Impressive live – and coming back for more

I was able to see a lot of football games live this season – more than possibly ever writing for prepredzone.com. I made a point of seeing as many different teams as possible. I was able to watch a ton of players. I went back over my notes from the season and decided to highlight and dig deeper on many of the guys returning next season who stood out to me when I watched them live last fall and - for the most part - were unranked when I first saw them. Here is the first of three stories you will see over the next couple of weeks. <strong>Vincent Mueller DL St. Thomas Academy<img class="size-medium wp-image-196193 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/20210903_185828-146x300.jpg" alt="" width="146" height="300" /></strong> Mueller is an athletic defensive lineman with a good punch off the line of scrimmage. During the South St. Paul game early in the year, he caught my eye with good penetration on a critical 4th and short to keep the back short of the sticks. Later, his immediate pressure forced the quarterback out of the pocket and into an early throw. <strong>Bennett Kotok OLB St. Thomas Academy</strong> Kotok – who often plays almost like a stand-up defensive end – is explosive off the edge. He isn’t just a pass rusher. He has solid lateral movement, and although he often comes into the backfield hot, he is under control and makes plays in the open field. Kotak read an option against the Packers early in the season and dropped the quarterback for a loss. Later, he didn’t make the tackle but got a piece of the runner and forced him to bow out wide, allowing his teammates to make a play. Late in the game, the junior put pressure on the quarterback – forcing a rushed throw. [player_tooltip player_id="313055" first="Pacer" last="Ruble"] <strong>DL Hastings<img class="size-medium wp-image-199196 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/20210909_184918-300x146.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="146" /></strong> A two-way player, Ruble is very physical at the point of attack. He uses his upper body well, and if he works on lowering his hips, he will be even more of a problem for Raiders’ opponents during his senior year. During an early-season game against Apple Valley, Ruble made running the ball on the inside a very tough proposition and was able to collapse the pocket on more than one occasion against the pass. [player_tooltip player_id="301399" first="Chris" last="Kujawa"] <strong>DB Park</strong> Kujawa is not the type of defensive back that will make ’business decisions,’ as Deion Sanders used to say on NFL Network. Kujawa isn’t afraid to take on blockers and get involved in the running game. He spent a lot of time near the line of scrimmage last season. That is what caught my eye against Eastview. Kujawa wasn’t all that busy covering the pass, but he was great supporting the run. He made two open-field tackles in the first quarter that prevented long gains. Later in the game, he did it again, showing great tackling ability in space. [player_tooltip player_id="234759" first="Hank" last="Artz"]<strong> DL Fairmont</strong> A two-way player, Artz is an impressive run stopper. He sets the edge and can use his hands to keep blockers off him and allows him to shed those blockers. Offensively, he has excellent footwork and is both strong at the point of attack but also athletic enough to get on the edge and lead a sweep. He is just a freshman and was an impact player on one of the best teams in 3A. He was a secrete then – as our top-ranked player in the 2025 class - he is not anymore. Early in the game against Jordan, Artz made a tackle that resulted in a short gain up the middle. Later he stuffed another inside run for a short gain. His inside pass rush forced the quarterback into Artz’s teammates, who would get credit for the sack. He was in the quarterback’s face one more time, and his pressure forced a quick throw and incompletion. [player_tooltip player_id="301142" first="Tayjahn" last="Webster"]<strong> ATH Washburn</strong> Webster is best when he has space and can make people miss. He is primarily a receiver – he is also an effective kick returner – using his athletic ability to create space for himself in a crowd. He has soft hands, and while he has the speed to get deep, he is most effective using his hands and body position on short and intermediate routes. Against Southwest, Webster did a little bit of everything for the Millers. Webster took a low snap as a wildcat quarterback and made three guys miss in the backfield. The play should have resulted in a loss, but he powered his way for five more yards as the defense wrapped him up. He used quick feet and his athletic ability to pick up twenty yards on another busted play. Then, he caught a deep post pattern for 40 yards.