South to North Evaluations: Across Minnesota

<strong>MINNESOTA-- </strong>If you are a new Prep Redzone Minnesota subscriber, I welcome you to Nate’s mix of football prospects and the geography aspect of what I love about this job. As a scout we do our absolute best to find prospects from as far south as Albert Lea and as far north as International Falls year after year, and day after day. With this evaluation series, I wanted to start my evaluation in the southern part of the state, and make my way to the North Shore. From Winona to Two Harbors, we cover nearly 250 miles of prospects and with reaching out to the NW metro, we probably stretch our trip nearly 300 miles one way. Take a look at the five prospects that stood out to me in this film evaluation. We have 2022s still looking for college football homes, to North Shore prospects that really impressed the heck out of me from the 2024 class. Take a deep look at this crew from South to North! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="19011" first="Mason" last="Langowski"] | FS/WR | Winona (2023)</strong></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span> Mason is another flashback prospect to me, as I scouted his big brother Trent Langowski back when we were Northstar Football News. Mason puts together fluid footwork regardless if he is going east or west on the intermediate route or caving into the deeper routes. He shows an instinctive nature by being able to react quickly to the ball direction with his great vision and get there and make a key play. Even when he has been contacted by the defender, this young man has zero give up on tape, as even slightly off balance he has the able to reconvene and still end up beyond the first level to get to the ball carrier beyond that first level of the field into the backfield. At wide receiver, Mason shows great reactiveness when the ball is thrown slightly off line, as he can adjust his body to give himself better positioning to make a effective grab around the sidelines showing great balance. Not a doubt in my mind Mason has next-level skill and should open up some eyes at prospect camps this summer. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/10033072/6192c6384debcf0b0079038f" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="19009" first="John" last="Barrow"] | Defensive Tackle | Robbinsdale Cooper ( 2023</span></strong> John is a defensive line prospect I have been scouting since his freshmen year, and based on what I have watched this young man has continued to blossom on the turf. He wastes zero time with unleashing his consistent pad-level and driving the offensive linemen in front of him to the turf. If you think he is done working once that dude is on the turf, that would be incorrect as John continues to finish what he started to make sure the ball-carrier gets taken down in the meantime. For 6’1 280 pounds, I love John’s elusive jump off the snap as he shows a ton of athletic ability once he gets across that line to wreck some havoc in the backfield. John’s film is very consistent with the skillsets I mentioned, and there is not a doubt in my mind that this young man will end up playing scholarship level football when his career is over as a Cooper Hawk. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16164090/61d2950b96778a0ac081ff85" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="306364" first="Riley" last="Purcell"] | WR | St. Michael-Albertville (2022)</strong></span> If you are a program still looking for a dynamic pass-catcher in the 2022 class, keep your eyes peeled here. Riley has a significant ability to make high-traffic catches with not only his ability to get separation, but the balance this young man show with his 6’3 185 pound body. Riley has excellent speed out his routes and has great patience to adjust to the football when it might be out of reach for other wide receivers that do not have the length that Riley possesses. This kid is extremely durable as well, as I have seen him shed off many defenders off first-contact. The fact that this young man does not have an offer yet might be one of the more shocking things I have seen from Minnesota’s 2022 class based on the film I watched on this Tuesday evening. Riley has to be one of the top WR prospects left in Minnesota based on my evaluation of film I have seen. Nearly 50 receptions and 800 receiving yards in his senior season for the Knights. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13923433/6193dbd2f31c620918c706a0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Koi Perich | LB/WR | Esko (2024)</strong></span> Koi Perich can be defined as a swiss army knife for the Esko Eskimos, to say the least. Whether it is the pitch to the outside and letting him do his thing with his excellent footwork or making the high-traffic catch on a 4 and forever situation, I love the skillsets this young man possesses. Koi brings a high motor of energy and speed as a linebacker as well, and finishes with strong contact when he gets excited into the opponent’s backfield. He does a fantastic job on all three levels of the field, as you can feel the adrenaline rush even when he unloads his speed on special teams. He also passes the eye test in pass coverage, as he shows supreme athleticism by launching a high vertical when he uses his vision to grab the ball from the air. Let’s just say I am a huge fan of the last two North Shore prospects from the Class of 2024, again to say the least. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15189064/61a505a13df5f60bac97b496" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="306620" first="Zach" last="Bentler"] | DE/TE | Two Harbors (2024)</strong></span> Physicality certainly comes really freaking easy for [player_tooltip player_id="306620" first="Zach" last="Bentler"] of Two Harbors. At defensive end, this kid is a punisher at 6’4 215 pounds that just makes the offense eat grass with his significant hands he possesses. Zach is fast with his hands when it comes to shedding off blockers too, as he makes quick work before entering into the backfield to wreak havoc (which he does a lot). At the tight end position, this kid is athletic when getting off across the line to pull block as to no one’s surprise, pack that huge punch as a run-blocker as well. This young man has to get on Division I radars here soon, as Zach certainly had film that I just kept wanting to continue watching beyond the timeframe I typically watch! Let’s just say I am a huge fan of the last two North Shore prospects from the Class of 2024, again to say the least. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14221880/623b74d7578d8f06042ec633" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>