Nate’s Big Dogs of the Week: North Dakota, Week 7
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NORTH DAKOTA–Week 7 has come and gone quickly in the state of North Dakota for our weekly Big Dogs of the Week nominated by the high school coaches in North Dakota. A little bigger list than we saw last week,…
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Continue ReadingNORTH DAKOTA–Week 7 has come and gone quickly in the state of North Dakota for our weekly Big Dogs of the Week nominated by the high school coaches in North Dakota. A little bigger list than we saw last week, and the statement remains the same: There is a ton of talent in the Peace Garden State, and more attention is deserved for these promising prospects with lots of potential to play the next level which is where Prep Redzone Dakotas comes in to show that off. Let’s start off with who balled out in ND in Week 7!
Quarterbacks:
Brody Schneibel Brody Schneibel QB Rugby | 2023 State , QB, Rugby (2023)
Stat Line: 18/33 passing, 329 total yards (259 passing, 70 rush), three touchdowns
- You have to start by watching Brody’s demeanor in the pocket college coaches, as he throws together a calming demeanor when he’s about to deliver inside of the pocket, especially with his success on intermediate routes.
- Brody shows off some competitive arm strength and shows a fearless throwing ability to thread the needle over the top of the secondary with a significant amount of poise.
- He’s not the most flashy running QB out of the pocket, but his consistency sticks out with his football IQ and ability to identify in his mental game the best angles to take when running the football with his legs.
- Brody’s probably most smooth skillset is in his touch passing ability, as his tape from last week showed off some stellar touch over the middle of the field with great precision to give his wide receiver an edge to catch the ball on the run.
- I like this young man’s upside with playing at the next level, as he already has converted two NAIA offers prior to the fall season and should gain more NAIA attention from local ND programs in the coming weeks.
Sterling Enerson, QB, Cavalier (2023)
Stat Line: 5/11 passing, 213 total yards (123 passing, 90 rush), two rushing touchdowns
- Watching Sterling’s tape against Benson County, it still baffles me a bit that this is this young man’s first year of reps from the QB1 spot, as his tempo plays out in my eyes as a QB1 that has played the position for a while with his fluid arm strength and precision on his ball for his wide receiver to make a play and go quick on his routes.
- You certainly can see his football IQ come out in an RPO setting, as Sterling brings a smooth demeanor when he leaves the pocket on the run.
- His mobility speaks volumes of his game last week, as around the 45-second mark of his tape, he felt the noise and showed his mobility instinct to enlarge his arm strength to buy time and unleash a deep route strike which, yet again, was loaded with precision as we mentioned earlier.
- I see Sterling as a growing stockriser as we look into the midseason for the Cavalier Tornadoes and one that I see painting another push for the Tornadoes to get back to the FargoDome for the 9-man state championship game yet again in 2022. I would for sure look at this young man if I was at a small school in the Dakotas looking to fill out their 2023 recruiting class, as there is a lot of growth and skills growing quickly for Sterling Enerson just past the midway point of the season.
Running Backs:
Trey Heinrich Trey Heinrich 6'0" | 175 lbs | RB Kindred | 2023 State , RB, Kindred (2023)
Stat Line: 27 carries, 201 rushing yards, four touchdowns
- Since I watched him in the state championship game last season, I have enjoyed watching Trey’s vision string together some strong patience yet showing a lot of explosions, watching his game speed develop on the inside run.
- He strung together some strong angles (especially to his left) with his agility and burst, especially at around the 30-second mark in his game last week against Central Cass, with his 90+ yard run that showed off a ton of finished speed from the start to finish with his rushing attack for the Kindred Vikings offense. Trey is just such a smooth downhill runner.
- Defensively, I have watched the physicality Trey has brought with his contact level from the linebacker spot, but his instinctive ability to come back to the ball with his change of direction should sure as heck strike a chord for the college coaches at the next level.
- Unless he hasn’t reported it on Twitter, Trey has yet to get his first offer and would be an excellent fit for the Dakota schools in the NSIC, in my eyes.
Colter Thorsell, RB/OLB, Larimore (2023)
Stat Line: 36 carries, 186 rushing yards, two touchdowns.
- There isn’t all that much running back tape from Colter’s two-touchdown game against Nelson County last week as of yet, but watching this kid fight for every yard he can get with his durability skillset showed some potential from what I saw from his recently uploaded tape from previous weeks.
- Colter shows a straining trigger to explode into the backfield, as you have to enjoy watching his motor to go to work on both sides of the ball for the Larimore Polar Bears.
- It’s no surprise that he ran for nearly 200 rushing yards last week, as watching Colter’s vision explode into the backfield is 100% worth keeping tabs on, especially if I am a small school looking for an outside linebacker at the next level.
- Colter is a straight-up menace getting his well-versed tackles when he’s left untouched heading into the opponent’s backfield. I would be recruiting this young man now if I were a local North Dakota NAIA school for sure.
Mario Garza, RB/LB, Oakes, (2024)
- Mario doesn’t have any tape available, but I found his game recap from last week in which I saw an effective tailback with some agility coming off the first cut of his run that was solid to watch.
- I liked Mario’s vision as an east-west running back, as he used his athleticism inside before breaking outside to show off some fluidity in his footwork to get to the edge and continue his pace for a long 60-yard run.
- There also is something to be said about this kid’s length of his strides, as all of his most damaging runs to the defense showed strides you wouldn’t expect off first glance, but the later you get into his tape you can see the longevity his finesse of his runs certainly brings out.
Wide Receivers:
Ethan Bergstrom Ethan Bergstrom WR Mayport-CG | 2023 State , WR/RB, Mayport-CG (2023)
Stat Line: 8 carries, 177 total yards, three touchdowns.
- Ethan hasn’t put his tape up yet for 2022, and since he’s been evaluated already, we dig into some new tape to show off what he brings to the table at the next level out of Mayport-CG.
- Offensively, there are lots to like about the versatility Ethan brings to the table, as he’s a sound pass-catcher with great hands, and also his durability within the backfield show significant measures in his game to become a threat at the next level, becoming an athlete in a motion offense.
- I like Ethan’s awareness of his balance and positioning when the ball is in his hands, as he has a superb downhill vision to identify the best gap very early in the play to see where his ball-carrier skillsets can take him, especially on the long runs to the outside edges.
- Ethan will have to get his tape up ASAP to engage heavier with college coaches with the skills he has built up for the next level, but I still certainly believe evaluating his junior tape, this kid will be playing on Saturdays.
Erik Foster, WR, Rugby (2023)
Stat Line: 5 receptions, 142 receiving yards, three touchdowns.
- At 6’4 185 pounds, Erik shows off a lengthy wide receiver frame and one that is a first-look WR prospect to us at Prep Redzone Dakotas.
- One thing shows to be clear with Erik, anywhere that ball placement goes, Erik will use his efficient hands to make a solid catch, especially on short or intermediate routes.
- With that long length, he excels with his burst after the first five yards, as you can see him turn it up a notch, especially with those intermediate routes, which are his strong suit to get to assure to get him the football.
- I think he needs to grow on using that physicality more with the bigger frame he shows off, as there certainly looks to be more juice in Erik’s tank when it comes to his burst on deeper routes and using the fullness of his vertical to more of his advantage to go up & get the football. Hope to see some key adjustments as we look at Foster’s rest of the season tape.
Athletes:
Sheldon Skar, ATH, Kenmare-Bowbells-Burke Central (2023)
Stat Line: 21 carries, 118 rushing yards, one touchdown. Defense: 11 tackles (3 for a loss), one sack, and one fumble recovery
- The tape we could find on Sheldon is pretty uncut and needs some touch-up, but if there is one thing I can evaluate on his tape is, this kid has a heavy running motor and just chomps at the bit with his physicality as a knockback tackler on tape that you do not want to see enter into your backfield untouched.
- With that skillset we mentioned on defense, you can bet that Sheldon brings a similar demeanor offensively, as I like his ability with his vision to find the open gap and slam thru it all with the physicality he unleashes on both ends of the ball.