Dakotas Top Uncommitted LB (2023)
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Richard Benenge Richard Benenge 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Harrisburg | 2023 State – Harrisburg, Highlights Benege has been on a lot of top teams’ radar after a stellar Senior Season. He does a great job playing his role…
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Continue ReadingRichard Benenge Richard Benenge 6'2" | 220 lbs | LB Harrisburg | 2023 State – Harrisburg, Highlights
Benege has been on a lot of top teams’ radar after a stellar Senior Season. He does a great job playing his role at the LB position. I like how when he reacts to his reads, he gets to his drop quick. He also does a good job keeping himself in position to see the receiver in his zone, but also keeping the QB in view. His patience when getting his reads helps him stay in prime position to make plays, run or pass. Lastly, his speed going downhill once he got his read and filled his gap was quick, which helped make tackles easy.
Gabe Gutierrez Gabe Gutierrez 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Sioux Falls Lincoln | 2023 State – Sioux Falls Lincoln, Highlights
Gutierrez looked like a Fullback for the defense. His physicality was on another level. It didn’t matter if you were a lineman, running back or the quarterback, he was going to run through you. His blitzes seemed like he was just trying to take out blockers, which he did, but he found the ballcarrier too. He was another LB that got downhill fast, but he chose his path and if you were in it, you should get out of the way. When he shed blocks, he did a great job breaking down to get into good position to make tackles. He also was quick in his passes drops and did a good job jamming up the middle.
Caden Devries Caden Devries 5'10" | 190 lbs | LB Madison | 2023 State – Madison, Highlights
I also saw DeVries at DSU team camp last summer. He did a great job commanding the defensive unit, and made it very hard to run the ball on them. I like his angles when he is scraping across formations to find the gap. His pad level was always perfect when it came to squaring up the ballcarrier and wrapping him up for the tackle. He read his keys extremely well, he was one of the first ones to the ball on every play. I like his physicality when taking on blocks, then shedding them. The one thing that stood out to me was his speed in pursuit, he covered a lot of ground chasing down plays from the backside.
Tayten Sanow Tayten Sanow 5'10" | 180 lbs | LB Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2023 State – Sioux Falls Jefferson, Highlights
Sanow helped make the Jefferson LB corps. probably the best in the State. Sitting on the outside of the defense, he did a great job adding some speed and good tackling to the perimeter. I really liked the way he broke down and kept moving his feet during his form tackles. His agility in the open field made him nearly impossible to juke out. He always finished his technique by driving his shoulder pad through the ballcarrier. He did a tremendous job putting extra pressure on the QB when blitzing, drawing a lot of early throws. The last big thing he did on the play was lay a big hit on the QB or ballcarrier to finish the play.
Gabe Tschetter Gabe Tschetter 6'1" | 185 lbs | LB Sioux Falls O'Gorman | 2023 State – O’Gorman, Highlights
Tschetter was another good field general for his defensive unit. I liked his angles to the ballcarrier and how he would adjust them depending on his blitz or read. He kept good pad level as well and I saw a lot of good form tackles to finish plays. I also like his patience when it came to the gaps opening up, then he attacked the gap and found the ballcarrier every time. When he took on blocks, he still did a good job plugging the gap, whether he shed the block, or took the blocker into the gap. His change in direction helped him make plays on misdirection plays. Lastly, he did a great job finding and disrupting receivers routes.
Hybrids (DE/LB)- these are the types of athletes that could play DE or LB in college.
Aguer VanSickle Aguer VanSickle 6'4" | 235 lbs | LB Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan | 2023 State – Bridgewater-Emery-Ethan, Highlights
I’ve been hyping up VanSickle for a long time. He stood out to me at SDSU camp in one-on-one competitions. I like his muscle when engaged with the linemen. His speed makes him even better off the edge and a real problem for the offense. He keeps good pad level, both when he goes for contain or shoots to the inside gap. What makes me think he’d be a good hybrid LB is his frame. I like his height and long levers to keep contain and make tackles on the perimeter. Also with his speed, would help him string out plays and be good in pass coverage too.
Peter Dryburgh Peter Dryburgh 6'3" | 235 lbs | LB Hillsboro | 2023 State – Hillsboro, Highlights
I like Dryburgh in the hybrid position for a lot of the same reasons as VanSickle. He brings a lot of speed off the edge, but really finishes the play with a big hit. His physicality is pretty impressive too, along with his awareness to string out plays to the perimeter. His use of his hands works great shedding the blocks and keep his contain to the outside. He has very good lateral movement to be a very sure-handed tackler in open space. I really like the way he starts and finishes his tackles with his shoulder pad and drives through the ballcarrier.