Top Defensive Prospects from Prior Lake v Eden Prairie

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two top 6A teams face on last Friday night. Both had at least 1 division 1 commit on defense, and college-ready talent stacked the rest of starting lineups. This possible state championship matchup did not disappoint, as there were a large number of players who stood out and had phenomenal games. Let me introduce you to the college players of tomorrow from each team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Eden Prairie:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='112127' first='Jacory' last='Bates']: 2023 DB 6'1" 185 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One could be easily overshadowed by a division one commit playing opposite of him. On Friday night Bates was not. Prior Lake had several players with what I would consider elite speed, and Bates had no problem chasing them down, often in fact he was the saving tackle. He prevented several touchdowns, and was not scared of contact. Bates was incredibly aggressive and had tight coverage in the few pass reps there were. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='383731' first='Adam' last='Mertens']: 2023 LB 6'4" 210 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When I saw the starting linebacker wearing the #7 with a neck pad I knew this kid was going to be good. I was right. This kid is a brick wall. At 18 he has the size of a 5th-year Clemson player and doesn't let his size slow him down. This dude is very quick for his size. His hit power is off the charts, and he reads the field very well. A smart leader, Mertens is going surprisingly underrecruited this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='112086' first='Chiddi' last='Obiazor']: 2023 DE 6'6" 240 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My pick for game MVP. Obiazor was an absolute monster and had a career game against an incredible opposing offensive line unit. The recent Kansas State commit balled out having a ton of tackles and quite a few TFLs. He had an incredible punt block in the second half and basically live in the backfield all game. This dude will be an absolute game-wrecker at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cade Hutchinson: 2023 DB 6' 170 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This kid is a sneaky good athlete and a very underrated player. He makes good plays in the run game and has no problem engaging blockers. He breaks down well when tackling and has good form. He has good speed and strength and has a good feel of the field. D3s should be all over him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='105390' first='Dominic' last='Heim']: 2024 LB 5'11" 215 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Heim isn't nearly as big as his senior counterpart, he is crazy strong and crazy fast. He runs through ball carriers and has a super quick first step. He explodes through contact and you can see the impact the Eagle's weight room has had on him just by looking at him. With interest from a few D1 schools, I predict interest in Heim will be at an all-time high this off-season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dennis Rehouski: 2024 DE 6'6" 240 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oddly enough the big man was the only player from either team to record an interception in this Friday night special. He has great awareness and actually battled pretty well in pass pro with a Power-5 commit tackle. In the run game, he seemed to have a good feel for where the ball was a step ahead of the offensive line at times, coming up big in some key moments. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Muhammad Saine: 2024 DT 6'5" 270 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two words, Linval Joesph. Fresh off his first division one offer from Iowa State, Saine was an absolute terror up front. When matched up with some big and talented guards, he used his long wingspan and his surprisingly lean frame to bully them around and stop a lot of runs up the middle. He bullies offensive linemen at the point of attack and I'm very excited to see where his recruiting journey takes him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Prior Lake:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='301589' first='Bruce' last='Soukup']: 2023 LB 6'1" 210 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This dude is crazy elusive on the blitz. Great speed for a linebacker, he flies through the line and is a TFL machine! Usually, the first man to the point of attack, Soukup wraps up well and allows his teammates to tee off on the ball carrier and gives plenty of opportunities to get turnovers. I don't think I saw him miss a tackle all game, this guy is surprisingly underrecruited and needs to get on people's radar. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jason Green: 2024 LB 6' 185 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Green was mostly a special teams player from what I saw but I wanted to give him a little shoutout. This dude has tremendous grit and is clearly playing to impress. He got to play on the punt team and came screaming down the field to tackle the Eden Prairie returner, even when his helmet came off. A nice little shoutout for a kid who played his heart out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tanner Rueckert: 2023 DL 6'3" 290 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big nose tackle was a gap plugger all night long. Stat sheets don't show a lot of love to interior defensive linemen, but Rueckert was a dominant presence inside all night long. A tough kid to move, Rueckert is strong enough to split double teams and will stop the ball carrier if for some reason he tries to run towards him. Don't sleep on the senior big man.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='112052' first='Martin' last='Owusu']: 2023 DL 6'4" 285 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Come on, we knew this guy was gonna be on here. The Gopher's commit was a problem as usual. Dude boasts a fatal swim move and racked up a really pretty sack early on in the game. And then another in the second half. He stonewalled pulling guards at the point of attack, and threw around ball carriers like ragdoll. I'm pretty sure I saw someone get air time at some point. This dude is a stud plain and simple. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='368529' first='Jide' last='Abasiri']: 2024 DL 6'6" 270 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fresh off his first offer from Iowa State, Abasiri had a great game against the Eagles. Great strength and power, Abasiri is extremely aggressive at the point of attack and hunts down the ball carrier. He's quick and has a good sense of leverage due to his experience in the wrestling room. Some darn good offensive linemen seriously struggled in their attempts to move him off the line of scrimmage. A true breakout player.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Lehrer: 2023 K 6'2" 190 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gotta show some love to the kicker here. Although he did miss one field goal, it's pretty clear the natural talent this kid has. He was perfect on PATs on the night and every kickoff was a touchback. Almost equally impressive was his punting, as he pinned the Eagles deep at several key points in the game. Already an offer from Bemidji State and some serious interest from Northwestern, the Lakers may add another D1 commit to their roster before the season ends. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->