Minnesota’s 10 Hardest Hitters Going into 2022
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This one is about as straightforward as it gets! There isn’t anything I like more than a big hit on the football field, and there isn’t a trait or skill I like more in a prospect than being able to…
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Continue ReadingThis one is about as straightforward as it gets! There isn’t anything I like more than a big hit on the football field, and there isn’t a trait or skill I like more in a prospect than being able to lay the wood, no matter what position they’re at. Physicality is the name of the game when playing football, and I make sure to keep a close eye on the Minnesotans who are most inclined to use their pads year after year, especially when I want to name some of the states hardest hitters for my PrepRedzoneMN articles. Below, I’ve cultivated my Top-10 Hardest Hitters Going into 2022, and I insist that our lovely readers and subscribers watch the highlights of the mentioned athletes so you can see for yourself what I’m describing in my evaluations of their hitting ability. I got a variety of positions and even a couple of grades represented in this PRzMN feature, so please enjoy and thank you for reading!
Minnesota’s Hardest Hitters
1) Mark Rogalski Mark Rogalski 6'1" | 190 lbs | LB Saint Thomas Academy | 2023 State MN (St. Thomas Academy) C/o 2023. LB/ATH. 6’1, 190 lbs. @MarkRogalski2
I have given a lot of recruiting attention to Rogalski since our 2023 update, so I’ll try not to be too repetitive and keep things short, but there’s no way around the fact that the Cadet is the most explosive hitter in the state and has a rare amount of pop at 190 pounds. St. Thomas Academy has had some thumpers in the past, with now-Wisconsin Badger LB Garrison Solliday having earned the PrepRedzoneMN Hardest Hitter award for the Class of 2021, and Rogalski is carrying on the tradition very well. The STA LB is a natural at getting the most physicality and aggression out on every opportunity, from dragging ball carriers down and bouncing them off the turf as hard as possible to exploding through QBs after they’ve released a throw. For 190 pounds, he explodes through contact and bounces ball carriers off of him like a player 30-40 pounds heavier, without showing any outward signs it has impacted his balance or momentum. Some of my favorite hits of his are when he’s got a full head of steam in pursuit and reaches the ball on the sideline, and even breaks up passes/forces fumbles with violence. He also completely freezes RBs in the hole in run defense, and I’m happy to report that Rogalski is coming off his first college football offer five days ago from the prestigious Yale University. More are coming! Regular SZN Junior Highlights
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2) Rudy Lozoya Rudy Lozoya 5'9" | 215 lbs | RB Rochester Mayo | 2023 State MN (Rochester Mayo) C/o 2023. DE/FB. 5’10, 215 lbs. @LozoyaRudy
A stout, powerful, low-to-the-ground 5’10, 215 pounds that are excellent for laying the wood, Lozoya reports a 510-pound squat, 273-pound bench, and 275-pound power clean for some more than solid weight room numbers going into his senior year. The first play of his highlight tape shows him swiping across the LOS as an HB and delivering a double forearm shiver to an Owatonna defender and sent the poor kid backward and onto his butt like an F150 rear-ended him. Lozoya also laid a heckuva hit around:30 seconds into his tape on a seemingly innocuous hit against Mankato West that sent a RB’s head and body shake like a personal earthquake struck the ground beneath his cleats. The Rochester product can turn a couple of steps into a menacing and bone-crunching tackle or block that I guarantee the receiving party felt for a few days after, and he also sent some kids flying on special teams. It’s a great tape to watch and if I was a DII or DIII coach I would love love love to have that power on my team. He did and is still making a strong push for that #1 hardest hitter title from Mr. Rogalski! Junior Year Highlights
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3) Caden O’Malley (Tri-City United) LB. C/o 2023. LB/FB. 6’, 190 lbs. @CadenOmalley
Also, a stud wrestler who placed 3rd in the state at 170AA, O’Malley totaled triple-digit tackles in 2021 and recorded a 530 pound back squat this month along with a 330 lb hang clean for some impressive stat lines on the field and in the weight room. That strength and power he’s developed pumping iron serves him well in the physicality department, where he does a great job of flattening RBs at the LOS. I also love how he clobbers WRs that are running “under” routes over the middle of the field and within that 5-yard cushion for contact as well as QBs getting rid of the football. You can see how his power impacts ball carriers at the point of contact, and he’s also strong when he spins RBs down when coming in from a roll tackle angle. Junior Year
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4) Kayode Amusan Kayode Amusan 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB Woodbury | 2023 State MN (Woodbury) C/o 2023. 6’3, 215 lbs. @kayode_amusan31
The younger Amusan has had a big spring and earned D1 offers from Illinois State, Army West Point, Central Michigan, and St. Thomas and also visited Minnesota, Boise State, and North Dakota State. With length and athleticism, Kayode decleated multiple QBs last season when they made the unfortunate choice to roll outside of the pocket and bear the brunt of the 215 lber. sprinting down on them. He does a great job of bringing his hips through contact, and attacks blocking attempts with violence in his hands and pads. He also puts in extra effort to slam RBs off the turf as hard as possible when he wraps them up, and his speed helps him create a significant amount of force when he gets to the point of contact. Going to be a big year for the Woodbury product. 2021 Junior Highlights
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5) Dylan Gross Dylan Gross 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Brainerd | 2024 State MN (Brainerd) C/o 2024. LB. 6’2, 220 lbs. @dylangross42
Playing at 210 pounds last season, rising junior Gross laid some thunderous hits up in Northern Minnesota from both his LB and FB spots. He’s strong enough to crumple ball carriers when he wraps them up or bounces them off the turf like a basketball on the hardwood. I also loved how easily he sent a kid flying while on front line duty on a kick return, and he can do some damage as a full back as well, where the word “crumple” once again comes to mind as he makes opponents’ legs drop out on them like a serious case of vertigo. He was a wrecking ball as a sophomore and is going to be even less fun to hit as an upperclassman. He’s also a 2024 with P5 potential that I think our subscribers need to be extra aware of going into the summer camp szn. Sophomore Highlights
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6) Reese Tripp Reese Tripp 6'8" | 320 lbs | OL Kasson Mantorville | 2023 State MN (Kasson-Mantorville) C/o 2023. OT. 6’7, 330 lbs. @TrippReese
The Minnesota Golden Gophers commit is representing the big boys on this list, and at 6’7, 325 he would win the award for “least fun player to run into” in the great state of Minnesota going in 2022. He’s a brick wall and sends opponents flying without losing a step when run blocking out on the edge. There is some other impressively powerful offensive lineman in the state this year though, so where Tripp set himself apart to make this list were the hits he laid as a defensive tackle. He also completely envelops RBs and QBs when he gets ahold of them and crushes them into the ground with his full weight in a way that I would almost guarantee took the wind out of the poor opponent’s last fall. He also can throw ball carriers literally five feet if he gets his paws on their jersey and momentum-swinging, and I cannot wait to see how many bodies he leaves in his wake in 2022. JR Highlights
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7) Marques Monroe Marques Monroe 6'1" | 190 lbs | DB Bloomington Kennedy | 2023 State MN (Bloomington Kennedy) C/o 2023. DB. 6’1, 190 lbs. @MonroeMarques
One of the best prep prospects to come out of Bloomington Kennedy in the past two decades, Monroe’s tape is filled with big hits from the defensive backfield and for a 190-pound safety, he can flatten ball carriers like a defensive lineman got ahold of them. He’s also got the classic safety ability to crush wide receivers going over the middle, and he’s strong enough to noticeably snatch down RBs when running the alley. Monroe is one of those tacklers that opposing ball carriers struggle to gain extra yards against after contact, and he’s bound for some more big hits in 2022. Junior SZN
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8) Kade Gilbertson Kade Gilbertson 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Rosemount | 2023 State MN C/o 2023. LB. 6’2, 210 lbs. @GilbertsonKade
Gets the most out of every situation of contact, and is especially physical when taking on blockers. He sends his opponents backwards and sometimes completely off their feet despite them being ready and squared up for the hit, and around 1:15 into his tape he takes on and destroys an attempted Hornets blocker with so much force that the poor guy almost goes horizontal in the air and lands on his back, where the air is popped out of his lungs like a balloon. Every single time he puts his hands or pads on someone, Gilbertson is going to try to hit you as hard as possible, and that’s a heckuva reason to make a “Hardest Hitter” feature. Junior Season 2021 Highlights
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9) Love Adebayo Love Adebayo 5'9" | 195 lbs | RB Saint Thomas Academy | 2023 State MN (St. Thomas Academy) C/o 2023. RB. 5’8, 190 lbs. @LoveAdebayo1
A truck stick waiting to happen, Adebayo earned his first D1 offer this month from Western Illinois from an up-and-coming superstar in the coaching game in Leatherneck RB coach Donnell Kirkwood. The STA rising senior carries a RB build that I enjoy, with a low center of gravity and a ton of power in his lower body that helps absorb and dish out contact like a hammer rather than a nail. He can break tackles in a lot of ways, but when he concentrates all of his power and aggression into one tackle-breaking attempt it looks like the defender was roadkill on the side of the highway. Offensive skill players can be hard hitters too! Junior Season
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10) Max Kingsbury Max Kingsbury 6'4" | 265 lbs | DL Concordia Academy | 2023 State MN (Concordia Academy) C/o 2023. DL. 6’5, 265 lbs. @max_kingsbury
The younger brother of former Princeton University OL signee Aidan Kingsbury, younger brother Max carries a similar size and build to his older brother, but is particularly physical and hard-hitting on the defensive line of the Concordia Academy Beacons. At 6’5, 260+, he plays standup OLB and can put his hand in the dirt as a 3T DT or 5T DE and can completely manhandle opposing OL as well as QBs and RBs in the backfield. His sheer size and upper body strength helps him shove blockers to the side like they’re 100 pounds, and when he gets to the point of contact he runs into the ball with so much force that they either crumple like they were hit by a sniper or get thrown to the ground like a ragdoll. Especially against smaller competition, he looks like Hurricane Kingsbury, unable to be slowed down or move out of the way. Junior Year
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