2024 Rankings Update: Meet the New Additions to the SD Rankings
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SOUTH DAKOTA– We cross the border back into South Dakota to take a look at more new additions to our updated 2024 South Dakota rankings that were added on Monday’s update. What do I like about this group? I love…
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Continue ReadingSOUTH DAKOTA– We cross the border back into South Dakota to take a look at more new additions to our updated 2024 South Dakota rankings that were added on Monday’s update. What do I like about this group? I love the versatility each of these prospects offer positionally, as the bulk of them I feel could play on either side of the ball at the college level. There also is a ton of under the radar prospects on this list that are getting their first looks at exposure to advance their football talents hopefully to play college football at the next level. Let’s fire into the 2024 new additions for South Dakota.
Owen Ward Owen Ward 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2024 State SD , DB, Sioux Falls Jefferson (2024) Twitter
- Owen might be extremely light as far as his tape goes, but the plays he makes on that small chunk of tape out there, paints some good skillsets going into his senior season that should see more reps come his way with departing one of my favorite safety duos in South Dakota’s 2023 class in Beau Giblin and London Kolb.
- Owen shows off a solid twitch with his crossover running ability off the snap, and shows off some well-balanced 1v1 cover skills will covering his deep routes. I believe he can grow fundamentally on his instincts to the football, when crashing low and stopping the opposing rushing attack, as he shows off athletic ability with his contact level with the ball carrier.
- Owen also checks the boxes with his downhill vision in pass coverage. Again, his tape is very light but this kid has an opportunity to prove himself as a part of a state championship secondary at prospect camps this summer and into the 2023 season to get to the next-level. Owen would be a prospect I will continue to track in the next 6 months to see how much his upside grows. You won’t have to worry about grades either with Owen, as he has an outstanding 4.0 GPA. He checks in our top 90 overall of South Dakota 2024 prospects.
Samuel Just Samuel Just 6'2" | 210 lbs | LB Harrisburg | 2024 State SD , LB, Harrisburg (2024) Twitter
- It took about five seconds into Sam’s junior tape when we built our 2024 South Dakota rankings, just how much of a gamer this kid with all faucets of his tape/game, as Sam checks into our new additons as the #4 linebacker in South Dakota.
- Sam has the established vision that does a great job shooting into the gap and creating leveled contact right into the ball carrier, and does so in a way that plays with significant instinct even in some tight windows that requires him to use his quick hands to shed off blockers.
- Sam plays with a blue-collar mentality you want at the next-level for the linebacker position. He has a very athletic stance and body that is built to eat up ball carriers at 6’2 215 pounds. I have a gut feeling Sam is going to be a hot commodity on the recruiting trail this summer, as the vision this kid has screams to play scholarship level football.
Emanuel Kual Emanuel Kual 6'0" | 175 lbs | LB Dakota valley | 2024 State SD , LB, Dakota Valley (2024) Twitter
- Golly, the physicality Emanuel brings from sideline to sideline is a joy to watch on tape, as Emanuel checks in inside our top 60 prospects overall in the 2024 class in South Dakota.
- He plays with a ton more strength in his game than his 6’0 175 pounds and that range he can cover has a ton of elusive traits. I love his quick trigger he fires out with off the snap as he has the extremely engaging instincts you want from your linebackers in run and pass coverage. He also has very athletic hand strength to pull off his defenders quickly on his sheds.
- If there is a linebacker prospect on this list that I am going outside the measurables threshold for in South Dakota, I would certainly take a look at Emanuel Kual Emanuel Kual 6'0" | 175 lbs | LB Dakota valley | 2024 State SD out of Dakota Valley as the play-making ability this kid has has some great electricity to watch. He also could be a prospect with some position versatility as well.
Jaxson Wolbrink Jaxson Wolbrink DB Harrisburg | 2024 State SD , DB, Harrisburg (2024) Twitter
- If you want a feisty safety out of the state of South Dakota, I would certainly encourage you to take a look at Harrisburg’s Jaxson Wolbrink Jaxson Wolbrink DB Harrisburg | 2024 State SD , as the physicality and open hips to get to the football quickly checks Jaxson in as our #4 ranked defensive back.
- Jaxson plays with some glowing instincts and if you want a defensive back that has that hard-hitting ability, Jaxson is your guy. He also shows off swift athletic movement as soon as that ball is snapped and has the elite vision that can grasp into the backfield with his very reactive skillsets.
- Jaxson is also extremely versatile, and can adjust well in pass coverage to quickly shift his attention on another wide receiver once he seals off the line of the first wide receiver. Harrisburg has consistently churned out DBs on our rankings since 2020 and it looks to me that Jaxson Wolbrink Jaxson Wolbrink DB Harrisburg | 2024 State SD is up next as a probable college football prospect at the next level.
Peyton Hora Peyton Hora 5'11" | 255 lbs | OL Chamberlain | 2024 State SD , OL/DL, Chamberlain (2024) Twitter
- I did an evaluation of Peyton prior to our 2024 South Dakota rankings release, so I will keep this clear-cut and to the point, however the position flexibility this young man has to play at the next-level should be appealing to college coaches.
- The wind-up of Peyton’s out of his stance at defensive end, just has such an athletic release and for a prospect that has some good size at 6’2 255 pounds he has the ability to use his athleticism to use his range to make tackles outside of the loaded inside box. If you are looking for an OL prospect that has that “block to the whistle” demeanor, Peyton is a next-level prospect to watch for at camps this summer.
- He’s got some development brewing when it comes to the speed of his footwork and becoming more efficent in pass protection, however there is no doubt this young man will win every battle with his loaded strength and has that quick finish you want on your offensive line to show more versatility for his next man in line. Love his work ethic as he grows into a next-level prospect.
Max Carlson Max Carlson ATH Harrisburg | 2024 State SD , ATH, Harrisburg (2024) Twitter
- Max has to be one of the most elusive return men South Dakota has to offer, as he has excellent vision and the agile cutting ability to get outside on the edges and turn it upfield with his elusive speed. Max checks in as one of our top five athletes in the state.
- He is the definition of a swiss-army knife for the Tigers, as wherever he is on their offense you need to be more than well-aware where he is on the football field. The advanced amount of separation Max gets in his plethora can assure you with his great hands that he will be an elite pass-catcher at the next-level.
- He also has the athletic ability to work to make difficult catches in super-tight windows. There is a reason why Max was one of the first offers we’ve seen in the NSIC as his excellent field awareness is going to cause some trouble at the next-level especially when he can press the gas into the open field with his agility. Certainly should get more traction this summer at prospect camps.
Jonah Hunter Jonah Hunter DB Sioux Falls Christian | 2024 State SD , DB, Tea Area (2024)
- Watching Jonah’s junior tape, you can expect that is it just an expectation that this kid is the first man downfield on special teams, however he also has some upside when it comes to his pass coverage as Jonah checks into our rankings just outside our top 100 in South Dakota.
- He has a sufficient trigger off the snap, and has a good twitch to find the football and get thru a plethora of defenders. I also like Jonah’s vision and I believe there is a ton more growth to be seen over the next year or so.
- Jonah has some development to be seen with his strength on his tackles, but you can certainly bet that the physicality he shows on special teams should correlate nicely into his senior season for the Tea Area Titans. High upside in my eyes with plenty of skillsets that will come untapped.
Greyson Bortnem Greyson Bortnem 6'1" | 200 lbs | LB Brandon Valley | 2024 State SD , LB, Brandon Valley (2024) Tape
- Greyson plays the linebacker position with elusive vision and can create chaos on the play with an early edge with his awareness and physicality. Greyson checks in as a top 75 prospect overall within our new additons of our 2024 South Dakota rankings.
- He has a HUGE motor, that blows up into the backfield early throwing off the balance of the offensive backfield with his physical presence we see on every rep on tape. Greyson also plays like a sideline to sideline linebacker and can cover a massive amount of ground to get to the football with a the feisty demeanor you want at the linebacker position.
- I already will say that Greyson might be the biggest strockriser when we look at the 2024 SD rankings in the next 3-4 months as he plays with so much consistency on tape and should be a scholarship-level prospect in my eyes that will stride well in summer prospect camps.
Levi Miller Levi Miller 5'10" | 165 lbs | ATH Chamberlain | 2024 State SD , ATH, Chamberlain (2024) Tape
- There is a ton of good consistency when you pull up Levi’s tape as he has a superb ability as a smoothly athletic pass-catcher for the Chamberlain Cubs.
- Levi might not be the flashiest wide receiver you will ever see, but he gets it done with his efficiency on his routes by creating good separation on his routes and has a bigger catch radius than you would expect at 5’11 165 pounds. He also consistently shows off the high-effort on within his route-running as you can assure that Levi will fight for every high-traffic throw that comes his way.
- Levi also has an unexpectedly long kicking leg with good hangtime brought in with it on his kickoffs and field goals. I believe Levi could be a solid small school prospect at the next-level as there are a bunch of significant skillsets that point at that in my eyes.
Kolter Robbins Kolter Robbins DL Spearfish | 2024 State SD , DL, Spearfish (2024) Tape
- Kolter shows off some quite quick hands off his release and when this young man goes unblocked, his motor and speed to the football certainly increases when he knows he has the edge to make contact with the ball carrier.
- Kolter shows off a good base of physicality with his leverage, as he has a quick punching ability to get thru the offensive line in a quick span of time. He shows off some versatile skillsets on the offensive line, as he has long length in his arms that show that consistent leverage even more on tape.
- Kolter is a defensive line prospect that plays WAY bigger than his measurables show off to you at 6’1 205. With his physical presence, I like this young man’s chances to play at the next level as a college football weight room could add some significant weight on this young man to grow that strength and physicality he has even more.