2024 March Update: Small Town Sleepers

DAKOTAS-- I heard a phrase while travelling the Dakotas in the 2021 season while scouting that resonated with me to add this article to our 2024 rankings update. The phrase was "Recruit Small Town Kids". Most of the time unfortunately, these are the young men that get swept under the rug because a few college coaches believe so much in the mindset of the competition a player plays against, the size of the kids they go up against, and of course other factors I don’t need to get into. Personally, I love watching small town football prospects because of the atmosphere in the stadium every Friday night that brings the whole town together to one field, some of the best concession stand food (talking about you De Smet) I have ever had and overall, just the strong connection the town has for their players, coaches, etc. These small towns football teams and players create conversations every singleyear on "who is going to be good" at your local McDonalds, coffee shops, and local taverns. Because of everything I listed above, I wanted to evaluate a handful of the 2024 prospects on our rankings that are small town kids. A small town is defined as less than 5000 people in a community, and some of the prospects you are going to meet come from towns much smaller than that, which makes their games even that more intriguing in my eyes. What all that being said, let us take a look at the 12 small town sleepers from across the Dakotas! [player_tooltip player_id="242536" first="Paxton" last="Ystaas"] | QB | Des Lacs-Burlington (ND) Des Lacs: Population: 204, Burlington: Population: 1420 For as small as the city of Des Lacs and Burlington is, they sure have churned out some football talent over the last coming years, and that continues with QB [player_tooltip player_id="242536" first="Paxton" last="Ystaas"] in the 2024 class. Paxton certainly doesn’t lack arm strength, as he can get the ball out quickly on deeper routes as far as my eyes can see. I also like Paxton’s ball placement, as he can throw the precise ball to make his wide receiver use their playmaking ability to go get it and can drop it into a spot off the secondary where only his wide out can catch it. I think mechanically is where Paxton can use some development as I think his throwing angle looks a little raw on tape. Also adding more touch on his intermediate routes will help his game out too. Saw Paxton at our Prep Redzone Dakotas showcase, and saw his ability to get the ball out on the run while keeping most of that arm strength. I like this young man’s upside with two more football seasons to develop. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Gn8hh">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="174184" first="Burk" last="Blasius"] | QB | Wall (SD) Wall: Population: 699 Yes, there is a lot more in Wall, South Dakota than the Wall Drug General Store, as the Eagles certainly have groomed some athletes over the last few years including [player_tooltip player_id="174184" first="Burk" last="Blasius"]. Watching Burk a few times this season and on tape, I like this kid’s instinctive vision from the run, as he shows he knows exactly where he needs to go without selling it too hard for the defense to identify. When it is his turn to stay in the pocket, there is a lot to like about his throwing motion and his depth he shows on throws on intermediate routes. He shows great composure inside the pocket and even with pressure has the versatility to get out the pocket and still make a capable throw. His ball placement has some growth he can make, with the combination of Burk and RB [player_tooltip player_id="77462" first="Cedar" last="Amiotte"], look for the Eagles to be right in it again in 9A. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2G2e4a">Game Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="305526" first="Erik" last="Salmen"] | RB | Hitchcock-Tulare (SD) Hitchcock: Population: 112, Tulare: Population: 211 323 people make up the towns of Hitchcock and Tulare, South Dakota but guess what, I am sure every single of one of them know who RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id="305526" first="Erik" last="Salmen"] is. I love the way this kid runs thru first-contact, as his 6’1 195 pound body can take a lot of his based on the looks of his tape. Erik also shows great patience in waiting for the play to develop from the start of his run to when he makes his way inside. You can tell Erik is a kid that works his tail off for every yard he can get, as even thru contact he maneuvers his balance well to gain those extra yards with his footing. Defensively as a linebacker, he shows a solid coverage area especially in run coverage as he is a sideline to sideline LB. He shows a good burst too when he breaks a way from contact, and that will only continue to get stronger as he develops over the next two years. I can tell Erik loves the weight room, as he’s one of the toughest tailbacks I have watched in 9B and has been constantly rated as one of our Big Dogs of the Week from the Patriots. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FjTLT">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="205269" first="Tage" last="Ortman"] | QB | Canistota (SD) Canistota: Population: 631 Yes, there was a breakup of Canistota and Freeman after the 2021 season, but no that won’t stop the Pride and QB1 [player_tooltip player_id="205269" first="Tage" last="Ortman"] in 2022. Tage logged over 2000 yards of offense in 2021 and that rapid throwing motion this young man has is a fun site to watch on tape. Tage has a natural throwing ability that just looks fluid throughout the duration of his throw. Not to mention, his ball placement is excellent as he puts the ball right on the number and is precise enough to let his WR go make a play too. He also makes the Pride offense fun in the run game, as he has good footwork to slide in multiple directions to get to that marker, with whatever it takes in his 160 pound body. He can develop more arm strength when he needs to throw across his body in the coming years, but don’t be surprised if this kid is chasing a few more state championships before his time is up in Canistota along with a stout offensive line with [player_tooltip player_id="315065" first="Trace" last="Ortman"] and [player_tooltip player_id="89277" first="Brandon" last="Kjetland"] upfront for the 2022 season. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GNjXq">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="289640" first="Camron" last="Maciejewski"] | ATH | Hot Springs (SD) Hot Springs: Population, 3395 The new "hot" prospect in Hot Springs, South Dakota goes by the name of [player_tooltip player_id="289640" first="Camron" last="Maciejewski"]. This kid is the best three-level player on this list, as he’s a player you need to circle in your scouting report when you play against the Bison. Camron has instinctive awareness as a linebacker, and positions himself really well regardless in run or pass coverage. He’s one of those kids that twist his hips in the opposite direction and can get into the backfield quick. A quick shedder off blocks to add to his skillsets. The biggest development for Camron is to develop more punch in his tackling ability, that would add even more to his game with strength added in the weight room in 2022. I believe this kid has some tools that contribute well to the next-level even as just a sophomore. Ranked just outside our top 30 prospects in the Dakotas. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/14867407/6189e387dfd86f09444746cb">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="174168" first="Riley" last="Sunram"] | DL | Kindred (ND) Kindred: Population: 889 The size of the Kindred certainly doesn’t matter when you watch this young man’s tape. The #1 defensive linemen in the Dakotas is elite as heck when it comes to his physicality on every tackle on tape and what I saw in the 11B state championship game. Riley has mega strong hands, as he can toss off an offensive linemen like they do not belong there. He also casts a huge net for 6’5 245 pounds as far as his area he can cover around the backfield, as he has excellent speed off the sheds that gets to the ball carrier very quickly. Riley is also a pure-finisher on every tackle, no give in this kid. There is not a doubt in my mind Riley can play Division I football, as I cannot wait to see this young man’s future in the coming years with hopefully, another state championship under his belt! <a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/14821493/61a40e58d46905007c2d436f">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="105499" first="Carson" last="Leonhardt"] | ATH | Faulkton Area (SD) Faulkton: Population, 826 Geeze, Carson has certainly added some physicality from the last time I evaluated his tape last year. He has grown some aggressive hands that wants to drive the defender right into the turf with good pad level to go along with it. Carson allows the defensive line to get almost no leverage before he blasts them to almost the second level of the field. He also shows a claw with hand hand placement and a great stance that positions himself lower, which helps Carson a lot being a slightly undersized hog molly. The biggest development I see in his young man is his balance, as he seems so dominant when he draws contact, but his balance could use some development from some offseason workouts and some more prospect camps which I saw Carson standout as one of the better younger prospects at the Northern State big man camp last summer. Overall, he has a lot of upside with two seasons less in Faulkton. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GpztW">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="174175" first="Nick" last="Hansen"] | WR | Sargent County (ND) Gwinner: Population: 937 Nick shows some elusive ability especially when he can work his short routes with space. He shows good speed in transition and he develops even more when he uses his eyes in the open field. Nick shows his best speed on tape especially in the return game. I like his route-running ability with the solid hands even in high traffic areas around the redzone. I believe Nick can grow his game by becoming more agile, which should allow him to break out more thru the closing off space of the field. Like all coaches will tell you, strong work in the offseason in the weight room will not hurt this young man either as adding 10-12 pounds will only add to this young man’s resume. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GH8YA">Highlight Tape</a> [player_tooltip player_id="294165" first="Victor" last="Alvarez"] | LB | Hill City (SD) Hill City: Population: 872 This makes two small towns in South Dakota I have been to (the other being Wall) as I remember taking the 1880 train into Hill City as just a youngster. There is a football player, I want to tell you about too from the Black Hills and his name is [player_tooltip player_id="294165" first="Victor" last="Alvarez"] of the Hill City Rangers. Victor shows off good instincts for the Rangers, as he shows good vision to change his motion and then dives into create significant contact in the backfield with his 165-pound body. He doesn’t show the biggest speed I have ever seen, but he does show off a outside linebacker that can get almost sideline to sideline with showing good stamina along the way. Victor overall is still pretty raw as far as his skills, and it would be solid to get a highlight tape together, but watching prospects like this are the reason I wanted to put this article together, because a lot of small town kids are hard-nosed and always put the work in. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14731457/613b8e84041ef204b4639289">Game Tape</a> More Small Town Sleepers: [player_tooltip player_id="56560" first="Jovi" last="Wolf"] | WR | Chester Area (SD) Chester: Population, 261 [player_tooltip player_id="305501" first="Cody" last="Thompson"] | WR | Waverly-South Shore (SD) Waverly: Population, 37, South Shore: Population, 227 [player_tooltip player_id="77497" first="Caden" last="Oberbroeckling"] | LB | Platte-Geddes (SD) Platte: Population, 1296, Geddes: Population 196