Regular SZN Recap: Minnesota’s Senior Breakout Recruits
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I hope everyone enjoyed yesterday’s Friday Night Lights action. If you are a fan of East Ridge, Rocori, Chisago Lakes, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Elk River, or Chatfield, it must have been an especially fun night, and with three rounds of playoff games…
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Continue ReadingI hope everyone enjoyed yesterday’s Friday Night Lights action. If you are a fan of East Ridge, Rocori, Chisago Lakes, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Elk River, or Chatfield, it must have been an especially fun night, and with three rounds of playoff games under our belt in 2022, I think it’s safe to say the regular season is firmly behind us. Before the state playoffs get underway in our Great State of Minnesota, PRzMN would like to quickly rewind and highlight some of the 2023 class’s biggest breakout recruits from the regular season’s September and October contests. It’s been an exciting season in MN and all over the Midwest in terms of recruiting news, with juniors and sophomores earning their first offers, decommitments and flips aplenty, and a ton of official and unofficial visits strategically occurring, but it’s always nice to focus on the current senior class and report on the major moves and news that will eventually wrap up their high school recruitment. Minnesota’s 2023 class is one I’ve been closely following for four years now, and I’m confident in saying I’m more invested in their success than most, but even with how much time I spent and have spent evaluating these prospects and watching their development I still didn’t see a couple of these Senior Breakout Recruits coming during the fall of 2022. Find out which 2023 seniors are significantly breaking out on the recruiting trail below. Thanks for reading!
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Oyintare Porbeni
Oyintare Porbeni
The inarguable winner of MN’s biggest senior stock riser during the fall of 2022, 6’6, 240 lb. Stillwater Ponies OT Oyintare Porbeni exploded onto the D1 recruiting scene as a senior on nobody’s radar and with no film coming into the season. With a tall, lean, and athletic frame, Porenbeni benefited from the shift in OL recruiting that has begun to show college coaches are getting more interested in leaner and lighter prep recruits who can add a ton of good weight on in their college S&C programs. Additionally, he’s coming from a state who produces linemen better than just about any position on the gridiron, and the senior is playing 6A Metro football against some of the best competition MN has to offer. Things began in September with recruiting gameday invites from FCS non-scholarship programs which avalanched into offers from Columbia, St. Thomas, Georgetown, Princeton, Davidson, and Brown, and the Minnesota Gophers also sent a gameday invite. With roster spots from some excellent academic institutions that also play D1 football, Porenbeni shut things down and committed to the admission process at prestigious Princeton. The Tigers have had great success with Minnesotans in the recent past (Jesper Horsted, Adam Hoffman, Nick Basten, Jalen Travis) and are getting a “Raw but freaky athletic” OT in his second year playing who possesses “impressive lateral movement skills” and is a “consistent finisher” according to our National Scouting Director and General Manager Jake Lemming.
Isaac Folland
Isaac Folland
The Kittson County Bearcats have been a heckuva pleasant surprise in 2022 and are rolling into the state playoffs 11-0 after a 35-20 victory over Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke on Thursday in the Fargodome. With productive skill players and monster lineman in the trenches, the Bearcats are looking tough to stop going into the state playoffs and will be led along the offensive line by 6’3, 330 lb. mauler Isaac Folland. The two-way standout posted 11.5 tackles and 3 TFLs in this week’s section final, and hopefully some of the productivity has been aided by Folland having his commitment out of the way and locked in. In the middle of September, Folland accepted a D1 scholarship from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and joined a growing crop of ’23 athletes heading to Grand Forks after their senior year. Sadly, KCC doesn’t have Hudl, but I’ll make sure to keep my eyes out for any clips I can get my hands on. The Bearcats also a good-looking athlete Chisum Schmeideberg and a giant and talented pass-rusher in Kaden Vig who are both worth recruiting as well. 9man is looking tough this year!
The 6’7, 230 lb. Blaine Bengal TE and Punter came into the season with two NSIC offers but catapulted into the FCS ranks as a recruit when the North Dakota Fighting Hawks offered a PWO on October 4th and saw him jump at the opportunity a few weeks later when he committed on the 20th. A long and hard-nosed blocker with a great base who can excel at blocking in space and swiping back across the LOS, Schusted is going to blow up in a college strength and conditioning program and already looks fluid when running routes and is a physical finisher. OT may be in his future thanks to how tough he is in the run game. No wonder he got a D1 opportunity as a senior. Well earned, Zack!
It was only a matter of time for the excellently-built 6’3, 230 lb. Elk River TE/LB and lacrosse standout Caleb Sandstrom Caleb Sandstrom 6’3″ | 220 lbs | LB Elk River | 2023 State MN . The two-sport standout burst onto the scene last year after his junior season concluded once college football programs saw the film of the tantalizing-built run blocking TE supporting the Elks powerful rushing attack. He drew a slew of junior day invites and visits, notably from the Minnesota Gophers and South Dakota State, but still came into the season without an official offer. Sandstrom continued to play well as a senior and earned game day invites from NSIC schools as well as St. Thomas, culminating in an FCS roster from St. Thomas on September 24th, his first offer! Winona State, Bemidji State, Augustana, and Valparaiso have all followed since then. With a now-weighty list of offers, Sandstrom finished the regular season with 60 tackles (41 solo). 9 TFLs, 4 FFs, 3 sacks, and 150+ receiving yards and 2 TDs offensively. Seeing how most of his junior tape was TE highlights, it’s still awesome seeing him as a MLB, and he’s natural and disruptive when at timing out his blitzes and shooting gaps right as the ball is snapped. There’s a handful of reps at the beginning of his tape that show off that quality, and I can also tell he had a good offseason and looks faster and more explosive compared to last year, not that he wasn’t before. With a nose for physicality and strength at the point of attack, Sandstrom can beat blocking attempts with speed or power, finds and triggers on the ball quickly, and will put a big lick on a RB or QB when given the opportunity. Moves well for 230 and I would dang sure not want to see this kid on the LAX field. Elk River is undefeated and is coming off a crazy 51-49 victory over Andover last night.
I know that Stillwater’s QB1 Max Shikenjanski Max Shikenjanski 6’2″ | 160 lbs | ATH Stillwater | 2023 State MN has received a ton of coverage this fall, including from PRzMN, and his ascension into the spotlight and eventual P5 status as a commitment have been too fun to ignore. A former Citadel basketball commit set to follow his dad’s footsteps and hoop in college, Shikenjasnki decided to turn his senior football season into his own personal gun show thanks to that impressive right arm of his. With week-after-week stat lines that popped off the page and propelled Stillwater to undefeated status for the first seven weeks of the season, college football programs started to get involved, and one suitor was too hard to ignore: his dad’s alma mater Minnesota. After a PWO offer came on September 17th in Dinkytown, Shikenjanski flipped his future’s script and will not play P5 football for the home state Gophers. That in itself makes me a fan of his for life, but when you flip on the tape it’s gotta be said that the Gophers are getting a heckuva walk-on commit with some real athleticism and potential. Big arm, tons of elusiveness in the open field, and good decision making are some of my favorite qualities in him as a QB. I am interested to see what position he’ll play when it’s all said and done but there is some arm talent there. RTB, Max!
Highlights
The 6’3, 200 lb. WR Joseph Randle Joseph Randle 6’3″ | 210 lbs | WR St. Anthony Village | 2023 State MN has been a half of one of the most dangerous passing duos in the Metro at St. Anthony Village and has been on the receiving end of 41 completions, 754 yards, and 15 TDs from stud senior QB Caden Rodkewich Caden Rodkewich 6’2″ | 170 lbs | QB St Anthony | 2023 State MN . This isn’t the first year of productivity for Randle, with great size, college programs are beginning to appreciate the consistency and athletic tools and have helped spring Randle’s recruitment this fall. MIAC powerhouse St. John’s offered a roster spot and NSIC big boy MSU-Mankato followed with a scholarship, and excitedly, North Dakota State has been in contact all season. He also visited Northern Illinois! Randle possesses good speed for his size and uses it well to break tackles after the catch, and I really like how productive he is at 50/50, contested catch high ball situations, and he’s very capable as a deep threat and red zone target, in particular. Easily a scholarship-level wideout on film and should see more offers come before he wraps up his recruitment.
Highlights
Man, I love Rosemount LBs. In another continuation of a standout Irish LB joining the college ranks, senior thumper Kade Gilbertson Kade Gilbertson 6’1″ | 210 lbs | LB Rosemount | 2023 State MN just made for an exciting PWO commit to Big12 Iowa State two days ago. The 6’1, 210 lber. earned the walk-on on September 24th and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play P5 football, and PRzMN is pumped for the youngster and can’t wait to watch lay the wood at the college level. One of the harder hitters in the state, Gilbertson came into the season with a Ivy League opportunity from Columbia and a host of DII scholarship offers, but will leave Rosemount as a P5 commit heading to the bright lights and cornfields of Ames. He’s laid more massive hits in 2022, with recipients from Lakeville South, Edina, Eagan, and Farmington all receiving bone-jarring shots and impressively hard hits to open Gilbertson’s tape. He’s also strong when attacking blocks, technically sound, takes good angles in pursuit, and excels in the run game. He’s going to look great in the Cyclones uniform!
Highlights
The 6’4, 225 lb. St. Cloud product and Cathedral senior came into the 2022 season as one of the more popular recruits on this list, but I’d argue he broke out as a true FCS-type prospect as he added his second Missouri Valley opportunity during the season when North Dakota offered a PWO, adding to his PWO from South Dakota State from August. I like how he can play inline TE or split out and do damage from the perimeter, and his COD skills and ball skills look good as well. Kinzer also got some good reps as a DE making plays in space. As a disclaimer, the North Dakota offer may be a scholarship, I’m not 100% either way. Sorry for my uncertainty!
Highlights
The Preseason All-State WR and two-sport standout did shut down his commitment and will play scholarship basketball in college at Southwest Minnesota State, but he still qualifies after he appeared in the Missouri Valley recruiting scene after a game day visit and PWO offer from the South Dakota Coyotes in the middle of September. He had a handful of basketball offers already, so this commitment didn’t come out of left field, but I enjoyed the brief window of hope between September 17th and October 6th where there was a chance he may be playing football in college. A big part of Lakeview’s explosive offense, Fenske sadly saw his senior football season come to an end yesterday at the hands of Minneota, but in his midseason tape the 6’2, 180 lber. required a constant safety shade to prevent splash plays downfield but still managed to torch and expose a ton of double teams throughout the first half of the season. Great at high-pointing the football, Fenske had no problem handling man or zone coverage and showed a little bit of juice in his releases and route running. Good luck in Marshall, Nathan!
Highlights
Adam Poncelet
Adam Poncelet
A well-built 6’3, 190 lber. Poncelet was an easy choice for a Preseason All-State pick this summer and has made good on the talent shown in junior tape this fall with Goodhue. If you haven’t seen one of the themes already, North Dakota has been quite busy on the recruiting trail this season and give themselves some more exposure here. Poncelet came into the season with no D1 opportunities but left the month of September a D1 commit after inking with the Fighting Hawks on September 28th. Built like how UND likes their wideouts, Poncelet has looked productive and loose in his route running and strong after the catch in his two games of available highlights from 2022. Go Hawks!
I was blown away by Delano’s TE/DE Jackson Stewart Jackson Stewart WR Delano | 2023 MN this summer while watching tape for the Preseason All-State series and thought he was a must-know scholarship recruit for programs always recruiting MN talent. At 6’5, 245 lbs. and holding a 3.66 GPA and 31 ACT, he brings a ton to the table as a prospective student-athlete, and although he came into the season without any reported interest or offers that all changed when NSIC powerhouse Minnesota State-Mankato offered a scholarship in the middle of October. That’s a big-time first offer for a Minnesotan, and in his senior film you can see why a DII perennial contender got in the mix. Big and powerful, Stewart possesses scary burst for a kid of his size when the ball is in his hands and he’s been lethal on TE screens in 2022. Stewart was also dominant as a blocker with great leg drive and some nasty finishing ability, and overall I like his body control and versatility as a TE and DE. With the size to contribute earlier at the college level, I’m keeping a close eye on Stewart and his recruitment during the rest of this school year. Delano had some big boys this season.
The experienced 6’1, 180 lb. Andover WR Sam Musungu came into the season well-known and popular on the recruiting trail, With MSU-Mankato, Valpo, UMD, UMary, Cornell University, and Johns Hopkins all having reached out with scholarships or roster spots during the season. The fall brought new opportunities from St. John’s and Winona State, and things really level up when North Dakota State reached out with an opportunity in October. Musungu tied the state record for single-game TD receptions this fall as he posted 5 vs. Buffalo, and in the regular season he finished with 37 catches for 594 yards and 12 TDs plus 5 PBUs, an INT, and a TFL defensively. His film looks great, as Musungu shows he’s lethal in space, and can turn traffic-filled WR screens at or right around the LOS into huge gains and a ton of missed tackles. He’s explosive, shows powerful hips that help him create separation in his routes and make people miss in the open field, and is a strong athlete at the position. This dude is really raising his stock this 2022 season and I’m pumped NDSU took notice.
Highlights
Quientrail Jamison-Travis
Quientrail Jamison-Travis
I know I’ve been mentioned North Polars grad Quientrail Jamison-Travis a lot this season, but he keeps giving me reasons to! Already one of the more popular JUCO recruits in the nation and definitely the most popular from MN, the Iowa Western CC DE has catapulted into another stratosphere of recruiting and has firmly cemented himself as a P5 talent. Nebraska and Washington State already offered him before this recent explosion of P5 opportunities, but now Penn State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia have entered the fray and Tennessee is starting to send recruitment graphics. With obviously rare athleticism for a kid of that size, Travis‘ 2022 film is looking freaky, and I’ve loved watching his recruiting rollercoaster continue to climb to new heights. Stay tuned with PRzMN for future updates on the JUCO standout.
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