Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase: The Gunslingers

First of all - I will admit I stole the title of this story from Nate Wahl - gotta give credit where credit is due. Sunday, Prepredzone.com held the Minnesota Stock Up Showcase featuring high school football players from around the Midwest. With forty college programs on hand at Minnetonka High School’s Tonka Dome, it was a great day for players to either get on schools’ radar or improve their stock with programs that were already interested in them as possible student-athletes. After a warmup, all the players went through speed and agility drills to get some verified numbers for colleges to use in recruiting. The participants were then split into position groups for individual position instruction. In the past, I have focused on the offensive and defensive lines during the one-on-one drills. I focused on the quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs this time. One disclaimer – with a lot going on at all times, I am sure I missed some nice performances while taking it all in, but here are some observations I made watching the quarterbacks. Check back later this week for some thoughts on the receivers and defensive backs. [player_tooltip player_id="105379" first="Tanner" last="Zolnosky"] <strong>East Ridge QB 2024</strong> Zolnosky was the best quarterback I saw the entire day. Almost every throw I saw was a tight spiral. He was tremendous both against air and against defenders. He not only was on target on his short and intermediate throws, but his most impressive throws were deep. He dropped a deep route down the sidelines right in the bucket. The receiver didn’t even have to break stride. Later, he hit a deep post. Like his throw down the sidelines, the receiver didn’t have to slow or adjust to catch the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="246028" first="Bart" last="McAninch"] <strong>Mankato West QB 2024</strong> Although the Scarlets will undoubtedly miss graduating quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="49920" first="Zander" last="Dittbenner"], the defending 5A champs look to have yet another good quarterback in the pipeline. McAninch threw several strong, tight throws to the outside. His best moment was a perfect deep ball during one-on-ones. [player_tooltip player_id="246050" first="Owen" last="Mikolichek"] <strong>Farmington QB 2023</strong> Farmington – who, like Mankato West - is losing their starting quarterback to graduation – looks like they are set at the position for at least one more year. Mikolichek threw a consistent, catchable deep ball. He has a strong arm but had good touch on those deep throws as well. [player_tooltip player_id="112130" first="Luke" last="Crosby"] <strong>Prior Lake QB 2023</strong> Crosby threw downfield very effectively. He hit a crossing route right in stride. Then, he pushed the ball even deeper on a perfectly thrown post pattern. A two-sport athlete, his basketball frame perfectly complements his deep ball abilities. [player_tooltip player_id="105384" first="Jack" last="Wojciak"] <strong>Irondale QB 2024</strong> Wojciak threw a pair of tight balls to the outside. He completed a hitch – hitting the receiver right in the Prepredzone logo on his receiver’s shirt. Not just a check-down quarterback, he throws a solid deep ball too. [player_tooltip player_id="112061" first="Cooper" last="Drews"] <strong>Princeton QB 2023</strong> Drews has the perfect frame for a drop-back quarterback. He has a strong arm and pushes the ball deep without looking like he is putting in much effort—his ball has a tight rotation to it. [player_tooltip player_id="116270" first="Bennett" last="Ellsworth"], a senior from Rochester Mayo, and [player_tooltip player_id="245997" first="Brayden" last="Talso"], a junior from Spring Lake Park, also made some throws that caught my attention.