Dakotas Border Battle Match-ups (2024)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking at the 2024 rankings, we have a lot of talent between the two states. With camp season rapidly approaching, I was thinking of highlighting some match-ups that would be a lot of fun to watch. Prospects really gain their recruiting stock in one-on-one competitions at camps. Here are some competitions that would be fun to watch in competitions! Really highlighting the Interior offense and defense (OL/DL/LB). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='77493' first='Navarro' last='Schunke'] (OL) Brandon Valley, SD <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2H5CFS">Highlights</a> vs. [player_tooltip player_id='174168' first='Riley' last='Sunram'] (DL) Kindred, ND <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JmNNi">Highlights</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Schunke has been starting at RT for the Brandon Valley Lynx since he was a Freshman, where they won the 11AAA State title in 2020. He has taken the recruiting world by storm pumping out Power 5 offers (Big Ten &amp; Big 12) for both football and wrestling! Schunke is a 4-time South Dakota State Champion in Wrestling at the Heavy Weight. His footwork is next level at his size and was the first thing I noticed when he was a Freshman. Following up with his hand technique and wrestling background, he is always winning the leverage battle, pass or run blocking. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunram came out with some very impressive Sophomore Film. Little did we know he would also explode on the recruiting scene with Power 5 offers from the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC, &amp; Mountain West! Also showing his athletic versatility in basketball and being a State Runner-Up in Shot Put in Track and Field as a Sophomore. From the DE position, he was super quick off the snap and put instant pressure on the QB. Any play he wasn't doubled was a rough play for the offense. Even on plays where he was doubled, he still wreaked havoc on the offensive backfield. Muscle and winning the hand battle got him off blocks in a hurry.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='447258' first='Coy' last='Okeson'] (OL) Minot Bishop Ryan, ND <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jf1kC">Highlights</a> vs. [player_tooltip player_id='289600' first='Thomas' last='Heiberger'], (LB/DL) Sioux Falls Jefferson, SD <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JsdsJ">Highlights</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Okeson has made a lot of noise in the recruiting world with a lot of Junior Day Invites to some FBS Schools as well as a Big Ten Invite. He currently has one FCS offer on the table at the moment. After watching his film from last season, more are coming! He has the mentality of a charging bull at all times from the O-Line. Showing a lot of versatility by playing many positions on the O-Line. His footwork keeps him in great position to keep a low center-of-gravity and pad level to keep leverage in his favor. Once he is in position and has the defender squared up, he delivers a big hit to bury him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heiberger hit the Big Ten carousel hard this offseason, as well as some Pac-12, Big 12, MAC, and FBS offers. Recently committing to Big Ten juggernaut, the Wisconsin Badgers ending his busy recruiting offseason early. Showing a lot of field awareness from inside the box. Whether it was being walked up on the Line of Scrimmage, or sitting back at LB Depth, he can flat out play football. He shows a lot of speed off the snap to get a rush on the QB, but also a lot of lateral quickness to coral an elusive ballcarrier. With a little bigger frame than most his opponents, he keeps great pad level to make good form tackles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='434788' first='Nate' last='Tastad'] (OL) North Border Co-op, ND <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JrhY3">Highlights</a> vs. [player_tooltip player_id='326820' first='Jameson' last='Nebel'] (DL) Hamlin, SD <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jr4a3">Highlights</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tastad did an excellent job dominating the A-gaps for the Offensive Unit. Well enough to get buzz from the Big Ten, Mountain West, Big 12, and FCS. After an accurate, quick snap, he always won the battle in the trenches, whether a guy was head-up or in the gap. He kept a great pad level after delivering the snap and kept his feet chopping. Once he got his leverage and got his feet moving, he was burying defenders left and right. Not only being a good run blocker up the middle, he could also pull to the perimeter and be an excellent lead blocker as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nebel started his recruiting journey going through prospect camps last summer. After a stellar Junior Season, he is generating buzz from the NSIC &amp; FCS. I couldn't tell if he's good at anticipating the snap, or if he is just that quick off the snap. He was in the backfield and putting pressure on the offense each and every play. His pad level and hands helped him win the leverage battle and shed blocks in a hurry. Scrambling QB's didn't seem to be a problem for him, with his speed, he ran them down in a hurry. Lastly, when he was rushing the QB, he took great angles to contain the QB and attacked the football to force fumbles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='447235' first='Easton' last='Poppe'] (OL) Brandon Valley, SD <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jtyq2">Highlights</a> vs. [player_tooltip player_id='677170' first='Zach' last='Lilly'] (LB) Fargo Davies, ND <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2KaYfz">Highlights</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Poppe really had a stellar Junior Season for the Brandon Valley Lynx. Showing out so much that he is generating some Mountain West buzz as well as within the FCS and NSIC. Poppe was a man on a mission on most plays, that mission; punish the defenders. Washing down the defense on down blocks, he took good angles to widen the gap by taking the D-line to the LB's lap when climbing levels. He also had a finesse factor, keeping good footwork to block the perimeter defenders from getting into the play. Lastly, he had the awareness of the biggest threat in his gap and took him out of the play to spark the offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lilly came up with a good Junior Season this year from the defensive side. The Pioneer League, NSIC, &amp; MVFC are showing a lot of interest this offseason. He does an excellent job timing the snap and jumping it to get into the offensive backfield with ease. Speed or physicality, he uses both to really switch up his rushes to keep the O-Linemen on their heels. When flying off the edge, he keeps a good angle to the line of scrimmage to not give up his contain on his rush. Lastly, he is really good at getting his reads and getting right into the play and blowing it up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->