PrepRedzoneMN 2024 Rankings Update: Hardest Hitters
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A big hit is the best thing in football. Capable of switching or creating momentum in a game, getting the crowd involved, psyching a player out or up (depending on who hit who), producing a turnover or splash play, or…
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Continue ReadingA big hit is the best thing in football. Capable of switching or creating momentum in a game, getting the crowd involved, psyching a player out or up (depending on who hit who), producing a turnover or splash play, or even simply building a lasting memory for a fan or player, every football fan loves a big hit and I think it’s one of the best things in sports. A hard hitter automatically makes an imprint in my scouting memory, and throughout the 2024 rankings refurbishment process, I made sure to denote the biggest thumpers I came across while watching hundreds & hundreds of prospect tapes from the rising senior class to give our lovely readers a fun and interesting feature that switches up the coverage of the ranking in a physical direction. It’s a wonderful blend of positions, geographic areas, and classifications of competition represented in this 2024 crop of hard hitters, and PrepRedzoneMN is here to break down who these guys hit, how they hit, what else they do well on the gridiron, how their recruitment is going, and more. Don’t worry, we’ve also linked their highlight tapes you have quick access to some big collisions and dominant contact for your viewing pleasure and to help break up this Tuesday. Get to know the 2024 classes hard hitters below! Thanks for reading.
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My choice for the current titleholder of “Minnesota’s Hardest Hitter” goes to Brainerd’s 6’2, 220 lber. Dylan Gross. Coincidentally, he’s also one of the strongest prospects in Minnesota, posting a 390 lb. bench and 355 lb. power clean earlier this month and a 500 x2 squat set back in November. He also has a video of him dunking a basketball one-handed off three steps, so it’s safe to say that Gross is athletic and physically developed, and that advanced power and explosiveness help him greatly when he lays the wood. He decks opponents, and makes it look easy, especially when he’s got a full head of steam. With a ton of git-up out of his stance, Gross bounces players off him like they’re a stalled car on the railroad tracks, and does a great job of dropping his shoulders at the perfect time right before contact. I also like how he seeks out contact in blocking scenarios, and he’ll go find more work after sending his first assignment into the turf. He also excels in 1-on-1 tackling situations in the hole with RBs, preventing them from gaining any extra yardage once first contact is made. Gross is a noticeably powerful player, and also moonlights as a run-first QB out of the backfield, showing off solid speed and vision with those strong legs. With Missouri Valley junior day visits already on his belt and a University of Minnesota junior day on the calendar, things are still at the beginning of his recruitment and I’m excited to see who is going to pull the trigger first.
Highlights
Coming out of Class AAA Plainview-Elgin-Millville, rising senior LB Kadin Pries more than qualified as one of the top stock risers in the latest PRzMN 2024 rankings update, as he bumped up 14 spots when the publishment went live. However, with how big of a thumper the 5’11, 200 lber. was and how fun his film is to watch I wanted to save his writeup for this Hardest Hitters feature. Without excellent production in ’22, Pries posted 185 total tackles, with 22 TFLs, 5 PBUs, 4 FFs, 4 fumble recoveries, and 2 sacks, and did it impressively, showing off the prowess at the contact point to stick, crumple, and work ball carriers backwards in dominant fashion. Doesn’t matter who the RB is and how big he stands, Pries brings a ton of strength and aggressiveness at the point of attack, especially for 200 pounds, and also uses that strength impressively when bouncing blocking attempts off him and continuing to work forward. I also love how fast he closes, and that speed, along with how committed he is to every hit, leads to some massive collisions and some big plays behind the LOS. Pries also reads and reacts well to his keys and to where the ball is moving, and can blow a play up before it develops and before blockers can get in front of him. You are not getting extra yardage when he gets his pads on you, that’s for sure. No reported interest or offers, but his Twitter is somewhat inactive so I’m sure things are moving behind the scenes. Love the tape, Kadin!
Highlights
One of the smaller players to make this PRzMN Hardest Hitters feature, 5’10, 185 lb. Concordia Academy free safety Kellen Quast has some of the biggest hits of the tape I watched to research this article. It’s safe to say he’s pound-for-pound for one of the hardest hitters in MN, and I’m sure his accomplishments in the weight room are a big part of the success. In early March, Quast maxed out at a 465 lb. squat, 285 lb. power clean, and 250 lb. bench press to make the 1,000-pound club, and before those numbers were posted he earned a Winona State junior day invite from OL coach Trevor Olson. He is a beast from the defensive secondary and opens his tape with a massive hit on a slant route in the MOF that ragdolls the TE five yards backfield, and follows it up with a feisty hit where he takes the pass catchers feet out from under him while he’s in the air, flipping his horizontal and bouncing off the turf in painful fashion. You can tell he loves contact and knows how best to use his body in different tackling situations, which includes putting his hat on the ball, and he also excels as a blocker and will run his face through an opponent around the LOS and knock him into the turf off the initial pop or after only one or two more steps. Quast’s biggest hits come when an unprepared WR comes over the middle, and the highlight reel hits he produces could easily fit into a popular compilation of big hits on Youtube. He still had huge hits come over the two-minute mark of his highlights, so I’m very comfortable stating he’s one of the hardest hitters in Minnesota and a kid I would love to have on my team and hate to go against. Can’t wait to see him smash people as an even stronger senior!
Edina Hornet 6’1, 235 lber. Josh Quirk has been a bowling ball since his freshman season and has been one of the most consistently hard hitters since the initial 2024 rankings went live threeish years ago. Starting off his career as a TE, Quirk is manning the offensive line more as an upperclassman and got a ton of reps at left tackle in 2022 and OG in 2021. Since his junior season ended, Quirk has received junior day invites from South Dakota, Southwest MN State, Bemidji State, Winona State, and Augustana, and having his kind of physicality and pop would be a great asset for his whoever lands his talents. This past fall, Quirk laid big hits in a variety of situations and in a variety of different ways, and was particularly deadly when swiping back across the LOS or when he blocks in space off a full head of steam, particularly on screens. The size and aggression help him win at the contact point against strong and quality competition, and you can see his opponents freeze and lose a bit of balance when he sticks them with his punch, pads, or a combo of the two. He sends dudes flying, and as I mentioned previously I like how he brings the boom in a diverse array of settings, and his build, strength, understanding of leverage, and mentality make for a special combination that is very hard for opponents to absorb and work out of. Quirk flips that switch on the gridiron and it has some physical results. No surprise he made the list of the MN 2024 Hardest Hitters.
Highlights
The younger brother of North Dakota Fighting Hawks redshirt freshman QB Colton Hackel, younger brother Hudson Hackel is a physical and well-built LB just like his brother was (Colton played both ways) and makes for a strong member of the 2024 PRzMN rankings, and this list of the state’s hardest hitters. At 6’1, 215 lbs., Hudson Hackel plays all over the field, is a member of the 1,000-pound club in the weight room, and was an All-District selection in 2022 as a junior. The big hits primarily came as a LB and FB, and in his junior film, it’s easy to see the obvious strength as both a tackler and blocker. As a fullback in particular, Hackel played and looked like an F150 running over street cones when lead blocking, knocking opponents over, and continuing to work forward like they were a blade of grass in the wind. As a tackler, he’s a big fan of spinning ball carriers hard and fast into the grass and bouncing them off the ground like a basketball and looks hard to get away from once he gets his hands on you. I’d be very surprised if the Fighting Hawks aren’t the favorite in this recruitment. Perham with another good one!
I have and will continue to talk up the Detroit Lakes linebacker room as one of the best in the state for 2023. In addition to Minnesota Gophers commit Mason Carrier, the Laker’s second level of the defense is also manned by Will Martin (6’2, 220) and Charlie Zok (5’11, 210), both of whom showed up and showed out at our recent PRzMN Stock-Up Showcase and left me very impressed with the state of the Detroit Lakes linebacker group. Additionally, Charlie Zok made a huge impression on me when talking about the state’s hardest hitters, owning some physical and explosive 2022 film filled with pop, thump, and any other adjective you can use when talking big hits. Zok made a strong athletic impression during the aforementioned Stock-Up Showcase’s testing portion of the event, posting a 4.69 40, 4.47 short-shuttle, and 8’8″ broad jump, and he also reports a 315 lb. bench press, 500 lb. squat, and 315 lb. power clean that are all results of a ton of hard work and personal dedication from the West Central MN product. As an ILB and occasional FB, Zok posted 78 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 5 sacks, and made some impressive, big boy, chest-to-chest, 1-on-1 tackles that stunned and squashed ball carriers to eradicate rushes right at the LOS. The big hits come in a more grown-man fashion, as he’s very successful at tackling above the waist, which allows him to halt RBs right where they stand and prevent any extra yardage after first contact. He also does a good job of lifting and slamming opponents off their feet (legally of course) and uses their momentum against them when he spins them backward and hard off the grass. Zok gets the most out of all of his hits and leaves lasting impressions against his competition while they watch film as well as during the game itself. Someone is going to get a big-time ‘backer in the rising senior. Zok is fresh off a Winona State visit and has also heard from a boatload of NSIC, DIII, and NAIA schools, as well as NDSU.
Highlights
We’re staying with the LB group right now, and surprise surprise, there’s a Minnetonka Skipper mentioned! When I was at Southwest High, which was before the creation of Class 6A, we played against a physical and angry ‘Tonka LB corps that left an impression as a young WR, and since that time I’ve continued to see well-built, high-motor, hard-hitting linebackers come out of the former Lake Conference competitor. Out of their 2024 class, 6’1, 215 lb. Robby House represents the LB legacy well, and he also comes in as one of the hardest hitters in Minnesota going into next season. I just wrote about House as a Top Newcomer out of the 2024 official rankings update, so I’ll keep this one more focused on the hitting itself, which luckily still leaves a lot to write about. A menace in the hole or out on the edge, House goes full throttle and explodes through contact, more than strong enough to stuff opponents above the waist and sometimes with just one clean shoulder. He laid some massive hits on QBs that rolled outside of the pocket and had just released a throw, so much so that I guarantee signal-callers had #53 in the back of their heads whether they wanted him there or not. With great leg drive after initial contact, House is another defender who more than halts RBs and ball carriers from gaining extra yardage, and he also hits so hard he will pop the ball into the air when he gets a hat or arm on it. The Skipper simply overwhelms opponents when he hits them. Also plays hockey and holds a 3.5 GPA!
Our last defender on the list is also our first wrestler, and 5’11, 210 lb. Eden Prairie linebacker Dominic Heim is a stud at both sports. He’s coming off a third-place finish at the recent MSHSL state tournament in the 220AAA weight class and warmed up for the wrestling season by laying a ton of wood on the gridiron this past fall. Impressively, Heim just benched 400 pounds during the season and has visited North Dakota and South Dakota on unofficials since October. I’m a fan of 5’11 LBs, as the naturally low pad leverage and compact builds usually combine to create some huge hits, and that’s exactly the case with the EP Eagle, as he can generate a ton of power and is great at hitting ball carriers right in the sweet spot to send them flying. The strength also helps him easily bounce cut blocks and lead blockers off him, as well as stuff and drive opponents backward. Anytime you come into contact with this dude it’ll hurt, and you really don’t want to get in his way if he’s got a full head of steam coming at you, as he wiped a few kids off the map out on the edge in his junior highlights. With how much work Heim put in the weight room as a junior I think the hits will be even bigger next fall.
RBs can absolutely qualify as one of the hardest hitters in the state, and I’m pumped to move over to the offensive side of the ball to round out the state’s hardest hitters in the 2024 class. I recently wrote about SMB’s 6′, 215 lb. All-District RB Landon Dillon in our new Top Stock Risers article from a couple of days back, so I’ll stick to his success in the contact department for this write-up. Dillon opens his tape by nearly knocking a would-be tackler’s helmet off his head and crumpled to kid so hard it honestly looked like he knocked him out. He’s devastating when he lowers his shoulder, and can even send kids flying off him with his legs alone. Getting run over like that hurts, and Dillon is more than often the hammer and not the nail in contact situations, which is rarer to find in an offensive skill player. With a mix of finesse in his game, Dillon doesn’t need to resort to the straight truck stick very often, but when he does it rocks the worlds of opponents. Easily one of the least-fun RB tackling assignments in the state.
Highlights
Another running back and PRzMN Top Stock Riser to be selected as one of the hardest hitters in Minnesota high school football, Montevideo 6′, 235 lber. Francis O’Malley is a physical specimen and easily takes the cake as the least fun ball carrier to try and tackle in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Absurdly powerful, O’Malley obliterates opponents with his truckstick or when lead blocking, easily sending them flying backwards and onto their butts like a truck into a crash dummy. O’Malley also laid some grown man hits as a linebacker, and left as many embarrassed and in-pain opponents in his wake than anyone in MN. The pure power he brings to the point of contact is something you do not want to experience, and as either a RB or LB the Montevideo rising senior is one of the hardest hitters in the state, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The tape speaks for itself!
The best and truest fullback in Minnesota next season goes to St. Thomas Academy standout Cody Packer, who coincidentally is one of the hardest hitters out of the 2024 class and in the entire state. It’s a position made for big hits and prospects with a nose for contact, and Packer is also built well for the position with a naturally low pad level and powerful legs on his 5’9, 200+ pound frame. Packer also proved he’s a good athlete at December’s PRzMN Stock-Up Showcase, posting a 4.65 40, a 4.56 short-shuttle, and an 8’11” broad jump. A ton of schools have taken notice, as good fullbacks aren’t easy to come by, and things get better once you flip his tape on. Packer bounces defenders off of him like a bowling ball knocking down pins, and impressively he usually does it so cleanly that he consistently remains upright and moving forward after sending his opponent into the ground. The combination of strength, technique, and want for contact helps him run over much larger players as well, and he also possesses a vicious truck stick he gets to pull out when he gets the ball in hand. Some guys are just made for laying the wood, and Packer is as natural as they come. Get out of this dude’s way!
Highlights
I just wrote about Rogers High School 6’4, 295 lber. offensive lineman Wyatt Bell as one of the 2024 ranking update’s Top Stock Risers, so I’ll make sure to focus on Bell as a thumper and try not to repeat myself. It makes sense to have linemen represented on the list of MN’s hardest hitters, but to fully utilize their ability to inflict big hits, offensive linemen need to have body control, and luckily Bell is not lacking in that department. He’s a good athlete, and his testing numbers at the Stock-Up Showcase in December proved that, but to watch him bring the boom you have to turn the tape on. Able to generate a ton of force from just one step into an opponent, Bell’s got a ton of pop and uses well-timed hits in prime body locations to create big collisions, and you bet your butt he’s going to come out on the winning side of those hits. He can also run you over and into the turf with seemingly little effort and can create big hits with less effort than his counterparts on this list. Nothing designs big running holes better than big hits and pancakes, so no wonder the Royals had one of the most prolific rushing attacks in MN last year.
Highlights
6’3, 260 lb. Two Rivers defensive lineman Max Mogelson is one of the most exciting prospects in the state and a must-know name when talking Minnesota Gophers recruiting. A big part of the loaded 2024 defensive line class out of the state of Minnesota, especially at the top end, Mogelson’s combination of size, athleticism, body control, and hair-on-fire playstyle makes the rising senior a cannonball out of a three-point stance that manhandles and envelops opponents when he gets his pads on them. Mogelson’s ferocity in his highlights is palpable, and he brings them boom in a variety of fashions, most notably when he comes through a gap untouched and inhibited, and when the ball is in his hand as a truck stick of a TE. The defensive hits are the biggest, as it looks like he crunches bones with how big he is and how much speed he explodes through the ball. Mogelson drags QBs and RBs down into the turf with force, and you can see them attempt to resist before his quicksand-like suction bounce you off the ground like a basketball. When he stays upright and uses his shoulder he can produce bigger hits than just about anyone in the state. With FBS offers continuing to roll in I guarantee we aren’t the only ones taking notice of his hard-hitting ability and energy. Last on our list, but far from the least.