The Line Iowa Showcase: Standouts, Part I

<strong>WEST DES MOINES-- </strong>After content overload from our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase, we kick it into Sunday where we took our talents to West Des Moines for the <strong>The Line Iowa Showcase</strong>. The showcase had about 65 prospects from all over the Midwest, and probably had the best batch of linemen on both sides of the ball I have seen in the last year or so as far as depth goes from a scouting perspective. We will start off with the first five standouts in part I that caught this scout’s eyes last Sunday in Iowa. Some of these prospects won MVPs, others I would offer a scholarship right now if I was a college coach, and some have some raw development that will only grow in the coming years. Take a look at the first five out the gates from The Line Iowa Showcase! <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="104429" first="Landon" last="Hron"] | OL | Hartford (WI) | 2023</strong> There was just something so smooth about watching Landon’s hands in full action last weekend in West Des Moines. This young man has a excellent punching ability and showed off a ton of natural skill throughout all his reps last Sunday. He has that significant finisher ability that I love watching on tape come thru on a consistent basis, as he pile drives the defender to the turf. Landon has worked really hard this offseason on his training, by downsizing to about 300 pounds from the 330 he played with in the 2021 season which will pay dividends in the 2022 season with added speed off the snap. The offensive line MVP from The Line Showcase is certainly a prospect that I can certainly see at the Division I FCS level for sure. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/1752321/61ac6ff0bd6a1d077c02b6a1" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="247665" first="Kaleb" last="Cline"] | OL | Spencer (IA) | 2023</strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-333991" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/05/IMG_5349-rotated-crop-480x316-1651847191-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Kaleb was one of the most physicality offensive line prospects I got my eyes on last Sunday. I love this kid’s motor from start to finish along with his strong stature and finishing ability. He struck a chord with a consistent contact level on the bulk of the reps I got to watch in West Des Moines. Kaleb’s tape rolls with some excellent speed in his hands and shows off an OL prospect that isn’t afraid to advance to the next level to block for his tailback with that added physicality we mentioned above. His speed and pressure off the ball is like a sports car in that far left lane: ready to rush thru the person in front of him, but yet engaging enough to encourage the defender to move out of the way! I also liked the approach angles Kaleb took on film, as he shows versatility on where he can attack from. My gut is telling me Kaleb will have a strong summer at prospect camps and I believe it is very likely he will pick up a handful of offers before the start of the 2022 season. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12804253/61815161bd6a6f04c0845327" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>Dixon Montgomery | DE | Waukee Northwest (IA) | 2024</strong> Dixon showed some raw ability while landing his punches from a physicality standpoint, however you could certainly read into the improvement coming from this kid from the start of the showcase thru the end. He has the size at 6’5 to develop into a solid defensive end prospect in the future, but expect the 2022 season to really open up some tape from this young man, playing more consistently at the defensive end position as his prior tape shows him at WR and on special teams mostly. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14627159/61423ad2066bb20478bbca4a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="245840" first="Keaton" last="Roskop"] | DE | Linn-Mar (IA) | 2024</strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-333988" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/05/IMG_5346-rotated-crop-480x316-1651847118-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Keaton was one of my favorite defensive end prospects at The Line Iowa Showcase. Keaton came in with a ton of natural skill/feel for the defensive end position, it was very easy to read into watching his first reps. He modeled some very soft hands that could get off his defender in a quick rate of time from what I watched in 1v1 reps. You also got to watch the speed come thru with Keaton as his get-off was mobile and rapid as heck. I am quite curious as to why the offensive line refuses to block this young man on his tape, as the first rep he has to barely engage with his hands and the second rep Keaton gets to roam freely in the backfield and shows off athletic range around the middle of the field. Keaton also shows great footwork to adjust his angle of attack once reaching the ball carrier in the backfield. This is a defensive end prospect I would offer <span style="text-decoration: underline;">right now</span> if I was recruiting the State of Iowa, as the natural instinct in his game is just outstanding. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14760047/617f0f83bd746c0bb45b8310" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="247664" first="Nate" last="Schneckloth"] | OL | North Scott | 2023</strong> Nate was a offensive line prospect that struck a chord while watching him with his significant wingspan and excellent balance he showed thru 1v1 reps in West Des Moines. He shows on tape that he is a constant driver of the bus into the second level and is a prospect you can expect that will always block until that whistle blows. Nate shows a solid latching ability that allows him to control the tempo of the engagement with the defender with strong hands. I like this young man’s stance as he shows a low center of gravity that allows a strong shove to come out as his attack level connects right on the number to get the best punch possible. Nate just picked up his first NAIA offer, but for sure a prospect that has a higher ceiling that will show his skillsets at plenty of D2 and D1 prospect camps this summer.      