University of Minnesota Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part I

DINKYTOWN-- In one of the biggest camps of my fourth year with Prep Redzone, we took our scouting talents into Dinkytown. and Although I unfortunately had to drive past the former site of my favorite McDonalds in the USA and couldn’t stop after camp, it still was a great day getting so many in-person evaluations of prospects from all over the Midwest while doing some remising of when I lived in Dinkytown for several months during my college years. Roughly 300 prospects from all over the United States and Canada were in attendance at the University of Minnesota’s prospect camp #2 and let’s just say simply there was a lot to see. I’ve said before and I will probably say it again, I wish I could clone myself and put myself in every position group at a big camp like this so I don’t miss that big splash of a prospect that balls out. This first list covers my first page of my notepad I took from my time at the University of Minnesota Prospect Camp #2 and includes nine standout prospects from camp I was delighted to scout and get in-person evaluations on. Some I have scouted before, some are new names to me that stood out and a lot of this list has some young bucks that are just pressing the gas on their high school football career. In the end page 1 had nine standouts, three that are already committed to the D1 level and two of those are committed to Row the Boat at the University of Minnesota after their senior season. Who are the nine? You are about to find out who stood out in Part I in our multi part series! [player_tooltip player_id="295822" first="Jermell" last="Taylor"] | TE | Eden Prairie (MN) | 2023 The smoothness Jermell with his route-running abilty at the tight end position, was one of the first few skillsets that stuck about while watching this young man in Dinkytown. His ability to implicate with his strong vision made him a standout in my eyes. When you roll the tape on Jermell, it’s surprising to see that so many defenses lose sight of this kid on shorter routes as his finesse runs like a downhill freight train that has so much strength to eat up contact for a significant time for the Eagles downfield. Jermell also excels for the Eagles with his pad-level on his blocks, as he has content yet forceful strength to guarantee leverage into the next level of the field when you need it and yet again, blocks very smooth. The All-District 1st Teamer is destine for that first offer coming up soon as IMO, he is certainly overdue in my eyes. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13274077/6174887f041e55018c3c6c31" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> [player_tooltip player_id="348740" first="Owen" last="Krueger"] | OL | Blooming Prairie (MN) | 2025 As a 6’4 295 pounder just scratching the surface with his upside, Owen showed a noticeable bend in Indy drills that surfaced lower to the ball than you would expect for his age. He also showed a competitive jump off the snap that caught my attention and with the speed of it, it certainly painted me a solid picture for Owen’s football future. Owen’s 2021 tape is very intriguing in my eyes. He consistently (which is key when evaluating prospects) gets into that second level and with his bus-driving ability when he gets there, it’s all downhill from there for defender in his way as Owen’s strength is unmatched at the 1A level for his age and will be for the next several years. I thought he showed measurable skillsets against some of the best 2025 competition in the Midwest at the Gopher Camp. He’s got plenty of time to develop his hand speed and technique, but I think we are going to look back in a few years and enjoy watching his tape develop into hopefully a solid college prospect from the Minnesota border. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16599344/625f017b6e8b770110420052" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> [player_tooltip player_id="268946" first="Nino" last="Baier"] | OL | Menomonee Falls (WI) | 2024 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-355988" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/06/133-Nino-Baier-2.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Nino caught the the growing attention of my Wisconsin colleague, Mark Johnson last month at our Prep Redzone Wisconsin Showcase, and let’s just say after watching Nino in action in Dinkytown, I saw exactly what he was seeing especially with his lower body in the early going. At 6’4 300 pounds, I thought Nino showed a high level of agile footwork for a hog molly in his size as he had a persuasive get off in 1v1 drills I got to watch at the end of the Gophers camp. Feisty is a favorite of mine that I probably overuse, but his hand aggression certainly shows off that is a solid word to describe his reps. He has multi-level skillsets and has that finishing move I have emphasized a ton that many Division I prospects I have gotten to watch have, providing assurance that his defender will eat the turf for the duration of that play. When you watch his tape, I think he even has more juice left as far as developing more speed within his pull-blocks although his momentum carries a heavy stick when he’s in pursuit. I also love Nino’s awareness as just an incoming junior, as his directional blocking blows the defender way far off the whenever the ball carrier goes to Nino’s side. I could 100% see Nino on a Division I offensive line in his incoming future. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12535029/616e2888386e090ef406845e" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Sean Sevillano Jr. | DL | Clearwater Academy International (FL/Canada) | 2024 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-372960" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/06/Sean-crop-426x280-1656467134-300x196.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="196" /> I will preview two of the words I had written down when watching Sean roll thru the bag-drill and those words would be "Big Hoss" due to the impressive speed Sean carried in his 6’3 295 pound body from the handful of reps I got to watch. Sean’s ability to hold his athletic stance and process his moves thru very heavy traffic areas is what make this kid so fun to watch. He has smash-mouth aggression in his hands regardless of where his positioning of his hands end up, as this kid will not go down without a fight. If you like a gritty defensive tackle that has the strong mobility to hammer the inside runner in his tracks, Sean is certainly your guy for that. Already with seven offers from the Sun Belt, ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten programs from across the land, the flood gates will be open for more Power Five schools to get involved once September 1st rolls around, I assure you on that for Sean Sevillano Jr. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14340996/6143da2fa6781f05748bf395" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Vinnie Keller | OL | Clear Creek-Amana (IA) | 2025 There is little to no tape out yet on Vinnie Keller of Clear Creek-Amana but I assure you this young buck passed the eye test in my in-person evaluation at the Gophers Camp in Dinkytown a couple weeks back. What stood about about Vinnie? He showed off some fluid hips in 1v1 hips in his 6’0 250 pound body that struck a chord with me even in his young career. There is also something that can be said about this kid’s motor, as he progressively got better rep after rep I watched against the other young hog mollies in attendance. He impressed me with his foot speed for his age and he’s certainly a young OL I will be tracking as I this summer dive into scouting more Iowa prospects on a more consistent basis. I also watched Vinnie in Fargo last weekend, and show more development with his pad-level and aggressive hands. <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnieKeller72">Twitter</a> Beck Severson | DL | Mankato East (MN) | 2025 Beck is another young defensive line prospect I got my first look on at the Gophers Camp in Dinkytown a few weeks back. This was another young prospect on the defensive side of the line that showed a reactive twitch when turning his lower body in reps that looked promising for his future. His tape shows off a 6’1 205 pounder that has a longer reach than he might get credit for in the early stages of his career, especially when he collapses in the inside pocket coming off the edge. That reactive instinct I mentioned, shows up consistently on tape, which is a good sign for Beck when we look into his future tape going into his sophomore season for the Cougars. Beck also has quick get off hands that with development has room to improve his aggression and that will certainly improve as he grows stronger into his body in the weight room over the next several years for Mankato East. More Committed Division I Standouts of Note from the Gopher Camp: [player_tooltip player_id="246024" first="Reese" last="Tripp"] | OL | Kasson-Mantorville (MN) | 2023 Committed to Minnesota. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13062226/61a4007f6899490bb4f06e25" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> [player_tooltip player_id="20838" first="Pierce" last="Walsh"] | TE | Benet Academy (IL) | 2023 Committed to Minnesota. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13152915/618c21e82347b1133c11b0ff" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> [player_tooltip player_id="250561" first="Brent" last="Hoppe"] | DL | Beloit Turner (WI) | 2023 Committed to Central Michigan. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12908942/616b3062e97aa4039c043b2a" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> More in depth in-person evaluations coming over the coming days from the Gophers Prospect Camp #2!