North Shore Prospects to Watch

<strong>NORTH SHORE, MINN-- </strong>After just getting back from a trip this weekend to Minnesota’s North Shore (a trip I highly recommend to our MN subscribers) I take a look at a handful of prospects from Duluth all the way up to Grand Marais that I found intriguing. This area of the state might be one of the most untapped areas of Minnesota for talent, so consider these young men to be under the radar in my eyes even though there is plenty of upside to go around on the North Shore. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Austan Orvedahl | RB | Duluth East | 2023</strong></span> Austan shows great vision once he gets his hands on the football. His elusive lower body has a lot of power to get thru contact and accelerate to the open hole. Austan shows a one-cut back that makes significant noise with his footwork in between the tackles. I don’t think I have seen a running back from the North Shore in the last several years with the durability Austan runs with from start to finish. Had over 2000 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior and is a solid pass-catcher with great hands in higher traffic areas. Austan is certainly a scholarship-level prospect in my eyes and I would be willing to bet he will make some noise this camp season as the top prospect I have seen from the North Shore region. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13494341/61a58b982347510658436800" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Arlo Christensen | DL/OL | Cook County | 2024</strong></span> Arlo is a first look prospect in these eyes and I came way impressed with his sophomore tape. Although he’s not the biggest dude on the Cook County offensive line, this young man plays a lot bigger than his measurables will read. He maintains a solid pad level with his hands and just needs to develop more strength to extend into that next-level category. Defensively, he shows a solid knack for finding the ball carrier with his good vision. Does well getting quick shoves off the snap to strike the offensive into the backfield. I like this next-level talents on the defensive side of the ball. Still shows raw ability, but there is certainly something cooking up in Grand Marais for Cook County with this kid. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15221974/61a17511bee1200af837a764" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Jacob Carpenter | QB | Silver Bay | 2025</strong></span> Jacob is another first look prospect on this list, and one I am glad to catch on my radar this early. He excels in my eyes with his ball placement especially on intermediate and deep routes. He shows quality mobility outside of the pocket and a quick release out of hands even with some pressure. He’ll need some development with his mechanics, but I like this kid’s very live arm he showed last season. I like his awareness for his age and I will be checking in in the near future on this 2025 QB from Silver Bay that we will be adding to our watchlist here shortly. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16591577/6146113532dc100ad86a4ed5" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="209115" first="Kyler" last="Pitkanen"] | ATH | Two Harbors | 2023</strong></span> Kyler does a nice job with his vision on the inside lanes of the football field. His ability to run thru contact is what struck a chord with me, as he makes significant gains with little space for the Agates. His awareness at the linebacker position is also something I found intriguing, as he shows an instinctive ability to find the ball carrier early. I would love to see him develop more balance with his feet once he reaches into the second level of the field as I saw a handful of plays that I certainly think this young man had more juice left in the tank. Another North Shore prospect that has gotten some attention from some NSIC schools in Northern Minnesota that I am sure will see more come his way this summer. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14339844/6180591104284b0438327e2b" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Kaden Postal | QB | Duluth Denfield | 2023</strong></span> Although the sample size tape wise is smaller than some prospects on this list, you can certainly read into the upside Kaden Postal of Duluth Denfield. He shows solid ball placement on his deeper routes and has ample arm strength to exceed on shorter routes too. Also shows off a quick release on some reps I caught from Kaden and the Hunters in the redzone. He shows development when he leaves the pocket with his mobility, as he has room to grow this summer with his agility and speed. I would expect a strong senior season for Kaden based on those looks I mentioned earlier. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12857681/611f6dd54205bb0f706c2222" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>