Preseason preview: St. Michael-Albertville

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The St. Michael-Albertville Knights struggled – by their standards – through an injury-plagued 4-4 regular season in 2021. Once the playoffs started, they won three straight - until finally succumbing to the eventual state champion Lakeville South Cougars in the state semi-finals. To say Coach [player_tooltip player_id='313245' first='Jared' last='Essler']'s guys figured something out at the end of the season would be putting it mildly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It might be hard to get a read on the Knights – especially early in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We have better team speed and overall athleticism," Essler said. "Our back seven on defense and skill players on offense will be pretty talented." "We graduated nineteen senior starters, so we will be young and inexperienced to start," Essler continued. "I like our team, however. We have better talent in the linebacker and defensive back ranks than last year and have a deep group of running backs and wide receivers to get the ball to. I expect us to compete for a top three seed in the 32-team tournament bracket and compete for a spot in the state tournament."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Players to watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6308394c899e1","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["313249"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Based on as often as he did it, Skrip might be one of the best pulling guards in the state. He has smooth footwork coming around the corner and across the formation. He is a fire hydrant of an athlete. His lack of height works well for him in the interior. His pad level is almost always lower than the man he is blocking. His powerful lower half allows him to stone bigger defenders. Although he doesn't typically drive his man off the line of scrimmage, he gets his hips turned quickly to ensure he is between the defender and the play.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Conner Luongvan","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"St. Michael-Albertville","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"For as tall as he is, Luongvan is a great one-cut-and-go runner. That doesn't mean he can't make people miss in the open field. He has excellent vision in space and can make people miss. Luongvan has outstanding balance. While he looks to be more of a speed guy than a power guy, he will lower his shoulder and get the tough yards when they are there. He is a threat in the passing game - used in the screen game and down the field without hesitation. Primarily a tailback, he takes snaps at fullback and wingback.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Alex Swiatkiewicz","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2410","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"St. Michael-Albertville","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Swiatkiewicz is a long athlete with a large catch radius. He mainly played junior varsity last season but will be relied on to play a much more significant role as a senior.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Ryan Kaydea","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"St. Michael-Albertville","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Playing mainly on junior varsity last season, Kaydea showed great open-field speed. His ability to get in and out of his cuts quickly complements his speed and should make him an important weapon for the Knights for the next two years. He showed some good footwork in the open field as well.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-65a0a5076c1d4"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63083b4e899e5","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["313248"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Segler has the hands of a wide receiver. He has excellent closing speed when attacking the ball and supporting the run. When supporting the run, he isn't just going to try to drag someone out of bounds or shy away from contact. Segler is coming to hit – hard – wrap up, and tackle.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-65a0a5076c213"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1145319' first='Joe' last='Duerr'] C JR 6'4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach Essler – "He missed last year with an ACL tear, will be a strong point on the offensive line. His dad - Troy - was a Gophers' football captain. Duerr's brother TJ is a returning starter at guard for the St. Johns' Johnnies.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='420569' first='Caden' last='Johnson'] SS JR 5'11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach Essler – "Very instinctual, will make a bunch of splash plays for us this year."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cowin Underwood ILB SR 5'9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach Essler – "Had 32 Tackles as a junior in a limited role, great speed, and coverage ability."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='313246' first='Logan' last='Jans'] FS SR 6'3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach Essler – "Had 37 tackles and four interceptions last year. Great range and ball skills."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roman Lindenfelser DT JR 5'10 </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coach Essler – "Our strongest player in the weight room, Lindenfelser will anchor the defensive line."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->