Nate's Big Dogs of the Game: St. Francis Fighting Saints

ST. FRANCIS-- Although the Fighting Saints did not end up on the winning end of their final regular season game last Wednesday against Elk River, man oh man, does this St. Francis team have some next-level talent that NEEDS to get talked about on this colder late Tuesday night in Minnesota. Although I am late to the game on this write-up due to content overload over the last week or so, looking at this list of Fighting Saints floors me with the lack of attention, especially since these 2023 prospects are getting to the next level. Granted, the NW Metro is a hotbed for college football talent; however, these Fighting Saints need to be on more radars, no doubt about it. Meet my Big Dogs of the Game from the St. Francis Fighting Saints!   Jaxon Skogquist, QB, St. Francis (2023) <a href="https://twitter.com/jaxon_skogquist" data-type="URL" data-id="https://twitter.com/jaxon_skogquist">Twitter</a>   <ul><li>I liked Jaxon's fire-pop ability as QB1, especially in the first half of his game against Elk River, as he showed ample ability to get the ball out quickly and moved the Fighting Saints offense with some push, especially on his intermediate routes.</li><li>Despite most of his best throws coming off his backfoot and slightly off-balance, Jaxon still showed some prominent ball placement to the edges of the field in my eyes, and working on structuring his balance is only going to help this young man now that we are sitting hours away from playoff time in Minnesota 5A football.</li><li>In his Week 7 game against Big Lake, Jaxon added sizeable gains in his development with his touch ball with his wide receivers, as there is no question this young man could be another small-school prospect playing on Saturdays in 2023 as his timing throwing on his routes show plenty of precision when looking at him as a next level prospect as he also shows a smooth demeanor weighing his progressions before hitting his targets.</li><li>He also is a high academic prospect with nearly a 3.8 GPA.</li></ul>   Wes Johnson, WR/DB, St. Francis (2023) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wes_Johnson3" data-type="URL" data-id="https://twitter.com/Wes_Johnson3">Twitter</a>   <ul><li>Wes showed some smooth route-running abilities all game long last Wednesday night for the Fighting Saints and his elusive get-off in the open shows off some solid polish with the versatility of his route-running abilities.</li><li>I haven't seen his tape come out from the Elk River game yet, but the tape against Big Lake coming out of a WR bunch formation shows off swift awareness with his release recognizing the DB out on an island, and he was able to cash in with his football IQ to buzz by the secondary in a quick span of time and showed the finished fluid speed I love to watch when evaluating my wide receivers destine for the end zone.</li><li>Wes has limited tape from this season on Hudl, but the tape that is out there shows off a sizeable amount of athleticism coming thru within his route-running ability and a well-balanced catch radius even when coming back for the football. </li><li>Wes has light Division III interest based on what his social media shows, but I would expect more MIAC schools to get involved in his football services at the next level by the end of the season, if not before, as I believe there is plenty of upsides left to be seen as an under the radar WR prospect that looks like another Saturday prospect from the Fighting Saints. Another high academic Fighting Saints player, right around a 3.8 GPA.</li></ul>   Max DeBuhr, DL/OL, St. Francis (2023) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxDebuhr/media" data-type="URL" data-id="https://twitter.com/MaxDebuhr/media">Twitter</a>   <ul><li>Max was a solid force in the trenches in my eyes for the Fighting Saints last Wednesday night, and he filled it out on both sides of the trenches for St. Francis.</li><li>Offensively, Max showed off a sturdy base with his footwork and hand-fighting ability from the guard spot and got some great leverage in the reps I saw from his recent tape.</li><li>Max also recovered a fumble in last Wednesday's game, which shows how much of an asset of a team player this young man is on both sides of the ball, as his versatility really stuck out to me.</li><li>I love watching Max's late-season tape when he gets his opportunity to pull to the right side, as that accelerated footwork comes out quick, and he loads up a massive punching ability with built-up leverage coming from the other side the line in his 6'0 295 pound frame.</li><li>I would be remiss if I were surprised that Max only has one MIAC thus far, as I see more D3 attention coming in his upcoming future, as he certainly is a prospect deserving of more attention playing on Saturdays.</li></ul>   Noah Lamson, WR, St. Francis (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/lamson_noah" data-type="URL" data-id="https://twitter.com/lamson_noah">Twitter</a>   <ul><li>Noah is another late-season riser as just a junior; however, he lit the opening spark for the Fighting Saints passing offensive last Wednesday in a packed house at St. Francis.</li><li>I was impressed with his soft hands in the final regular season game as darn near every ball that came his way; whether he was in traffic or not, he could get his hands around it.</li><li>What else is impressive about Noah was his agility on his routes on Wednesday night, as he showed a fluent change of direction, which, especially in the first half, was able to gauge good amounts of separation in my eyes to get away from that strong yet pesky Elks secondary to put together a few nice receptions for the Fighting Saints offense.</li><li>I would expect Noah to post more junior tapes to add to his resume because I believe there is more potential in his game based on what I saw from him last Wednesday as a 2024 WR prospect to watch out of the NW Metro.</li></ul>   Philip Conant, DE/TE, St. Francis (2023) <a href="https://twitter.com/ConantPhilip" data-type="URL" data-id="https://twitter.com/ConantPhilip">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Phil-Conant-crop-482x317-1666760816.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-490269" width="322" height="211"/></figure>   <ul><li>I will keep it consistent with my evaluations of St. Francis Fighting Saints as this roster has SO many sleepers to talk about, especially with the last one on my list from last Wednesday night in 2023 DE/TE Philip Conant.</li><li>Philip was a certified hit-stick, and his physicality was outstanding to watch up close in-person as his physicality was like this from start to finish from every rep I watched him go thru on Wednesday at St. Francis, and it did not matter what side of the ball he was on, as he came out of his stance like a wrecking ball ready to knock someone on their rear end.</li><li>Phillip also showed a fearless demeanor with his shedding ability, going up against some bigger prospects on the Elks and still managing to win a ton of battles with the intensity this young man plays with every rep he gets with his 6'1, 215-pound frame.</li><li>I said it last Wednesday, and I will say it again here, it is almost out of line that Philip just has one Division III offer to his name so far, as I expect his stock to rise significantly getting into the offseason, and I think he could be a prospect that plays with a chip on his shoulder and finds a home at the Division II level when he advances on the recruiting trail over the next couple of months.</li></ul>

ST. FRANCIS-- Although the Fighting Saints did not end up on the winning end of their final regular season game last Wednesday against Elk River, man oh man, does this St. Francis team have some next-level talent that NEEDS to get talked about on this colder late Tuesday night in Minnesota. Although I am late to the game on this write-up due to content overload over the last week or so, looking at this list of Fighting Saints floors me with the lack of attention, especially since these 2023 prospects are getting to the next level. Granted, the NW Metro is a hotbed for college football talent; however, these Fighting Saints need to be on more radars, no doubt about it. Meet my Big Dogs of the Game from the St. Francis Fighting Saints!