2023 Team Preview: Big Lake Hornets

BIG LAKE-- As a Big Lake resident for the last nearly 5 years, it's been somewhat of a up and down roller coaster watching the Hornets have their struggles on the field especially the last two seasons in which the Hornets were winless in Class 4A. This year the Hornets are under new leadership in a new era under new head coach Nick Shriver, who is a Twin Cities native and played his college football at Macalester in St. Paul and most recently was the Head Coach at Little Wound School in Kyle, South Dakota the last two seasons, in which last season his Mustangs qualified for the 9A All Nations Playoffs.   I got the chance to check into the Big Lake High School weight room today to see what the new era of Big Lake Football is brewing, and I was intrigued based on what I saw in there on Saturday morning, and with what I saw on tape as the Hornets look ahead to the 2023 season.   Hornets to Watch this Summer & During the 2023 Season:   [player_tooltip player_id='743271' first='Jonah' last='Blackman'], OL/DL, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonah56_fb">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/IMG_7691-rotated-crop-480x316-1680378615.jpg?w=479" alt="" class="wp-image-745677" width="291" height="191" /></figure>   I got the chance to meet Jonah today in the Big Lake weight room and I will start, by stating how much I love this kid's A+ character as one of Big Lake's senior leaders overall, and on both sides of the line in the trenches. His tape shows off good vision off the snap diving right into the ball carrier quickly before he gets into the inside box. He also has some active punch as a 6'1 230 pounder that he shows off on the offensive line. He shows off some great awareness around the edges, and has a good base of pull off on his sheds. One of the developments I see ahead for Jonah is working on getting more instinctive, as I am enlightened by how well he's molded at being in the right spot at the right time to make a play on the ball. I will get a better in-person evaluation of Jonah on Sunday, however I can already see this young man looks like a college football prospect in my eyes. Jonah has football interest from Jamestown (ND) and UW-River Falls at the moment and is great in the classroom with a 3.5 GPA.   [player_tooltip player_id='551438' first='Trent' last='Josewski'], RB, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrentonJosewski">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/12/136-Trent-Josewski-crop-4378x2875-1680378681.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-745678" width="300" height="197" /></figure>   Trent by far is one of the the biggest weapons to this Big Lake offense next year at the running back position. He logged a Minnesota Showcase best, 4.44 40 yard dash at our winter Prep Redzone Showcase in Minnetonka and won our running back MVP. When you throw on the tape, Trent's accelerator churns very quickly before he even gets the ball in his hands, as you can see the early momentum he runs with his burst as a east-west downhill runner. At 5'10 185 pounds, Trent shows a plethora of durability too on tape that can get thru solid bases of initial contact and has plenty of agility brewing thru with his straight-line speed. I believe this incoming senior has the most to prove at college summer camps this summer and the 2023 season, after being out most of his junior season due to injury, I could tell at the weight room session this morning, this young man has a chip on his shoulder as another scholarship level prospect for the Hornets. High academic prospect too with a 3.9 GPA with an FCS/D2 ceiling in my eyes.   Wuoson Nehwah, WR, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/WNehwah">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/04/IMG_7690-rotated-crop-480x316-1680378753.jpg?w=479" alt="" class="wp-image-745680" width="306" height="201" /></figure>   One of the leaders in the Big Lake weight room this offseason is slot-back Wuoson Nehwah, who is leading the charge for Saturday morning workouts in the new era of Big Lake Football. Wuoson is another prospect on tape that impressed me with his durability as watching him the weight room you can see that he's added about 10-15 pounds of frame since the 2022 season ended and saw him nearly press 500 pounds on the squat rack this morning which is only going to jack up his lower body come 2023 for even more durable skillsets. Wuoson also has some excellent vision as a return man on special teams, as he can get thru high-traffic areas quickly and shows off some great juice with his agile movement with his change of direction. This is a young man I expect that will rise up the ranks in the eyes of college coaches once we get into summer camp season.   Calen Mclearen, LB/FB, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/calmclearen">Twitter</a>   Calen shows off a sideline to sideline type linebacker that has the physicality way bigger than his measurables when he makes contact with the ball carrier. He also looks and plays the part of a gritty fullback on the offensive side of the ball. I love the poise Calen has put together on tape with his read steps to the ball, as you can tell this middle linebacker has a sizable football IQ for where the football is going play after play. I also like Calen's built up stamina, as he will be a linebacker that will run down the ball carrier well up the field. He certainly is a next-level linebacker in my eyes as this is one of the deepest classes for college talent I have seen in the last 5 years.   [player_tooltip player_id='1075601' first='Sam' last='Nalty'], OL, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/nalty_sam">Twitter</a>   Sam starts off with the first look of his tape with solid activity with his punching ability and shows off some quick hands at his disposable despite being a slightly undersized guard from a measurables standpoint. He also shows off some good versatility with his reps in pass protection as an offensive guard that has that instinct to block until that whistle blows. He has some development brewing when working angle blocks with his footwork, however this kid is should certainly be another Hornets 2024 offensive linemen to keep tabs on in the 2023 season as I believe he has a good-sized ceiling where his technique can take him. In my eyes he's a great fit at the NAIA or Division III level.   Gauge Hoffman, LB/RB, Big Lake (2024) <a href="https://twitter.com/gauge_hoffman30">Twitter</a>   The backfield of the Big Lake Hornets should have plenty of options into the 2023 season, also adding Gauge Hoffman into their deep rotation. For 5'8 165 pounds, this young man showed off some promising reps on JV and showed off balanced speed with good bases of durability from what these eyes could see. I believe his velocity off the snap translates best next-year as an outside linebacker, as on one rep against a very good Rocori team, this young man showed off how much physicality he can bring to the table when the floodgates open up for him to hammer into the backfield. Another prospect from Big Lake with light tape, however should be a good two-way asset for the Hornets.   Jose Acuna, WR, Big Lake (2025) <a href="https://twitter.com/4cuna">Twitter</a>   Jose was a prospect from this morning that certainly passed my eye test as a chiseled 6'1 205 pound wide receiver and linebacker for the Hornets. He's a prospect that is extremely light on tape at this time as a sophomore, but there are good forms of upside from what I saw last season as I thought Jose's length looked bigger than the measurables he showed off today in his arm length. Another prospect that has great character. He also shows off some high tempo of burst early off the snap which intrigues me going into 2023 as I could see with his size moving to the outside as the Hornets Z-receiver with that early speed to gain separation.   [player_tooltip player_id='1204355' first='Carson' last='Gellerman'], QB, Big Lake (2025) <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16217433/61743b2764df850af4d1e0f3">Tape</a>   Carson is a solidly built 6'3 190 pound sophomore quarterback for the Hornets offensive unit. His tape is limited from the 2022 season, but the glimpses I saw with his quick release on intermediate routes intrigue me going into the 2023 season as he does the good poise in the pocket from those reps. He also can get it done with his athletic mobility, as on his tape against Chisago Lakes last year, I liked his instinct of getting out a jammed up pocket and used his long lower body to get well-balanced yards with his legs. A 2025 QB prospect I will be tracking here locally.   More Underclassmen to Watch for the Hornets:   Braeden Wemple, LB/RB, Big Lake (2025)   [player_tooltip player_id='743290' first='Reid' last='Josewski'], WR/ATH, Big Lake (2025) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reid_josewski">Twitter</a>   Gavin Ell, OL, Big Lake (2025)

BIG LAKE-- As a Big Lake resident for the last nearly 5 years, it's been somewhat of a up and down roller coaster watching the Hornets have their struggles on the field especially the last two seasons in which the Hornets were winless in Class 4A. This year the Hornets are under new leadership in a new era under new head coach Nick Shriver, who is a Twin Cities native and played his college football at Macalester in St. Paul and most recently was the Head Coach at Little Wound School in Kyle, South Dakota the last two seasons, in which last season his Mustangs qualified for the 9A All Nations Playoffs.