The Line Iowa Showcase: Standouts, Part II
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WEST DES MOINES– We zoom in quickly to Part II of our time at The Line Iowa Showcase as we take a look at nine more standouts that caught our eyes. These prospects go from: D1 ready, will be D1 ready soon, and…
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Continue ReadingWEST DES MOINES– We zoom in quickly to Part II of our time at The Line Iowa Showcase as we take a look at nine more standouts that caught our eyes. These prospects go from: D1 ready, will be D1 ready soon, and my favorite prospects I would offer right now. Take a look at who stood out in Part II.
Brandon Wraalstad Brandon Wraalstad 6'4" | 245 lbs | OL Oconomowoc | 2023 State WI | DE | Oconomowoc (WI) | 2023
The significant development of Brandon Wraalstad Brandon Wraalstad 6'4" | 245 lbs | OL Oconomowoc | 2023 State WI has certainly grown a ton since the last time I saw him at our Prep Redzone Iowa showcase. Brandon showed fierce hands and an increased burst off the snap from what I witnessed in the early drills at The Line Iowa Showcase. Brandon shows off smashing physicality and puts in significant work with soft hands working from multiple angles as a defensive end. I loved watching Brandon’s downhill punching ability not just at The Line Iowa Showcase, but on his junior tape as well. This young man is an absolute menace in the opponent’s backfield to say the least with excellent technique off the edges. A D1 FCS program gave this young man his first offer yesterday and I am sure it won’t be long until he gets several more D1 opportunities as Brandon is yet another prospect from The Line Iowa Showcase I would offer right now if I am scouting my home state of Wisconsin for talent on the Defensive Line.
Logan Gross Logan Gross 6'3" | 270 lbs | OL Sun Prairie | 2024 State WI | OT | Sun Prairie East (WI) | 2024
Logan showed a destined amount of fluidity in his hips that I enjoyed watching in the early drills at The Line Iowa Showcase, as it was easy to see why we have him as a top 10 linemen in the state of Wisconsin’s 2024 class. Logan also showed a consistent pad level which could draw some significant contact when working into the next level. Based on the sophomore tape, Logan has that drive to finish blockers into the next level and has the “play till the whistle” mentality. I see even more development in the coming months on his stance as I believe he can add even more physicality to arsenal by creating a stronger bend at the line. His efficiency favors going to his left and he gets the biggest leverage from that side. Does a nice job working that footwork I mentioned to attract positive angles to draw off the defender far away off the line and gives his RB Cortez LeGrant a sizeable gap to run thru. I said it last weekend, Logan will be yet another prospect from my hometown I will be watching in the 2022 season, as he for sure has the tools to play on Saturdays.
Diego Jackson Diego Jackson 6'3" | 230 lbs | DL Ankeny | 2023 State IA | DE | Ankeny (IA) | 2023
Diego was a defensive end prospect I didn’t get a chance to watch until the near end of The Line Iowa Showcase, but man watching him in 1v1s sure was fun to watch. He showed a significant amount of power in his lower body to maneuver thru heavy contact on Offensive Line MVP Landon Hron to win the 1v1 rep with his powerful motor that just kept churning in his hips. Diego’s tape shows that similar physicality I saw last Sunday as he shows a strong attack with his hands to get into the backfield. Diego shows a powerful stance that I liked watching on tape, as it shows off great athleticism and allows him to create his angle to the ball early and show a good base to get to the football. Diego has slight development to grow on with his physicality with his tackling ability, as I would love to see him grow on that this offseason.
Obald Niyonkuru Obald Niyonkuru 6'1" | 230 lbs | DL Southeast Polk | 2023 State IA | DT | Southeast Polk (IA) | 2023
We might overstate the importance of use of the hands, but Obald Niyonkuru Obald Niyonkuru 6'1" | 230 lbs | DL Southeast Polk | 2023 State IA certainly showed elusiveness in his hands late into 1v1s from the glimpse I caught from last Sunday. Obald shows up on tape as a feisty defensive tackle prospect that creates pound for pound pressure in the backfield. Those hands are put to good measure on every rep you get out of Obald and despite not being the ideal sized defensive tackle, he provides a solid stance that no one can push off his ground as a versatile defensive tackle that just eats up ball carriers in the middle. Holds one NAIA offer at the moment at the moment from Grand View.
David Gauderman David Gauderman 6'2" | 225 lbs | ATH Wittenberg-Birnamwood | 2023 State WI | DE | Wittenberg-Birnamwood | 2023
Although his camp ended earlier than he wanted to, David showed flashes of growth in the speed department from what I have watched at now several Prep Redzone showcases from David. He clocked a whopping 1.59 at the 10-yard mark of the 40 yard dash, which for his size, is exceptional. You do not have to worry about physicality from David, as his film can be defined as having nasty physicality, which is why I love the football/wrestling combo so much that David brings to his position. David shows that grinder mentality with his work ethic and motor on both ends of the ball. He tallies up the hard-nosed rushing yards inside to punish in for first down marker. This long-strider to the ball should certainly pick up some offers this Spring at camps. Still surprised he doesn’t have an offer yet, as you can add David to my list of kids from The Line Iowa showcase I would offer right now.
Ryan McDonough Ryan McDonough 6'2" | 300 lbs | OL Wapello | 2023 IA | OT | Wapello (IA) | 2023
Ryan was probably one of my favorite offensive linemen that I got a first look on last Sunday in West Des Moines. He showed a longer than expected reach for his size, and amped up physicality to the significant degree in almost every rep I got to watch from him across the duration of the camp. When my notepad throws that Midwest slang we like to use (Oof) that is always a great sign a prospect is doing well at a showcase because it doesn’t happen a lot. Ryan’s tape shows a two-way prospect that has that punisher mentality on the ole offensive-line and a defensive line prospect that has quality range around the hashes to be a menace to the backfield. I project him as an offensive tackle at the next level, as he can develop some more finished skillsets defensively in my eyes.
A Few More Prospects I Liked from The Line Iowa Showcase
In no particular order.
Dakota Coon Dakota Coon 6'2" | 265 lbs | DL Fremont | 2024 State NE | DE | Fremont (NE) | 2024
- Showed significant hand-placement to get a solid dig into his defenders in 1v1 reps.
Jack Helzer | Center | Kenosha Christian Life (WI) | 2023
- At Center, Jack showed a compelling stance and showed a low center of gravity with great speed to get his contact in play against his counterparts.
Eric Gray | DE | Plainfield South (IL) | 2023
- Eric did a great job with his footwork, as he showed some potential in the early drills especially in and out of the bags.