Nate's Big Dogs of the Game: St. Paul Harding-Humboldt

MINNEAPOLIS-- Last Thursday night, we took our talent to Northeast Minneapolis to watch a crossover-city battle as the St. Paul Harding-Humboldt Knighthawks came to the Northeast side of Minneapolis to take on the Minneapolis Edison Tommies. The Knighthawks started their charge aggressively in the first half and grew on it in the second half of the game to defeat the Tommies 42-24 in this Week 6 matchup. Looking at my notes of prospects from the Knighthawks for our Big Dogs of the Game, there is a TON of next-level talent on this roster between Harding and Humboldt High Schools in St. Paul, and I am excited to share all of the talent prospects that showed off their talent on Thursday night. Take a look at my Big Dogs of the Game for the Knighthawks!   Richard Vue, Kicker, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <ul><li>I was surely impressed with this young man in the kicking game, especially with the fluidity of his extra points, as he had zero problems with the start to finish of his kicks and showed off some excellent hangtime in the process on a perfect night of extra points.</li><li>There also was something to like with his kickoffs, as although he needs some development with his hangtime, he has great depth with pinning the ball deep and using that solid spin he puts on the ball to get a few extra yards off the bounce.</li><li>Watching the rhythm that Richard carries thru his kicks paints a picture that he could be a solid small school specialist at the next level.</li></ul>   Edgar Zapata-Wirtz, ATH, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <ul><li>Edgar wasn't the biggest tailback out there for the Knighthawks, but some instinctive skillsets he put on display on Thursday night against the Tommies were worth noting.</li><li>His running game can be described as smooth, as his agile footwork as an inside runner showed some elusive traits between the tackles and also a ton of durability for his size.</li><li>I liked his quick burst out the gates when the ball enters his hands, and with development on finishing his runs, I can see Edgar as another punch to this Knighthawks offense the closer and deeper we get into the season and once the playoffs spectrum opens up.</li></ul>   Jeremiah Bryant, DE, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <ul><li>Jeremiah showed me how hard this kid's nose is for the football on Thursday night as he jumped on one of the key takeaways the Knighthawks possessed on Thursday night in NE Minneapolis.</li><li>I loved how fluid this young man's physicality level was as a long 6'4 defensive end; he showed a feisty knockback tackling ability that, when you watch his recent tape before MPLS Edison, certainly comes thru full throttle when he's able to get off his sheds quickly or is left unblocked when entering the backfield.</li><li>He shows a longer reach and has the instinct to use his athletic footwork to move back quickly to get his strong hands around the ball carrier with ease.</li></ul>   Jod'e Trice, WR/DB, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Jode-rotated-crop-480x316-1665460645.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473607" width="315" height="207" /></figure>   <ul><li>Jod'e was very impressive with the work of his strong hands on Friday night in the Knighhawks passing game and showed a wide catch radius than you would expect in his 5'11, 170-pound frame out of the slot.</li><li>This young man also has a high football IQ as the second clip of his tape showed his awareness as not just a great pass-catcher but working his angles on blocks to extend the play downfield for his teammates by his good positioning; he showed off on the second level.</li><li>The agility Jod'e showed off on the first cut with his route-running really caused some sizeable separation as he used that footwork and speed to get ahead of the secondary and catch one of his two touchdowns on Thursday night.</li><li>He also showed to be elusive in the run game, cutting well off the edge right in front of my eyes to using his locked-in balance and nimble ability to stay in bounds and add even more yards to his resume.</li><li>Defensively, Jod'e showed off that range and willingness to chase down a ball carrier out of reach for most of the defense to get a key stop deep in Knighthawks territory.</li><li>I would expect Jod'e to gain more Division III attention, especially in the MIAC this fall, with the skillsets he showed me on Thursday night.</li></ul>   Robert Htoo, RB, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Robert-Htoo-rotated-crop-480x316-1665440126.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473173" width="319" height="209" /></figure>   <ul><li>I loved watching Robert's slippery running ability make waves in the second half of the Knighthawks game against Minneapolis Edison on Thursday night, as he showed off a fluid one-cut ability to get separation and explode through it a touchdown.</li><li>Robert also showed significant durability on his runs in his second clip vs. Edison; he fought like heck to get thru high-traffic areas and find the end zone, where he took 2-3 defenders with him on his way to the end zone.</li><li>He also showed good patience on his runs, waiting for his blockers to give him some space and showing a downhill running ability that, as I said, was difficult for the Tommies' defense to catch, especially in the second half of the game.</li><li>I certainly see more MIAC schools catching waves on this young man during and after the season, as he has one early offer from the Oles that my colleague [player_tooltip player_id='1257447' first='Oliver' last='West'] I am sure, loved to see from this durable back come thru over the summer.</li></ul>   [player_tooltip player_id='406841' first='Jorge' last='Irizarry'], QB, St. Paul Harding-Humboldt (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Jorge1-rotated-crop-480x316-1665460727.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473609" width="323" height="212" /></figure>   <ul><li>This is a name you all might know if you have been around our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcases over the last winter or so, as that was when I got my first look at how talented Jorge was due to his touch-throwing ability; let us just say he put that yet again on full display on Thursday night against Minneapolis Edison, especially in the first half.</li><li>Jorge showed off that same developed arm strength I saw in Minnetonka last winter, especially on throwing on mostly intermediate routes to key targets early like Jod'e Trice, who lead the Knighthawk's receiving core.</li><li>He showed off one of the most smooth dual-threat QBs I have gotten to watch this season with his ability to leave the pocket, extend the play and either tuck it and run, releasing his strong athletic ability or finding the open man on their routes.</li><li>Jorge also has a quick release that, with some development, will be a key skill set for him to grow on as he enters the next level to get more polish on his throws-on-screen routes.</li><li>I love watching Jorge's football IQ on the field, as he doesn't have that demeanor; I enjoy watching him have some great decision-making ability even when a defender is right in his wheelhouse.</li><li>I am super impressed with the next-level talent on this KnightHawks roster, and you can add [player_tooltip player_id='406841' first='Jorge' last='Irizarry'] to that list as another stockriser that I expect to catch more waves as we get closer to the end of the season on his recruiting trail.</li></ul>   Go KnightHawks!   Next up: Big Dogs of the Game from the Minneapolis Edison Tommies

MINNEAPOLIS-- Last Thursday night, we took our talent to Northeast Minneapolis to watch a crossover-city battle as the St. Paul Harding-Humboldt Knighthawks came to the Northeast side of Minneapolis to take on the Minneapolis Edison Tommies. The Knighthawks started their charge aggressively in the first half and grew on it in the second half of the game to defeat the Tommies 42-24 in this Week 6 matchup. Looking at my notes of prospects from the Knighthawks for our Big Dogs of the Game, there is a TON of next-level talent on this roster between Harding and Humboldt High Schools in St. Paul, and I am excited to share all of the talent prospects that showed off their talent on Thursday night. Take a look at my Big Dogs of the Game for the Knighthawks!