Level Up 7v7 Tryouts: High School Standouts, Part III
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WEST DES MOINES, IA– We keep rolling from the Level Up 7v7 tryout at the West Des Moines Recflex to shed some light on some of the best high school standouts we saw in action last Sunday. This list is…
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Continue ReadingWEST DES MOINES, IA– We keep rolling from the Level Up 7v7 tryout at the West Des Moines Recflex to shed some light on some of the best high school standouts we saw in action last Sunday. This list is slightly smaller than the last two we dropped, but the potential of the all of the prospects on it shows off all the upcoming potential for the next-level that is in the State of Iowa. Have a look!
Gage Olsen Gage Olsen 5'10" | 185 lbs | ATH West Des Moines Valley | 2025 IA , DB, Valley (IA) 2025
Before I get to the skillsets on Gage, I could not be more impressed with this young man’s character. As just a sophomore, this young man showed to be quite intellectual for his age off the field and showed some similar football IQ instincts on the field with his creativity. He showed off some mobility with his ball-tracking ability as although not the biggest defensive back you will see out there he has that twitch to turn over quickly to find the ball. On tape Gage is a workhorse that gives it his all on every play, as his competitive steam and burst on one of his punt blocks last season certainly caught my eyes. Gage has a fluent change of direction and you could tell from watching him tape versus now he’s grown even more with that skillset. As a varsity starter as a sophomore for Valley, Gage showed the depth he can cover with his pass coverage and almost always is the last man downfield making sure the ball carrier doesn’t get six. High academic prospect too with a 3.8 GPA. Gage’s work ethic is superb and I am excited to watch it this Spring with him for Level Up 7v7. Twitter & Tape
Henrik Nimley Henrik Nimley 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Valley Highschool | 2024 IA , WR/DB, Valley (IA) 2024
Henrik is a prospect I wrote about at last year’s Level Up 7v7 tryout and I like how he has developed since our Prep Redzone Iowa Showcase last spring. He’s grown from a technical side of working on the small details to improve his game within his route-running, etc. This holds true when you roll up his junior tape from a few weeks ago as Henrik showed how effective he can be in the team-game as on one clip I watched he quickly threw a block on the inside and then used his sizeable burst to get upfield in front of his ball carrier and get more. He’s not the biggest blocker out there but seeing this on multiple reps absorbed my interest with this young man. I believe there is some polish that can be developed in Henrik’s game as a route-runner. He can develop a firmer amount of balance when the ball comes his way and can develop as well on his creativity instinct on his routes. Overall, I believe this young man has a future in college football. Twitter & Tape
JeCari Patton JeCari Patton 5'11" | 175 lbs | ATH Des Moines Roosevelt | 2024 State IA , QB, Des Moines East (IA) 2024
Jecari showed off some active touch and precision on the routes he was throwing outside on Sunday at the RecPlex in West Des Moines. He showed off broad mobility throwing from the run but didn’t lose that touch that I evaluated. As an All-Conference quarterback in this 2022 season, Jecari showed a swift release that brought more pop on his ball when throwing on intermediate routes. I liked Jecari’s ball placement on the bulk of the throws I saw on tape as his ability to let his speedy wide receivers go get that football. I see some flourish in Jecari’s game this offseason with his mechanics and that is only going to make this young man even better going into 2023. Twitter & Tape
Dane Christiansen, LB, Valley (IA) 2025
Dane was a linebacker that intrigued me with his work ethic on taking in the coaching that was all over the Level Up 7v7 tryout, and putting in that work with what he was given to be a standout in my eyes from the Level Up 7v7 tryout on Sunday in West Des Moines. Dane also showed off some well-positioned dexterity when I watched his change of direction not just in the early drills but when we got into the 1v1s as he used that open flexibility to his advantage to get in front of some key balls in those individual reps. I couldn’t find any tape yet on Dane, but I like him as a player to watch over the coming years from West Des Moines Valley. Twitter