The County Line Series: Brown County, SD Prospects to Watch
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BROWN COUNTY, SD– Brown County, South Dakota is in my eyes a very strong area for college football talent. With the county seat being Aberdeen, which will be home to our second and incoming our third Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase…
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Continue ReadingBROWN COUNTY, SD– Brown County, South Dakota is in my eyes a very strong area for college football talent. With the county seat being Aberdeen, which will be home to our second and incoming our third Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase on Saturday, May 13th. In recent years, we have seen a handful of Division I FCS, Division II, and NAIA talent coming out Brown County and for those of you that want an even longer flashback, Aberdeen Central is also home of Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel and former Wisconsin Badgers and NFL Kicker Taylor Mehlhaff. Just south of Aberdeen is Warner, South Dakota, who were runner ups at the 9A State Championship game in the 2022 season and is the home to North Dakota State alum and current San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka. With those names being notable Brown County natives, we show off 10+ prospects to watch from Brown County that showed off why high school football in Brown County is so strong in our first ever County Line Series for Prep Redzone.
Aberdeen Central (11AA)
Joey Dallmann, Fullback (2026) Twitter
His reps are from JV last season, however there going to be something to watch as he enters the varsity ranks with his quick feet that create a fluid downhill run-blocking ability. This kid is a certified finisher with his blocking, as expect Joey to enter well downfield into the second and third levels as he’s a younger prospect with a big triggering motor to watch for that will always block until that whistle blows. Joey shows off solid vision for his age and I am excited to see how much his instincts grow over the next handful of years. Always have been intrigued with the Aberdeen Central Eagles backfield over the last couple of years with their toughness, and it looks like 2026 prospect Joey Dallmann is next from that football tree.
Jett Carlson Jett Carlson P Aberdeen Central | 2024 State SD , Punter (2024) Twitter
Consistently pins his ball inside the 20 yard line on tape and does it with sizable hangtime. Even with pressure coming his way, Jett shows off some smooth poise gathering his body to still on average pin the ball 35-40 yards. Jett also has some well put together bounce on his ball, with his strong ability to add extra yards to his punts with his spinning ability he puts on the ball from the execution of the punt.
Austin Erickson Austin Erickson 5'7" | 195 lbs | ATH Aberdeen Central | 2024 State SD , Fullback (2024) Twitter
Austin has a bigger catch radius for his 5’7 190 pound size than you would expect as this kid has a well-chiseled build that takes an army of defenders to take him down. When he gets his hands on someone, even with a light touch of the hands with good pad-level he shows off a high plethora of physicality as the man out in front and shows versatility as a lead blocker anywhere he’s needed on the field. You can just about always depend on Austin to press his motor into the second and third level of the field, as his instincts read extremely well as a next-level linebacker as far as his positional flexibility.
Warner (9A)
Jesiah Baum Jesiah Baum 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Warner | 2026 State SD , Running Back (2026) Tape
Jesiah is one sneaky young running back from Warner who is a name you should hear in the coming years. He’s got some growing to do, but he already has put together some twitchy change of direction to take you for a ride out of your shoes. He has a downhill burst in the open field that is really catchy to watch for out of a younger prospect. Also shows that consistent twitch in his agility on shorter routes. Obviously most of what we saw is on JV tape, but my instincts resonate with this kid’s skillsets in the coming years as a RB to watch out of Brown County.
Preston Cavalier, OL/DL (2025)
Preston doesn’t have much tape out there, and shows off some raw skillsets, however, I love watching this kid’s work ethic on even a small sample size of tape as watching a sizable defensive linemen chase down a ball carrier proceeding deep up field is a great site to see for the dogs on the defensive line.
Brodey Sauerwein, Quarterback (2024) Twitter
I recall watching Brodey in the 9A state championship this winter, and I was impressed with Brodey’s deep ball arm stength. He still has some rawness with his touch when throwing on deeper or intermediate routes, but after guiding the Moranchs to a state championship run in 2022, I expect this kid to continue to develop this offseason as he certainly did have that gamer demeanor locked from my eyes this winter at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
Hunter Cramer, Running Back (2024) Tape
No 2022 tape available for Hunter, but this kid was rock-solid in the 9A state championship game I watched last winter in Vermilion. He shows off quite the quick trigger of speed very early, and has that developed demenaor that has good durability when getting upfield around the edges. Hunter is also a reliable pass-catcher and comes off to me as a swiss-army knife for these Warner Monarchs. The running ability Hunter has especially when he lowers his shoulder (which is consistently seen) paints a college-football future in my eyes and should be a hidden gem out of Warner next year.
Aberdeen Roncalli (11B)
Josh Schaunaman, OL/LB (2025) Twitter
Josh is a prospect that caught my eye on tape by drive blocking his defender into the next area code as he’s another prospect on this list that is a block to the whistle type of kid that I love watching out of my offensive linemen. His physicality outsizes his measurables significantly on tape and as a flexible linebacker on the defensive end of the ball, he showed off some great football IQ with his vision especially in the rep I caught of his game tape against Webster Area in the 2022 season in which he recorded a smooth pick six. Although he’s a two-way prospect, I believe Josh’s next-level position points to me at outside linebacker. His ability to track the ball down and use his quick trigger to get there whether in pass or run coverage. Another 2025 prospect from Aberdeen Roncalli you should see on our 2025 rankings in the coming weeks.
Aiden Fisher, Athlete (2025)
Aiden is an under the radar prospect that has some sneaky speed that shows off some good fluidity with his length in his running ability that gets going quick with his accelerator. He shows some agile movement with his footwork as well and I still believe he has some growth to be seen with that athleticism he has in his plethora as a junior prospect that will have to step up with a huge senior class departed for the Cavaliers from 2022. Aiden also shows off some good hands and balance around the edges from what I saw on his game tape. Would love to see a highlight tape of this young man put together as there certainly is the potential for college football in his future in my eyes.
Zane Backous, Linebacker (2025) Tape
Zane shows off some efficent read steps with his elite vision in the inside box as you can easily tell that even for his age, this kid is going to be a fun one to watch grow his instincts over the next couple of years. He shows some off some juice with his speed when going unblocked off the snap, as he can create quick chaos in the backfield and shows off some great physicality with his tackling ability. Coaches certainly need to zoom in to tabulate where this kid is on the field on every play as he has quite the impressive motor from start to finish. I love watching this kid’s vision as he is extremely consistent with it clip after clip on tape, and should be one that will be added to our 2025 South Dakota rankings coming out in the coming weeks! Get this young man on Twitter.
Keegan Stewart Keegan Stewart 6'3" | WR Aberdeen Roncalli | 2024 State SD , Tight End (2024) Twitter
Keegan does a solid job with using his good-sized frame on high-traffic routes, and has the hands to finish in those big moments when he’s needed most. He shows off some great skillsets with his durability as a 6’3 215 pound tight end. Keegan shows off a good burst of speed with plenty of fluidity in the tank with his route-running ability on all three levels of the field. Keegan certainly has some position flexibility at the next-level, as his lengthy versatility he has with his route-running,and big-play ability could see him as a wide receiver at the next-level with some development growing with his change of direction. Hopefully get to see this young man in the coming month at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Aberdeen!