7v7 Scrimmage at U of M: Standouts, Part I
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MINNEAPOLIS– We attended a 7v7 scrimmage on Thursday night which had four teams (Minnesota Go Get It, Minnesota Grind/My7v7, Potenza Sports in attendance from across Minnesota and Recruit Ready, out of Winnipeg, Manitoba which has some of Canada’s best prospects…
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Continue ReadingMINNEAPOLIS– We attended a 7v7 scrimmage on Thursday night which had four teams (Minnesota Go Get It, Minnesota Grind/My7v7, Potenza Sports in attendance from across Minnesota and Recruit Ready, out of Winnipeg, Manitoba which has some of Canada’s best prospects on their roster. This first list of standouts from Part I includes a good batch of underclassmen and upperclassmen still surprisingly waiting for that first offer. We got Minnesota and Manitoba repping on this first list in Part I.
Elijah Barrett, WR, Recruit Ready/Dakota Collegiate (2025) Twitter
Elijah was the first prospect overall that popped out at me at the 7v7 scrimmage at the University of Minnesota. This young man caught anything and everything that came in his direction. Elijah also showed off a much longer catch radius than you would expect with his 5’11 size. He also had some excellent agility with his cuts on his routes, as this showed off heavily for Recruit Ready with a short field to go on Thursday night. Elijah shows off a nasty quick release from the top of his routes and it’s no surprise to me that this kid looks like a Division I level wide receiver with his skillsets with his strong hands, quick trigger, and agile presence.
Riley Grossman Riley Grossman 6'1" | 185 lbs | QB Lakeville North | 2025 State MN , QB, Potenza Sports/Lakeville North (2025) Twitter
It might be early to call, but Riley might become the best southpaw QB prospect I have evaluated in Minnesota in the past five years. On Thursday night at the University of Minnesota, he showed off some excellent touch on his deep routes and showed off ample precision to give his wide receivers their best opportunity to catch & gas it with their speed. I like how quick of a decision maker Riley is, as he makes significantly quick progressions and has the football IQ you want in the quarterback position that is decisive in and outside of the pocket. Looks like a high level scholarship-level quarterback in the next coming years in these eyes.
Danny King Danny King 6'4" | 235 lbs | TE Bloomington Jefferson | 2024 State MN , WR, Minnesota Grind/Bloomington Jefferson (2024) Twitter
Danny is a massive 6’4 230 pound human being that was one of the first prospects at the scrimmage that really popped out with his size. I have watched tape on Danny recently, but this was certainly a prospect I needed a live-eval on and it came out worth the price of free admission. Danny showed off the aggression I like my wide receivers to have when gathering the football in high traffic areas, which Danny did extraordinarily well on Thursday night. I also was impressed with his huge hands as he made every catch look smooth when the ball came into his body. For his size, Danny also has a consistent burst that shows off some well balanced speed from start to finish. I also gauged on tape how much I like Danny’s angles getting to the football as he has the versatility to take the corners either inside or outside and shows off a workhorse mentality with his reach for the football. Danny will going to get some FBS/FCS attention I am sure this Spring/Summer. If I was a recruiter in Minnesota, I wouldn’t let this young man leave the state.
James Engle James Engle 5'8" | 175 lbs | RB Maple Grove | 2026 State MN Jr, RB/ATH, Potenza Sports/Maple Grove (2026) Twitter
James was one of the first young prospects that popped out at me on Thursday night at the University of Minnesota. You could tell right away that James is a kid that will step into any role he’s given and put all his work ethic into that position. He showed some quite crafty routes for an incoming sophomore running back out of Maple Grove. On tape, James shows off that pull-away finished speed I like evaluating out of RBs as he also shows off plenty of agility on his cuts. He has some well-versed vision already and I can’t watch to see his skillsets grow over the next several years, as I think he’s going to be another great prospect out of Maple Grove.
Brayden Hyde, DB, Recruit Ready/St. Paul’s (2025) Twitter
Brayden was another younger prospect that passed my eye test on Thursday night at the University of Minnesota. He had glued in instincts that knew exactly how to follow the ball and showed off some good ball-tracking ability even when the wide receiver would change his direction, he was always right in their wheelhouse with his physicality. Brayden’s tape is explosive to watch, as he has such a physical presence with his hitting ability and like I saw on Thursday, this kid has a heck of a running motor that can press the gas into the backfield to wreak havoc, which describes his first two clips on tape. Love this kid’s versatility on all three levels of routes on tape. As a 2025 prospect in Canada and a 2026 in the US, this young certainly has a bright future playing college football.