With being a stone's throw away, I decided to take it all in with Prep Redzone NEXT throughout the weekend. I will bring multiple parts to showcase all the talent I saw so stay tuned for more after I release my first prospects here! <strong>Kaden Konkler | Running Back | Spring Lake Park (MN) | 2028</strong> Kaden was one of the first prospects that caught my eyes on early Friday afternoon. I was a huge fan of how this kid used his burst to explode thru high traffic areas. Being one of the bigger kids in the 2028 class, he really showed his strength for his age, as on one particular play it took an army of Big Lake defenders to bring this kid to the grass. Kaden has long strides in his legs and runs with his fair share of grit when the football is in his hands. <strong>Kevin Grey | Safety/Wide Receiver | Minneapolis (MN) | 2028</strong> Kevin was part of the Phelps Falcons team I was excited to watch on Friday afternoon. I really liked at a young age how this kid read the offense and made his move towards the ball with excellent vision. There is a lot to like about this Phelps Falcons secondary in the coming years as, you'll find out NEXT about another defensive back I enjoyed watching from the Falcons. <strong>Zay Ford | Defensive Back | Minneapolis (MN) | 2028</strong> Zay was one of the few junior high prospects I knew prior to King of the Gridiron in Big Lake so I was excited to watch this young man on Friday. Zay showed a high level of great footwork in his backpedal as that alone stuck him like glue to the wide receiver. He also showed really good rotation in his hip turn, being able to flip directions on a dime to get to where the football was going. Ford is also well-built for his age especially his upper body, and I can't wait until this young man catches a growth spurt to see even more tools he will bring to the table. [embed]https://twitter.com/Zaveon_Ford3/status/1452086594593337344[/embed] &nbsp; <strong>Reynaldo Ayala | Running Back/Defensive End | Minneapolis (MN) | 2028</strong> By far one of my favorite running backs on Friday from the Class of 2028 was Reynaldo Ayala. Reynaldo showed a slippery nature to his running ability that was difficult for the St. Paul Governors to catch a hold of to tackle even in high traffic areas on the inside lanes.  He showed a high-level turn in his hips to change directions from the outside to the mid-outside lanes in which he had the whole Governors defense twisted in their hips when he made that particular turn for a long gain for the Falcons. Excited to see how this young man blossoms at tailback over the coming years as I like his potential in the Class of 2028. <strong>Zach Krusemack | Fullback | Stillwater (MN) | 2027</strong> Zach was a prospect that had me on my toes watching him during halftime of another game on the neighboring field. When the Ponies handed this kid the football you could see the fear in the defender's eyes due to the massive frame he brought to the table. He did a great job powering thru contact, grabbing a ton of yards after contact. He reminded me a lot of William "Fridge" Perry for the Chicago Bears, only except he logged a lot more carries to wear down the opposing defense! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Prospects to Know:</strong></span> <strong>Animikii Skjfte | Quarterback | Minneapolis (MN) | 2028</strong> <strong>Charlie Walker Jr. | Quarterback | Spring Lake Park (MN) | 2028</strong> &nbsp;