Nate’s Big Dogs of the Week: South Dakota, Week 1, Part I
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Hans Lapka POS RB CLASS Hans Lapka School: Leola-Frederick Stat Line: 4 carries, 179 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards (207 total yards, 2 touchdowns (rushing). No Tape available. Devon Schmitz #188 LB #26 POS LB CLASS 2023 View Player Boost…
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Continue ReadingHans Lapka
Hans Lapka
Stat Line: 4 carries, 179 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards (207 total yards, 2 touchdowns (rushing). No Tape available.
Stat Line: 124 total yards (91 receiving, 33 rushing) 3 receiving touchdowns on three total catches.
Eval: Devon showed off some great versatility with his skillsets in EPJ’s win over Parker. He showed. He was QB Noah McDermott Noah McDermott QB Elk Point-Jefferson | 2023 State ‘s #1 target in around the redzone, where he showed off instinctive steps coming thru the screen to open up his hips on his path to the end zone. He shows off an impressive burst off his first step on his second team touchdown of the day to create separation on a go-route with a nearly wide-open lane on his path for another Huskies touchdown. He has some creative route-running ability, as his 29-yard catch around the sidelines had some next-level skillsets to making the high traffic catch and keeping his feet inbounds. His last touchdown showed some really good patience when you look at the timing of his jump. The ball was slightly underthrown from a touch perspective, and he showed some stellar patience to look the ball in, and his vertical known and brought in the 29-yard touchdown. I see a bright future for this young man this 2022 season!
Stat Line: 14 carries, 161 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns. 2 tackles, and two pass breakups on defense.
Eval: Our Prep Redzone Dakotas #1 athlete showed exactly why he has that title in his big game against Florence-Henry. Luke’s ability to utilize the open field with his great footwork created a spark for the Chargers early as he finished with 3 rushing touchdowns in Week 1. Luke also showed off his bounce from inside to the outside lane with his burst on his second touchdown of the day, where he used his vision to explode thru layers of potential tacklers to take the ball the distance for 6. Using this young man off the pitch to the outside, I have a gut feeling is going to be the move this season for Luke, as he capitalized on every pitch showing that elusiveness he has in the open field and the developed game-time speed we have seen from Luke showcase after showcase in Minnesota and the Dakotas. I also liked Luke’s tape on his shorter yardage on the inside run, as he created that solid tempo early with his alignment off first contact, which showed off great durability when he had to run between the tackles. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Luke as a consistent Big Dog of the Week in multiple weeks this season.
Highlights
Stat Line: 10 total tackles (4 solo, 6 assisted, 2 were tackles for a loss) from the defensive tackle position, one QB hurry, and four pancakes on the offense line.
Eval: What did Robert show off in Week 1? We’ve gotten to see this young man a couple times at camps this summer, and you could tell in Week 1 he certainly has used the skillsets he’s learned throughout the summer and put them into play early against Clark-Willow Lake. He showed off swift shedding ability to barrel into the backfield and create some physical hitting chaos in the backfield. I also love watching a defensive tackle like Robert, get outside the inside box and extend his range to make a tackle along the outside of the field. Around the 49-second mark, you start to see the pancaking success Robert had, as he used a quick first step and landed a strong punch to get to his man to the turf early in the play with his superb leverage he’s gained. The growth in Robert’s physicality has grown a ton since last summer, and I cannot wait to see this Deuel Cardinals prospect keep putting that to work week after week on both sides of the trenches.
Highlights
Stat Line: 7-10 passing, 270 total yards (153 passing, 117 rushing ), 5 total touchdowns (3 pass, 2 rush)
Eval: Ryan hasn’t posted his tape from last Thursday yet, but the balanced attack he showed with his ball-throwing ability and his legs paint a great start to his 2022 season after a win against Colman-Egan. He shows eagerness with his footwork on tape to escape the pocket when there’s nothing there and shows good athletic movement with his mobility. He also has a smooth balance in his running ability, as his poise is just as good out of the pocket as it is inside the pocket. According to PRZ Dakotas scout Jake Evans who was in attendance, Ryan showed a strongly developed chemistry with his wide receivers from his viewing last season and was less eager to take the ball and run than he has in other viewings. Ryan is a prospect that I believe has the tools to play at the next level as his versatile skillsets just keep getting better year after year.
Stat Line: 5 total touchdowns on both sides of the ball. 3 rushing, 1 fumble recovery, and another interception returned for a touchdown. Averaged 14 yards per carry at running back vs. Bennett County.
Eval: Despite the five touchdown night, it was business as usual for Wall’s Cedar Amiotte Cedar Amiotte ATH Wall | 2023 State . He had three rushing touchdowns, but he also scored TWO defensive touchdowns, which is a rare sight to see on Friday nights, especially with recovering fumble and an interception for 6. He started his night with the interception and, while in deep coverage, showed mobile footwork in his pedal to get to the ball and make the interception. Even after the interception, he spun off thru contact and found the open space for the end zone. Off the option pitch, Cedar showed much durability off first contact to stride thru for his second touchdown of the day. Cedar’s running ability has some bull to it, and he consistently lowers the shoulder to eat up contact instead of avoiding it. On his last clip, he showed off excellent footwork starting inside and then breaking to the outside, where he used his burst to finish the rest. One of the biggest stockrisers in our recent 2023 rankings should have more Division II attention coming in this fall for sure after an offer from Chadron State after summer prospect camps.
Tance Wagner
Tance Wagner
Stat Line: 9 carries, 236 rushing yards, four touchdowns. No tape available yet.
Stat Line: 9-13 passing, 284 passing yards, five touchdowns.
Eval: The squad from Harding County-Bison, had a quite impressive Friday night against New Underwood and the bulk of their success came from QB Kelby Hett Kelby Hett QB Harding County-Bison | 2023 State . Watching Kelby’s junior tape, this kid has a fire-pop mentality with his arm strength on intermediate routes, and it remains consistent throughout his tape, which is key in an evaluation sense. He also shows a calm demeanor even when he gets some pressure, as just under the 50-second mark he unleashes a dime, getting out of heavy pressure and using his great touch ball placement to pin a near-perfect pass along the sidelines of his WR. He has some development to be seen on his instincts with his throws, as I believe he can grow on his reading ability, but heck, five passing touchdowns and nearly 300 passing yards in a blowout win in Week 1 is a fantastic start to this young man’s senior season as he grows on his recruiting trail this fall.
Seth Siebrecht
Seth Siebrecht
Stat Line: 9 total tackles; 3 tackles were for a loss. 6 pancakes on the offensive line and 7 total great snaps from the PAT and on punts in the long snapper spot.
Stat Line: 8 carries, 187 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns.
Eval: Rylee is a 2025 Watchlist prospect we watched this summer at the Northern State prospect camp. Let us just say this incoming sophomore laid an excellent start in Week 1, averaging over 23 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns. Rylee shows off an intensive amount of great footwork for his age plus his size, which seems to play bigger on the field week by week when you roll the tape. He got his reps at RB1 because of his excellent athleticsm, but do not be surprised to see this young man get the QB reigns in some formations this season for Harding County-Bison as on tape when the HCB WR has a man beat in coverage, Rylee shows great touch on his ball as just a sophomore. Also shows good physicality inside and good instincts in coverage from what we can see. Stay tuned for this kid over the coming months as we turn our watching into our 2025 rankings to see where he ends up!
Tyler Hettich
Tyler Hettich
Stat Line: 214 all-purpose yards (71 rushing, 73 receiving, 70 return) Scored three total touchdowns (1 rush, 1 receiving, 1 return) Incredible stat line from Week 1.
Eval: I couldn’t find any tape on Tyler yet to start the season, but looking at that stat line shows off so much versatility on how this kid can burn you from whichever level of the field he lines up. Tyler certainly has some swiss-army knife skillsets he brings to the table, and I hope to get some tape on this young man in the coming weeks from this Ipswich prospect!