Nate's Big Dogs of the Game: Belle Plaine/Sibley East

BELLE PLAINE, MINN-- After a fun labor day weekend, we kick our tires back into game coverage which last Thursday night took us to Belle Plaine to watch the Tigers handle business in Week 1 with a 27-8 victory over the Sibley East Wolverines. Our Prep Redzone Minnesota subscribers know that I have been doing my Big Dogs of the Game for several years now. I am happy to bring it back for Season Five and feature several Belle Plaine Tigers and a handful of Sibley East Wolverines. This list adds up to 11 prospects in total, ones that had ball-out-type games back on Thursday, and I also included a shortlist of Belle Plaine Tigers that caught waves towards the end of the game and could make a solid impact throughout the season for the Tigers as well! Take a look.   [player_tooltip player_id='422176' first='Tristan' last='Holbrook'], RB/LB, Belle Plaine (2025)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Tristan-Holbrook-rotated-crop-480x316-1662590417.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-439542" width="297" height="195"/></figure>   As just a young sophomore just getting his first reps in the varsity ranks, Tristan showed off some solid athletic tendencies in his first game for the Tigers. He put together a bunch of consistent gains, and what I liked most is he handled most of the heavily in the inside game, which are much harder yards to get for any younger RB prospect. He also showed a significant bounce in his thicker lower body by being able to bounce off tacklers from the first strain of contact, and although he has plenty of time to develop his burst, he still was able to carry nicely for a handful of yards after contact. When we get over the defensive side of the ball, that is another area Tristan had success last Thursday night. He shows a zoned in physicality level when he makes a connection with the ball carrier, and when I see that on almost every play, that's a good painting of his future at the linebacker position. Some freshmen tape of Tristan's show promise in both run and pass coverage, including an impressive one-handed grab last season. With the development with his cross-over running ability, look to see Tristan get more looks in pass coverage in 2022, although he shows a stout ability with his shed-off hands and great vision to accelerate into the next level and make a considerable tackle on the ball carrier.   Jasem Al Sattam, LB, Sibley East (2023)   Although the game wasn't pretty for the Wolverines, LB Jasem Al Sattam had my eyes early in the first half for the skillsets he brought to the table for Sibley East. The 6'0 190 pounder showed some substantial upside with his punch on getting to the first level and made a handful of key tackles that opened up his defense early in the game for the Wolverines. Couldn't find any tape on Jasem to watch, but this young man is a LB to watch in 2022 for Sibley East.   Parker Borresen, DB/WR, Belle Plaine (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Parker-Borresen-rotated-crop-480x316-1662590367.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-439540" width="282" height="185"/></figure>   Parker showed off great amounts of versatility on both ends of the field, but I loved his coach-like ability from the defensive back spot. He showed off the vision to read the play early and make sure his teammates were in the position to make a play defensively, which is not something every scout will read into, but the fact that he was doing this in a game that was likely already won showed me that this kid is an athlete that will play until that final whistle is blown and also was coaching the younger group of guys for the Tigers that were getting reps in the late part of the game. Parker showed off offensively good hands and one that has a solid vision when the ball gets into his hands, especially when the Tigers needed him most in the redzone. He is an intriguing two-way prospect to watch for in his senior season.   Owen Utendorfer, LB/RB, Sibley East (2025)   Owen was a prospect from the linebacker spot that I came away impressed with his closing-in ability when it came down to his downhill speed and clenching ability to make a handful of tackles for the Wolverines. Although just a sophomore, he showed good instincts while engaging the defender and had the ability to pull off even with a smaller frame (5'10 160) with his ability to twist out from under the defender's chest. Unfortunately, Owen didn't have any tape available to read into further than what I saw last Thursday night. Hopefully, we can get some later this season!   Andrew Siegle, WR/DB, Belle Paine (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Andrew-Siegel-rotated-crop-480x316-1662590527.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-439546" width="320" height="210"/></figure>   Andrew was the most key attribute to Belle Plaine's receiving core last Thursday night, especially with his intermediate and deeper routes. His 6'3 frame showed off his length on some of the catches he could make, and his vertical showed it off even more consistently throughout the night. I like how he uses his body to get his separation on every rep I watched on Saturday night as he used the precision throws from QB Josh Sparby to his full advantage. I also liked his balance with his footwork on shorter routes, as he used it to his advantage in the open field without much dancing between the tackles, just sound feet to get the yards he needed. Andrew could be a really nice small school prospect based on what I saw from Thursday night as a late bloomer in the first game of his senior season for the Tigers.   Caleb Pautsch, WR, Sibley East (2023)   I thought Caleb was the biggest bright spot in the receiving core for the Wolverines last Thursday night. He caught darn near every ball that was thrown his way, short, long, etc. and made good waves on his release with his pass-catching in the open field for Sibley East. Caleb was the spark to the Wolverines, especially after halftime as his hands were glued to the football when he got his targets. Another Sibley East WR prospect that I wish had some tape to evaluate from his impressive effort against the Tiger's stout defense.   Riley Drexler, RB, Sibley East (2024)   Riley carried the workload of carries for the Sibley East Wolverines. There were plenty of reps out there for Riley; he showed off some good vision within the inside reps he was given, and there were many of them. When he was able to get by on first contact, I thought he showed solid break-out speed, but unfortunately, there weren't a lot of opportunities for him to escape due to the stout run defense Belle Plaine was able to attain on Thursday night with the help of [player_tooltip player_id='19003' first='Ryan' last='Retzer'] and others.   [player_tooltip player_id='19003' first='Ryan' last='Retzer'], OL, Belle Plaine (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Ryan-Retzer-rotated-crop-480x316-1662590477.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-439544" width="309" height="203"/></figure>   I am sure by scouting Ryan for nearly three seasons now, I have burned thru nearly every adjective out there to describe this kid's talents, but I, of course, will keep them coming on this evaluation! Ryan's fluidity has grown so much since I first got my live eyes on his my sophomore year, as I was mightily impressed by the way he performed on both sides of the ball in the trenches. His reps from the defensive linemen spot were what I was paying my closest attention to as Ryan was able to get off quickly on his sheds and showed that energetic mobility to get escape to the edges to make his ample contact on the ball carrier. He was able to overpower both sides of Sibley East's lines all night long and on the offensive side of the ball, showed multiple techniques from showing off his strong hands on multiple defenders on one play to running the defensive linemen off their feet without not great hand position and leverage to drive them into the turf easily. His pad-level was on point from almost every rep I got to watch from Ryan, and with that certified leverage, he was able to get on a much smaller line; he was able to create some massive holes for Tristian Holbrook, amongst others, to run thru which was why the running game for the Tigers remained consistent all night long. Augie is certainly getting a good one to add to that impressive Vikings line in 2023.   Josh Sparby, QB, Belle Plaine (2025)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Josh-Sparby-crop-480x316-1662497027.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-438118" width="279" height="183"/></figure>   I have a great relationship with Belle Plaine assistant coach Quinn Frisell and the strides he was able to share with me about what Josh has made from the early part of the summer versus what I saw in their first game of the season is why Josh was such a game-changer in their first win of the season against Sibley East. Josh put together some great touch balls, especially on his intermediate routes, to give his wide receiving an edge to get separation on the fly and showed off some good ball placement once he was able to get going into the second quarter of the game. After throwing an early wobbly ball in the first quarter, this kid made up for it by throwing three passing touchdowns in the second thru fourth quarters, and you could just feel the chemistry in the stadium he was building with his receiving core with the more reps he got passing the football and how much more comfortable he was with his arm strength and accuracy as well. I hope to hear more about the long strides Josh makes for the rest of the season, and I hope the gains he makes are substantial, as I heard from early this summer to Week 1. I have a few more seasons to keep tabs on Josh, and I have to say I am excited to see where his progression can take him and the Tigers over the next few seasons.   More Tigers to Keep Tabs on Over the 2022 Season   Logan Reynolds, WR, Belle Plaine (2024)   Max Olson, DB, Belle Plaine (2023)

BELLE PLAINE, MINN-- After a fun labor day weekend, we kick our tires back into game coverage which last Thursday night took us to Belle Plaine to watch the Tigers handle business in Week 1 with a 27-8 victory over the Sibley East Wolverines. Our Prep Redzone Minnesota subscribers know that I have been doing my Big Dogs of the Game for several years now. I am happy to bring it back for Season Five and feature several Belle Plaine Tigers and a handful of Sibley East Wolverines. This list adds up to 11 prospects in total, ones that had ball-out-type games back on Thursday, and I also included a shortlist of Belle Plaine Tigers that caught waves towards the end of the game and could make a solid impact throughout the season for the Tigers as well! Take a look.