Dakotas/Kentucky: Pre-Midnight Madness Evals
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On this Wednesday night, I felt my ambition instinct kick in. I wanted to see how many quick hitting evaluations I could knock out on prospects in three of my states before the clock strikes midnight. I have always had…
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Continue ReadingOn this Wednesday night, I felt my ambition instinct kick in. I wanted to see how many quick hitting evaluations I could knock out on prospects in three of my states before the clock strikes midnight. I have always had a strict focus on attention to detail when evaluating football prospects, but tonight I will make these evals quick to the point about each football prospect. Here we go! Note: we finished a couple minutes before midnight with 18 evaluations for prospects from Beach, North Dakota all the way to SE Kentucky to Corbin!
Ayden Amundson | G/DL | Surrey, North Dakota | 2023
- Ayden shows off effective hands when stretching out his size on the inside of the line.
- He can develop in the 2022 season on his improved hand speed.
- Physicality shows very present at the guard position (6’1 230). Can drive the bus into the second level of the field.
Kolter Smith Kolter Smith 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB Louisville Male | 2024 State KY | QB | Louisville (Male), Kentucky | 2024
- Outstanding precision on all three levels of the football field.
- Kolter shows solid speed on the run outside the pocket. Not going to burn you with his burst (he’s got plenty of time to develop), but for sure at this time a viable runner on short yardage situations.
- Works his vision really well for his age and works the field well never overselling where that ball is going
- Big fan of his touch ball, especially when throwing to his intermediate routes.
- For sure has a college football future and can prove a lot of that this summer at prospect camps. Already doing some damage with 5027on7 this Spring.
Landon Clark | OLB | Owensboro, Kentucky | 2026
- Has solid length for his age and it certainly has so much development left to grow.
- Shows off great vision with reading the QBs eyes well. Great instincts in pass coverage.
- Maintains a strong contact level for a younger developing outside linebacker at 6’1 145 pounds.
- Much like his older brother Zachary Clark Zachary Clark 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Owensboro | 2023 State KY , shows a quick reaction to get beyond the first level of the field into the backfield. Still has some rawness there, but heck he has plenty of time to get an even quicker trigger to the ball as far as his first.
Vegas George | DE/TE | Bismarck (Legacy), North Dakota | 2023
- Consistent swimmer thru the offensive line, shows a lot of athleticism getting into the backfield at defensive end.
- Vegas isn’t just a one and done when it comes to his agility to get into the backfield, he shows off multiple ways to get free and where he needs to be.
- His contact level on the ball carrier remains great for the duration of his film.
- A 2023 “next up” PRZ Dakotas prospect that should see his name in our rankings here soon. Still has some development when it comes to his size at the next level. Should certainly though create some looks this summer at camps.
Jr Tape
Jack Shaffer | Tackle | Bismarck, North Dakota | 2025
- No question this young man has a mean streak as far as his punch we are just learning about as a freshmen.
- Jack has some development in improving his foot speed to get over to pick up even more aggression on his pull-blocking ability.
- He shows a consistent pad-level across his film and has a strong drive in his hits to occasional attack the next level of the field.
- Jack shows a excellent bend for his 6’6 300 pound size and I with plenty of years left in only getting better.
- He has to be looked at one of the Dakota’s top prospects in the 2025 class due to his high amount of quality varsity reps as just an incoming freshmen in 2021.
- It’s an early call for this, but I think this kid will find himself playing on Saturdays at the FCS level when it is all said and done.
Emery Noll | QB | Beach, North Dakota | 2025
- Emery shows good mobility for his age, but still has a lot of rawness across the board.
- The biggest development is on his touch ball, as he doesn’t throw it as clean on tape as you are looking for, plenty of time to develop though.
- His best athleticism comes on special teams as Emery shows a great contact level when taking a snatch at the ball carrier.
- I believe this young man has plenty of upside that will blossom up in the next several years.
Sam Knuth Sam Knuth 6'4" | 200 lbs | QB Harrisburg | 2025 State SD , QB and Jonah Knuth Jonah Knuth WR Harrisburg | 2025 SD , WR | Harrisburg, South Dakota | 2025
- Yes, you guessed correctly Minnesota commit Jacob Knuth Jacob Knuth 6'4" | 205 lbs | QB Harrisburg | 2022 State has two twin brothers in the class of 2025. From what I have heard from the grapevine, both brothers are supposed to be sizeable and possibly even bigger than Jacob with so much growing left to do.
- Sam Knuth Sam Knuth 6'4" | 200 lbs | QB Harrisburg | 2025 State SD and Jonah Knuth Jonah Knuth WR Harrisburg | 2025 SD will check into our 2025 rankings in the coming months. Sam checks in at already 6’2 170 and Jonah checks in at 6’0 155 for the moment.
- I may be an early caller on this take, but I have a great feeling they might be South Dakota’s best QB/WR combo you will see in 11AAA over the next few years.
No Tape. Yet.
Jasean Riley | ATH | Hopkinsville, Kentucky (Christian County) | 2024
- Jasean shows a crisp contact-level and hits right on a solid spot consistently in his game tapes.
- I believe Jasean can develop a quicker instinct on getting to the football faster and advancing into the next-level of the field quicker.
- I think this young man has a lot more gas in the tank as far as his speed than he knows yet. He shows off at running back a prospect that can trust his gut more with his instincts. Added speed will only help this young man to win between the tackles and the open field.
- Jasean is a raw talent that I see having a solid career at Christian County with some upside over the coming years.
Austin Anderson | OL | Bowling Green, Kentucky | 2023
- Austin gets to that second level of the field like clockwork. especially when he gets into his pull-blocking stance where he uses his great footwork like a freight train going downhill.
- Austin also has strong hand placement and has great size and physicality to latch onto the defensive linemen, putting him right where he wants him away from the ball carrier.
- Austin shows excellent versatility being able to adjust well to playing guard and center in a pinch of time.
- Austin shows off that finishing move I love watching from our offensive linemen. I cannot process this enough how many kids like Austin gain a scholarship opportunity with that extra effort and assurance that man is not getting up on any play. It shows a ton of grit and physicality!
- Currently holds four FCS offers from throughout the Bluegrass State, Tennessee and Missouri. Could certainly pick up more FBS attention this summer with his extended measurables he shows along with a high skill level.
Kayden Anderson | QB | Pleasure Ridge Park (PRP), Kentucky | 2023
- Kayden starts off his tape with excellent speed out of the backfield and can easily scamper for first downs within a reasonable yardage 5 yard plus.
- He shows a quality ability to step up in the pocket and utilizes his balance well to stay the course on throwing the football in the pocket.
- Kayden does a great job hitting his targets as far as accuracy and throwing power when he’s connecting with his wide receivers on shorter routes.
- He throws the ball with solid touch even when going off his backfoot.
- Threw for 1900 yards last season on 24 touchdowns. Will need to develop more confidence with his deeper routes, but does a great job as I stated on short routes and intermediate routes.
- A scholarship-level talent in my eyes.
Aiden Jones | MLB/TE | Covington (Catholic), Kentucky | 2023
- Division I schools are already all over this young man, and with that massive physicality in his contact level it is no wonder.
- Aiden shows an efficient shedding ability that doesn’t take long to get off the o-linemen and attack the backfield with premise.
- I believe Aiden could develop even a stronger trigger off the snap, but he is still very smooth and attacks the gaps promptly with great speed.
- You can tell this young man is a huge fan of the weight room, as he has some of the most complete measurables at the middle linebacker position I have seen from this group tonight.
- Aiden holds one FCS and FBS offer.
Tyan Buus Tyan Buus 5'10" | 160 lbs | WR Pierre TF Riggs | 2024 State SD | WR | Sturgis (Brown), South Dakota | 2024
- I really like Tyan’s versatility he brings to the Scoopers. You can certainly see on tape he plays with a ton of grit right to the whistle and has a high football IQ.
- Tyan has a strong unlocking ability in his hips and strong speed out the gates on the snap to get a great amount of separation from the secondary.
- He shows consistent balance in his footwork when working the sidelines, good awareness skills of where the out of bounds markers are.
- Has that “get me the ball” instinct I can read it in his eyes especially deeper in his film.
- Look for Tyan’s spot on our upcoming 2024 rankings in the Dakotas!
Navarro Schunke Navarro Schunke 6'6" | 290 lbs | OL Brandon Valley | 2024 State SD | OL | Brandon (Brandon Valley), South Dakota | 2024
- Navarro’s pad level and finishing ability comes off as almost unfair to the poor defensive linemen. His wrestling background powers him a excellent finishing move and is a driver right into the turf.
- Excellent bend at the waistline for 6’5 290 pounds.
- Really effective foot speed when he comes out of his stance into pull-blocking, with a blitzing contact level suitable for the Power Five level.
- As just a sophomore, as already won several wrestling titles in South Dakota and had a 49-0 record with another state championship last weekend.
- Navarro works his hips really effectively, with great instincts before the front of the defensive line even gets to his level to make a punch. Sells excellent placement.
- His sophomore film just went up tonight Power Five schools, do not wait until prospect camps to offer this young man!
Franklin West | OL | Corbin, Kentucky | 2024
- Franklin has one of the best bends on the line I have seen from the 2024 class in Kentucky.
- He makes his blocking ability look almost effortless, with just how much of a mean streak there is in his body.
- Franklin also does exceptionally well pull-blocking from a right angle and still maintains excellent pad level on every pancake he dishes out.
- I have seen him advance some dudes to the second and almost into the third level of the football field.
- It’s easy to tell Franklin is a OL prospect that just is a straight up gamer that loves the game of football thru and thru.
- Two Division I offers from FCS and FBS already for this incoming junior for the Redhounds.
Kalen Washington | RB | Winchester (George Rogers Clark), Kentucky | 2025
- Kalen is already a twitchy runner when he attacks the inside lanes.
- He certainly shows out his burst in full-go mode once he hits the open field.
- Kalen shows excellent stamina and continued speed to stay the course on the long runs down the sideline.
- He already shows a ton of durability in his lower body and at 5’10 198 pounds, I cannot wait to see once this young man is full grown when it comes his strength a couple years from now.
- Kalen shows off plenty of flashes where it might show him getting wrapped up, but with all that lower-body power he consistently finds a way to break thru.
- It is early but I do not think it too early to call Kalen a scholarship-level prospect even as just an incoming sophomore for the Cardinals.
Evan Searcy | MLB/FB | Carrolton (Carroll County), Kentucky | 2023
Evan was an intriguing prospect I tweeted about a few weeks back.
- Evan is certainly not a middle linebacker you want to meet up with while off-balance as he has cannon of adrenaline when he crosses into that opposing backfield.
- Evan has great ball instincts and a solid vertical that he can provide if he cannot quite get to the ball carrier.
- This kid has excellent technique with his tackling ability, as he shows a solid demeanor all the way thru to get the best contact possible.
- Evan packs the same mean streak at fullback as well, as that fierce 6’1 210 pound frame maintains an excellent pad level.
- I believe Evan might be the grittiest fullback I have watched in Kentucky thus far.
AJ Olivas | DB | Owenton (Owen County), Kentucky | 2025
- AJ shows a rapid contact level for his age that compliments nicely with his 5’11 180 pound frame in the Owen County secondary.
- He shows a reactive ability to move his feet well even with some off-balanced footwork to attack the football.
- AJ also carries a reactive instinct with his pad level as he connects on one of the most solid spots to become a blow up tackler to watch for several years for Owen County.
- Waiting to see this young man’s freshmen tape, as I was very intrigued by his game tapes.