Nate's Big Dogs of the Week: North Dakota, Week 8

NORTH DAKOTA-- Week 8 has come and gone from us quickly as the smell of the playoffs (No, I am not kidding you) lays near in the Peace Garden State. Once again this week, we have a list of prospects nominated for our Big Dogs of the Week in North Dakota, and when you search the list, you have yet again, college coaches have a handful of good first-look prospects for your early 2025 recruiting boards, aspiring 2024s with limited tape but WILL be playing on Saturdays based on the lightest but the best tape I have seen from a linebacker in a while, and 2023s that have seen their stock rose at a crazy rate on their recruiting trail but still are just scratching the surface to their college football potential. Who are we talking about in North Dakota? Check out our Week 8 Big Dogs of the Week below from North Dakota!   Quarterbacks:   [player_tooltip player_id='205383' first='Michael' last='Rostberg'], QB, Fargo Shanley (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/Rostberg-rotated-crop-456x300-1663032349.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-443668" width="292" height="192"/></figure>   Stat Line: 25/36 passing, 303 passing yards, three total touchdowns (2 rush, 1 pass)   <ul><li>I watched Michael live and in person a few weeks ago, and he has already grown in his progressions with the use of his eyes downfield while keeping steady with his already excessively quick release.</li><li>Michael has also developed his ball placement showing a more precise look, especially in Week 8 with some of the darts he threw on the run to Vuciri Hakim (who we will talk about shortly), all of which Vooch caught in transition to give him extra steps on his deep routes.</li><li>I have already loved Michael's arm strength from a long time ago, but I still see bits of growth as we look into Week 8 going into Week 9 as far as his assurance with getting the ball where it needs to go, especially on intermediate routes which is Michael's bread and butter as the best QB North Dakota has to offer in this future Division I St. Thomas (MN) commit.</li></ul>   Landon Koenig, QB, Mayport-CG (2023)   Stat Line: 5 carries, 100 rushing yards, one touchdown.   <ul><li>The recent North Dakota State baseball commit yet again finds himself on our Big Dogs of the Week list for his play in Week 8 by going for right on 100 yards rushing on five carries with a 20-yards-per-carry average. That is some stellar numbers for the 6'5, 195-pound quarterback from the Patriots.</li></ul>   Derek Carpenter, QB, Hatton-Northwood (2024)   Stat Line: 9/14 passing, 346 total yards (244 rush, 102 pass), six total touchdowns (5 rush, 1 pass)   Running Backs:   Bradyn Collier, RB, New Rockford-Sheyenne (2025)   Stat Line: 20 carries, 121 rushing yards, and one touchdown.   <ul><li>Bradyn's running ability shows a low center of gravity to be able to use his lower body to gain the durability to fight for extra yards, especially on the inside runs.</li><li>What skillset looks the most promising for Bradyn as we look at his long future ahead with the Rockets? There is a handful of flashes on the light tape of his with his agility that pops out the deeper you get into his tape from this season, and as just a sophomore, I expect to see a ton of growth in that department over the next several years in a New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets uniform as there is a lot of skillsets that are still waiting to get untapped with his rushing ability between the tackles inside with his footwork.</li><li>I would love to see him grow into that skill set by using his versatility to both sides, as there is a lot of skill in his cuts going to his right; I would love to see the left side develop more this offseason.</li></ul>   Xyler Carlson, RB, Mayport-CG (2023)   Stat Line:   <ul><li>I love the increased game speed adjustment Xyler hits on when he sees a gap open up in the open field, as he shows much more burst hitting thru those holes. He shows off a fluid running ability both inside and around the edges.</li><li>He shows that similar juice on the defensive side of the ball last week as when the offensive line left a gap open, Xyler was able to cash in with all that finished speed he shows off and crack the defender with momentum and accelerated physicality in the backfield.</li><li>Xyler is an east-west runner that craves to get to the outside hash, where he gets the most separation from the defense on his runs.</li><li>Xyler could be a nice NAIA prospect locally right in the heart of Mayville and wouldn't even have to switch the turf he plays on now for the Patriots. Xyler is now a two-time Big Dog of the Week in North Dakota and has put together a really nice season for Mayport-CG.</li></ul>   Wide Receivers:   Vuciri Hakim, WR, Fargo Shanley (2023)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/10/Vooch-crop-625x411-1665633526.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-475812" width="327" height="214"/></figure>   Stat Line: 5 receptions, 204 receiving yards.   <ul><li>Pay close attention to this one college coaches: Since my visit to Fargo Shanley earlier this season, I have loved watching Vuciri develop his football IQ with his route-running abilities. It looks smoother and more natural on tape every week I watch.</li><li>He's also developed a lot in his change of direction on his release, especially on those key stop & go routes he ran a handful of times in his Week 7 tape in a huge win against a really good Fargo Davies team.</li><li>The 6'5 length and massive strides that "Vooch" made on his routes in Week 8 and the prior weeks on tape show off such a mismatch with the secondary, and I don't even think this young man has even scratched the surface of where his football talent can bring him at the next level. </li><li>Vuciri just picked up his first offer from across the border from MSU-Moorhead, but I could certainly see this young man as a late-season steal at the FCS level, especially from one school up I-29 north in Grand Forks, as the Fighting Hawks have been getting a handful of late fall steals in the Class of 2023 and Vuciri could be next.</li></ul>   Defense:   Adam Leininger, LB/RB, Fargo Shanley (2024)   <ul><li>I do not have the stat line from Adam from Week 8, but one of my evaluators in the Fargo area has been consistently raving about this young man on both sides of the ball for the Deacons.</li><li>He leads the EDC from the middle linebacker position in just about every category so far in 2022 and has a league-leading 29 solo tackles on the season, getting into Week 9 leading the next player in line by five tackles which is a large number in such a loaded conference for linebackers.</li><li>Adam certainly needs to get more tape together to gauge more college eyes, but watching this young man with his very light tape screams next level, from starting with his developed stance to his instinctive ability to change directions off a quick shedding ability and ending with consistent, forceful contact that smacks right on the level it should.</li><li>I seldomly evaluate a prospect with the early traits I mentioned above with very light tape, but college coaches NEED to get Adam on their radar soon as he's destined to play on Saturdays and has super strong athletic abilities on both sides of the ball.</li></ul>

NORTH DAKOTA-- Week 8 has come and gone from us quickly as the smell of the playoffs (No, I am not kidding you) lays near in the Peace Garden State. Once again this week, we have a list of prospects nominated for our Big Dogs of the Week in North Dakota, and when you search the list, you have yet again, college coaches have a handful of good first-look prospects for your early 2025 recruiting boards, aspiring 2024s with limited tape but WILL be playing on Saturdays based on the lightest but the best tape I have seen from a linebacker in a while, and 2023s that have seen their stock rose at a crazy rate on their recruiting trail but still are just scratching the surface to their college football potential. Who are we talking about in North Dakota? Check out our Week 8 Big Dogs of the Week below from North Dakota!