2021-’22 PrepRedzoneMN Player of the Year: Finalists & Winner
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Before we begin, I want you all to know that I take my job very seriously. I am a passionate, caring, and devoted follower of Minnesota high school football, its history, and its future. I know I can’t make everyone…
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Continue ReadingBefore we begin, I want you all to know that I take my job very seriously. I am a passionate, caring, and devoted follower of Minnesota high school football, its history, and its future. I know I can’t make everyone happy, but I really try my best to be impartial, mindful, and fair when evaluating and writing about prospects from my home state. When I publish something like these 2021 PRzMN Player of the Year features, I take a lot of time and energy when naming the quarterfinalists, semifinalists, and now finalists, and I also try to put my own spin on the approach to naming some of the nominees as well as the final selection. After days of consideration & toil, we have a winner! Congratulations to:
2021 PrepRedzoneMN Player of the Year: Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN (Dassel-Cokato) RB. 6’, 200 lbs.
I can’t emphasize the difficulty of this decision enough. First off, I am a defense-first type guy, so to not have a defensive player make the finalists is slightly hypocritical after the grief I’ve given the Heisman Trophy over the years. However, there were some phenomenal offensive players and stat lines in 2021, with some particularly strong individual campaigns coming from the RB spot. Despite the performances and earned hardware from the other finalists on the list, what really separated Eli Gillman Eli Gillman 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Dassel-Cokato | 2022 State MN from the other options was the role he played in helping Dassel-Cokato win their first state championship in program history. He combined outrageous stats such as 303 carries (third in the state), 2,211 rushing yards (second in the state) and 42 TDs (first in MN) with an individual workload that was outmatched in relation to his team’s success, and although other finalists made deep runs in their classes state tournament, no one had such a personal hand in the wins and meant more to his squad than the Montana Grizz RB commit. A powerful blend of strength and speed, Gillman’s intensity, toughness, and production will forever be etched in the history books of the Dassel-Cokato Chargers.
Finalists
Emmett Johnson Emmett Johnson 6'0" | 180 lbs | RB Holy Angels | 2022 State MN (Holy Angels) RB. Committed to Nebraska
The 2021 Minnesota Mr. Football winner was a stat monster all season long and used his electric highlights and personal production to earn his first P5 offer at the eleventh hour from the Nebraska Cornhuskers, where he eventually committed. It was almost dreamlike for the Holy Angels RB, who took his high school’s mascot literally as he took his place among Minnesota’s elite award winners.
Derrick Jameson (Maple Grove) RB. Uncommitted
For how personally dominant the Crimson ball carrier was, you’d never imagine how little hype Derrick Jameson had coming into the season. I did get him on the 6A Preseason All-State squad, but by then fall camp was right around the corner and the hype train had left the station. However, the 6’1, 190 lber. was unbothered, and put up top-notch numbers while rarely playing more than a half against 6A, big school competition. He also continued a now somewhat legendary line of Maple Grove RBs (Clark Wieneke, Isaac Collins, Evan Hull) and helped lead Maple Grove all the way to the 6A state championship game. Can’t wait to see where he lands.
Carson Hansen Carson Hansen 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Lakeville South | 2023 State MN (Lakeville South) RB. C/o 2023. Uncommitted
The only non-senior to make the list, Hansen also won the MN Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and is finally picking up P5 steam after recent offers from Iowa State and Kansas State. A supremely talented big-school skill player who was the best player on the best team in Minnesota who sprinted, cut, and trucked his way to a 6A state championship. Easily the early favorite for 2022 PRzMN Player of the Year and a fantastic prospect who projects to a variety of positions at the next level.
Kristen Hoskins Kristen Hoskins 5'9" | 165 lbs | WR Alexandria | 2022 State MN (Alexandria) WR. Committed to Minnesota
You don’t see players with Kristen Hoskins Kristen Hoskins 5'9" | 165 lbs | WR Alexandria | 2022 State MN speed and twitch come out of Minnesota very often, much less outstate MN. Hoskins was every adjective and idiom in the book and was lightning in a bottle in a way we haven’t seen in a while and won’t see again for quite some time. Going to be a very exciting Gopher.
Lucas Heyer Lucas Heyer 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL Hill-Murray | 2022 State MN (Hill-Murray) OL. Committed to Stanford
Ranks in the upper echelon of high-level, Minnesota made offensive lineman from the past 12 years of trackable recruiting information. Would most likely win the “least fun to go against in a 1-on-1 setting” award for the 2022 season as he was physically dominating at the point of attack and as strong as an ox. Also epitomizes the phrase “student-athlete” and is heading to one of the best universities in the entire world.
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2020 PRzMN Player of the Year: Trey Feeney (Moorhead)