2025 Rankings Update: Small Town North Dakota Sleepers
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NORTH DAKOTA– Yesterday we unleashed our South Dakota Small Town Sleepers and tonight it was North Dakota’s turn to shine with our recent 2025 rankings update and their small town sleepers. The biggest thing I love about North Dakota’s 2025…
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Continue ReadingNORTH DAKOTA– Yesterday we unleashed our South Dakota Small Town Sleepers and tonight it was North Dakota’s turn to shine with our recent 2025 rankings update and their small town sleepers. The biggest thing I love about North Dakota’s 2025 class of Small Town Sleepers? That small town prospects are heavily tracked within our top 25 prospects in the state. We call Small Town America as towns with less than 5000 people and similar to South Dakota yesterday, North Dakota might even have more small-town depth in this 2025 class than South Dakota in my eyes. Man, would I love to see a Border Battle from those two states eventually. Let’s rock and roll into these small town sleepers!
Karter Peterson Karter Peterson 6'5" | 205 lbs | TE Thompson | 2025 State ND , TE, Thompson (2025) Twitter
- The #3 overall prospect (TE1) in North Dakota’s 2025 class Karter Peterson Karter Peterson 6'5" | 205 lbs | TE Thompson | 2025 State ND hails from the small community of Thompson within 15 minutes of Grand Forks and has just over 1100 people which I am sure all are big time Tommie fans that have known about this kid for a long time before we did.
- Karter has a huge release of burst off his first step off the snap and that speed turns up a notch even swifter once he reaches the second level of the field. The catch radius Karter has is outstanding as on tape, he shows off some acrobatic skillsets within his reach by being able to bring in off-lined balls to his chest with his big hands he shows off on tape. He shows of a plethora of great balance as well for his age.
- Karter certainly in my eyes is an excellent fit at the Division I level in my eyes as his athleticism is one of the best overall in North Dakota’s 2025 class. I can think of several Division I schools in the Midwest that have a need for a 6’5 tight end in their tight end room. I wouldn’t be surprised for Karter to be one of the earliest Division I offers out of this 2025 class at all.
Jake Starcevic Jake Starcevic 6'2" | 200 lbs | ATH Kindred | 2025 State ND , ATH, Kindred (2025) Twitter
- Moving over from Thompson to Kindred (pop. 889) is the #1 ranked athlete in our class in Jake Starcevic Jake Starcevic 6'2" | 200 lbs | ATH Kindred | 2025 State ND as this kid is a certified swiss-army knife on all accounts on the football field.
- Jake shows off an excellent football IQ already especially as a linebacker that does an excellent job tracking the ball with his elite vision and that shows much consistency on tape. He has huge ball instincts and backs it up with his tuned-in physicality with his knock back tackling ability.
- Jake has the big-play ability no matter where he lines up on either side of the ball, but his best fit positionally sets up as a linebacker due to the physicality and versatile skillsets I mentioned earlier and all of those skillsets make him a Division I fit in my eyes.
Hank Bodine Hank Bodine 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Velva | 2025 State ND , LB, Velva-Drake-Anamoose (2025) Twitter
- Hank Bodine Hank Bodine 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Velva | 2025 State ND is our LB1 in North Dakota’s 2025 class coming from another town similar in size to Thompson and Kindred’s size as Velva, ND has a population of nearly 1100 people, but man oh man regardless of division, they have in my opinion the best overall 2025 class in the Roughrider State.
- I would be willing to say on the record that Hank is the hardest hitting linebacker in this North Dakota 2025 class and has the wiry motor to be an asset of a middle linebacker that can play from sideline to sideline with great vision too in the A-B gaps. The strength overall Hank has plays significantly bigger than his 6’1.5 nearly 220 pound frame in my eyes.
- If you thought his physicality stopped defensively, you would be mistaken as Hank continues his fearless skillsets on tape by consistently lowering his shoulder with the ball in his hands as a power running back that is smoothly versatile offensively as well although his next-level fits at middle linebacker.
Reggie Bruner Reggie Bruner 6'0" | 185 lbs | WR Velva | 2025 State ND , WR, Velva-Drake-Anamoose (2025) Twitter
- Coming from the same hometown as Hank Bodine Hank Bodine 6'0" | 225 lbs | LB Velva | 2025 State ND , we meet a newcomer to our 2025 rankings board in 6’0 185 pound Reggie Bruner Reggie Bruner 6'0" | 185 lbs | WR Velva | 2025 State ND who came in as my WR1 as well on our initial rankings.
- Reggie shows off excellent fluidity with his route-running ability as there is some smooth skillsets he uncovers with the speed of his routes. What impressed me most about Reggie on tape, was the difficulty level of his first few catches on tape showing off some efficent balance around the edges of the field and showing a lengthy stamina speed to stretch deep in the open field.
- He also shows what looks like an expanded catch-radius for his 6’0 185 pound frame that pops out slightly bigger on tape if I didn’t have his measurements in front of me. Big fan of this young man’s hands whether in a high traffic area or not, this young man is the most efficent pass-catcher I would say in the Dakotas coming over from Drake-Anamoose last year when Velva added Drake and Anamoose (between the two towns, population under 500).
Joe Kramlich Joe Kramlich 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Kulm | 2025 State ND , DB, Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm (2025) Twitter
- Hailing from little Kulm, North Dakota (pop. 368) we meet our DB1 Joe Kramlich Joe Kramlich 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Kulm | 2025 State ND who was is another somewhat of a newcomer on our 2025 North Dakota rankings. Although his town might be “little” Joseph has that big-play ability locked in as our best corner in the 2025 class.
- The first word that comes out of my mouth from Joseph’s first clip of tape is efficent, as this young man shows early the balance and footwork speed he has in his plethora and then in the end shows the ball-tracking instinct to know exactly where the ball is going.
- I also love the versatility Joseph shows off with his feet, as he can utilize his back-pedal or has the smooth agility to crossover run. Just has such natural vision with his huge football IQ that I cannot wait to watch this young man at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase next weekend to see what kind of noise he can make with college coaches in attendance.
Khaliel Abdurrahman Khaliel Abdurrahman 5'10" | 160 lbs | ATH Bottineau | 2025 State ND , DB/WR, Bottineau (2025) Tape
- Khaliel is another swiss army knife on all three-levels of the field, but in the end the defensive back tape passed my eye test even though the skillsets from wide receiver could flex him in either spot at the next-level as the Bottineau, North Dakota (pop 2197) comes out as DB2 on our 2025 rankings.
- The ball-tracking ability stuck out on Khaliel’s tape, and I loved his determined accelerator in motion once the ball was in the air to come back to the ball with his closing speed. You have a high ceiling of positional versatility with this young man for sure.
- Khaliel also shows off a long reach that he can stretch out regardless of which side of the ball he lines up on, as this kid has great determination with his reach and has glued-in hands. If someone can find me this kid on Twitter, I would appreciate it as I have had no luck!
Zachary Smith Zachary Smith 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Tri-State | 2025 State ND , LB, Tri-State (2025) Twitter
- Tri-State might be the most interesting HS program in the country, as three states (MN, SD, ND) are represented as one as the four communities of Rosholt, SD, Fairmount, ND, Tintah, MN, and Campbell, MN form the Tri-State Tigers and around 1000 people between those four communities call that area home. To my knowledge, Zachary Smith Zachary Smith 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Tri-State | 2025 State ND is one of the first Tigers prospect on our radar and you will learn all about this 5’11 185 pound linebacker here now.
- The first skillset that popped out about Zachary was his “coach on the field” mentality he shows off his first clip on tape and then backed it after motivating his teammates with a crushing hit of physicality you expect your middle linebacker to make. Zach shows off a sizable motor that has the range to cover from sideline to sideline in my eyes.
- I love watching this young man’s vision to the football, as he is consistently engaged as the first contact on the ball carrier nearly every rep you get to watch on tape. Although slightly undersized, I certainly believe Zachary looks like a scholarship-level football talent built for Saturdays as a LB prospect.
Joshua Juve Joshua Juve 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Thompson | 2025 State ND , FB/RB, Thompson (2025) Tape
- Headed back to Thompson as we meet Tommies fullback Joshua Juve Joshua Juve 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Thompson | 2025 State ND who stuck out with some solid skillsets on tape that caught our eyes in a less typical display
- Do not be fooled by his 5’10 170 pound frame as this young man is a huge team-player and is a nasty downhill blocker for his size and with a high plethora of physicality to match on a persistent basis.
- I have watched a lot of fullback tape in my lifetime, and I have never been more intrigued by a fullback prospect more than Joshua Juve Joshua Juve 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Thompson | 2025 State ND as this kid is a prime example it’s about the heart of the lion, not the size. When Joshua does get reps with the ball in his hands he also has great strains of durability from top to bottom and can feed off contact easily.