ND Players to Watch (2024)

Today I’ll head North to cover the other half of the territory for the players to watch in the Class of 2024 in North Dakota. This one was a little trickier to cover because there is not a lot of younger athletes with film out there. I hide to go into our rankings and search for the kids that weren’t posting camp invites. Hopefully this helps them out a little bit for their Junior Seasons. [player_tooltip player_id="237983" first="Travon" last="Littlefield"] Dickinson OL/DL- Littlefield is a lineman that the defense fears. I like the way he pulls and finds a defender to bury. He has a good pull-step that is quick and gains the most ground possible in a first step. He is quick coming across the formation, but keeps his eyes around to find the most dangerous defender in the play. He is one of the most mobile linemen I’ve watched on tape. He climbs up levels well and finds guy to bring to the ground and keeps his technique clean. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2G6gY5">Bismarch St. Mary Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="242526" first="Luke" last="Lorenz"] Fargo Davies WR- Lorenz seems to be a part of an offense that is given concepts and they just have to make plays. He doesn’t seem like he’s moving very fast, but he gets to the open space and makes himself a target for his QB. He finds that soft spot in the defense, but is aware enough to keep moving to stay open when the play breaks down. He has a good amount of speed that he uses on deep routes and when he breaks a play to go the distance. He also takes pride in his perimeter blocking to spring his teammates free as well. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14868387/61763ae2ab9297023c355a5e">Sophomore Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="289683" first="Nicholas" last="Hasbargen"] Fargo Davies WR- Hasbargen seemed to be the possession WR, the guy that was getting the ball when they needed a first down. He ran his routes with precision, didn’t take any false steps and gained the most ground possible. He made sure he made the catch, whether he was wide open or in tight coverage. He was a receiver that also made blocks and stuck to them until the whistle, he buried a lot of defenders in the secondary. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GCebA">Sophomore Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="289677" first="Bo" last="Nelson"] Jamestown OL- Nelson was a lineman with bad intentions on each play. Once the ball was snapped he took off the line like a rocket and attacked the first defender in his path. He kept a good pad level and kept good position to make blocks. Whether he was pulling, down blocking, or pass blocking, he was ferocious when attacking his defender. He had a good technique and hand placement to keep it clean as well. He had a high motor to keep his blocks until the whistle as well. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2GSC03">Sophomore Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="294153" first="Tyson" last="Ruzicka"] Minot WR/DB- Ruzicka is a speedster ready to have a breakout season. Mostly making plays on the special teams part of the game, he showed he can be a good return man and the guy to fly down the field and make tackles. Most of his offensive snaps were jet sweeps, he sowed he can get to the perimeter pretty quick and will be an aggressive, physical runner. He can turn out a big play if he breaks loose from the second level. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Gb0SS">Bismarck Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="242536" first="Paxton" last="Ystaas"] Des Lacs-Burlington QB- Ystaas made some great throws this past season. He had good touch and placement on the vertical routes. He did a good job getting his drops and getting the ball out quick. He went through his reads quick and found the best option on the play. He kept good poise when rolling out or getting pressured from the defense and still made the best throw on the play. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Gn8hh">Sophomore Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="174165" first="Gavin" last="Olson"] West Fargo Horace QB/DB- Olson emerged as a dual-threat QB. He is a good runner on the read option and can make big plays off of them. He is good at stretching plays to the perimeter and finding the gap to run through out there. He has also shown he can make some good throws on the vertical routes or crossing routes. Defensively, he puts himself in good position pre-snap and makes quick breaks on the ball in the air. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2HLXiA">Sophomore Season</a> [player_tooltip player_id="289681" first="Jack" last="Simmers"] Grand Forks Central RB/DB- Simmers was a speedy back out of the backfield. He also showed good vision, agility, and patience to let his blocks develop. He did a good job getting to the line of scrimmage and finding the open gap and then exploding through it, getting to top speed quickly. He also showed a good motor to keep his wheels turning until the play was over. Defensively, he kept with his receiver and didn’t bite on the fakes from him or the QB. He could also cover a lot of ground to break up passes across the field. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2G2GAi">Sophomore Highlights</a>