5 Of Indiana's Best Hidden Gems

<h2>Azariah Wallace - Hamilton Southeastern - RB - 5'11" 200lbs - 2025</h2>   <p>Wallace is an up and coming back for HSE who has all the raw talent you're looking for at the RB position. Wallace is a fantastic athlete who has quick feet and pretty decent balance. He's able to absorb some hits and bounce right off them. He's a shifty, yet physical runner at times. He's able to lower his shoulder and fight for some grimy yards when he needs to. He's really good in short areas and has fantastic agility. He's able to get gap to gap with ease and without losing a bunch of momentum. Wallace balled out on JV this year and got better each week. He's a creative runner and has the ability to cut it back, stick his foot in the ground, and get vertical. He's not afraid to bounce it outside or stick it in the A/B gaps. For a younger back, he's fairly thick and could be a big problem for years to come. I imagine next year he's going to get the call up to varsity and he's more than ready. I'm not sure where he is in pass pro or in the receiving game, but he can tote the rock as he develops. He's going to make his impact as HSE one way or another. He's too talented and shown too much promise. Wallace is someone to really keep an eye on moving forward, and especially next year, for that massive breakout. All the talent and tools are there for Wallace to be a special back by the time he graduates.</p>   <h2>Donovan Rhodes - Hamilton Southeastern - DB - 6'0" 190lbs - 2024</h2>   <p>Rhodes is a rangy Corner who has a knack for the ball. He's got fantastic stride length and gets to top speed in just a few steps. He's able to fly and keep his guy on his hip. Rhodes has a knack for the ball and makes play after play. If he's not able to pick it off, he'll atleast get a hand on it. He's batted down more balls than the normal DB this year. He's got elite closing speed when the ball is in the air which allows him to play a bit loose and aggressive. He's going to break on the ball and come downhill full speed when a receiver is getting the ball thrown in front of Rhodes. He's got no issue launching and making a big, legal, hit. He's able to play aggressive and has a bit more power behind him than receivers expect. He's able to make open field tackles and prevent the big play as well. Rhodes is able to react as the QB goes on the move and stick with his receiver as he's making it up on the fly. He's not very handsy either and you won't see him getting caught with penalties. He's versatile with a good head on his shoulders on the outside. Guys like him who thrive in the 1 on 1 lifestyle make a coaches job just a little bit easier. Rhodes should be on a lot of radars moving forward because he's a fantastic true corner, and those guys are worth their weight in gold.</p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='216090' first='Tayvion' last='Ortman'] - New Prairie - LB/TE - 6'3" 225lbs - 2023 </h2>   <p>Ortman is someone we discovered a few months back and liked. Since then, he's only gotten better and more confident. He's a complete and versatile player who really could play either side, depending on what he's asked to do or what he prefers. He's fantastic at TE and is great in the blocking game and is a weapon who can help stretch the field as well. He's got decent hands and is able to make some fantastic grabs up and over some defenders. He's willing to block his guy into the ground and have some fun with it. Defensively, he's just as good. He's got a knack for seeing things as they are developing and blowing the play up. He's got sound feet and isn't going to get baited into taking the junk. Over the second half of the season, he really took his game to another level. It's the small things that people notice when you improve. Whether it's hand placement or making a tackle for example, Ortman continues to improve. He's able to make the open field tackle by coming to balance and breaking down properly. He's been one of the biggest stat stuffers in Indiana for a few years on the defensive side for good reason. He's flying all over the field making plays and will make some college program better.</p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='185231' first='Liam' last='Farmer'] - Cascade - RB/LB - 6'0" 185lbs - 2023</h2>   <p>Farmer is an elite back who defenses need to be more worried about than they are. This dude is electric and regularly looks like he was shot out of a cannon. Every now and then you come across a guy who is so much faster than the others on the field it looks like he's sped up. That's the case here with Farmer. He's able to get to top speed immediately and is going to shoot out the backdoor. He's not someone who will make a ton of guys miss because he's a straight line runner, but he can go through them if they don't get off the train tracks. Farmer is a bigger back than defenses usually expect and he's got some weight behind his pads that remind people who he is. He's able to come out of the backfield and be a weapon there as well. With the ball in his hands he's a threat to score. With the ball in his hands in open space is the most dangerous thing that can happen to defenses. Farmer is a gasher. He's going to gash the defense down after down and wear them down. When they get tired, he keeps going. But those 7-yard runs begin to be 20-30 yard runs and the defense begins to struggle. Farmer is a handful and defenses have dealt with him all year with not much success slowing him down. Farmer is a hidden gem at a school I couldn't even tell you which part of the state it was in until I found Farmer. I'm glad I did because he's a baller and I'm looking forward to seeing where he ends up.</p>   <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='498693' first='COLE' last='CARDWELL'] - Northwestern - RB/LB - 5'11" 210lbs - 2023</h2>   <p>Cardwell is a fantastic RB who is a ton of fun to watch. He's got much better short area and side to side agility than you'd think a guy his frame would have. He's a thicker back yet can make guys miss. He's got fantastic speed and likes to get North/South as fast as he can and hit the gas. He's able to run through arm tackles with ease as well which only makes him more dangerous once he hits the second level. He's been great in the zone scheme and is able to find the cutback lane. He'll stick his foot in the ground, make a guy miss, and hit the hole. He's got an elite center of gravity and has even better contact balance. Cardwell put up 1300 rushing yards and 14 TDs this year on his way to another big year. He's a complete back who can do it all. He'll need some work in the passing game, but he's capable. Cardwell is just great at carrying the rock. When the ball is in his hands he can make something out of nothing. He's not going to get knocked over with a strong wind. This year when he's stepped on the field he's been the best player game after game. He's an elite back who should be on way more lists than he is. If Cardwell went to a bigger school, everyone would know his name. In terms of raw ability he's up there with everyone in the state. In terms of production, he's way up there. His size, speed, and instincts are going to translate right on the field wherever he ends up and I feel pretty confident saying that the school who lands him is going to be over the moon.</p>