Crown College Elite Camp: Standouts, Part I
In this article:
Saint Bonifacius, Minn– Last Friday, we made the trip out to Saint Bonifacius for the Crown College Elite Camp to check out a handful of Midwest prospects from Wisconsin, South Dakota, and of course the state of Minnesota. It was…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSaint Bonifacius, Minn– Last Friday, we made the trip out to Saint Bonifacius for the Crown College Elite Camp to check out a handful of Midwest prospects from Wisconsin, South Dakota, and of course the state of Minnesota. It was one of the biggest camps the Crown College Polars have ever had as far as numbers and for us at Prep Redzone, was a great time to evaluate several under the radar prospects from across the area as well as a handful of prospects we have covered in the past that had an impressive camp with the Polars with a few walking out of camp with an offer to play at the next-level.
This is will be a multi part series of standouts over the next coming days as we are deep into prospect camp season. Lets dive into Part I now!
Jalen Beard
Jalen Beard
Jalen showed off a excellent amount of instinctive agility with watching his change of direction at Crown’s Elite Camp last Saturday. This was mostly seen around the edges of the field in 1v1s in my eyes. He also impressed me with his ball skills as there was great bases of fluidity thru the bulk of his reps I got to watch. He might not be the biggest WR you will ever see at 5’8, but all those skillsets in my eyes paint a solid picture for this young man playing football on Saturdays as he also showed himself off as a player of high character and showed off a great joy of the game of football from what I grasped from camp last Saturday in Saint Bonifacius. Jalen is certainly one to watch for in the Polars offense in 2023.
Kaiden Garlock
Kaiden Garlock
Kaiden was a Central Minnesota WR prospect that was a first look prospect in my eyes at the Crown College Elite Camp. He intrigued me with the smooth ability with his hands on the intermediate routes I got to watch. Kaiden also showed a good twitch with his body to adjust to the football with his rotation ability. I can tell since the 2022 season, he has developed as well with his open field running ability as at Crown, I thought Kaiden showed off more elusive athletic traits with his footwork in the open field at Crown. He shows off on tape that he has some raw potential, but his ability to turn and catch in high traffic areas is growing at a good rate. Kaiden should be a 2024 WR prospect to watch for his potential for the Sartell Sabres in 2023.
The youngest prospect overall at the Crown College Elite Camp was Minnetonka 2028 QB Iggy Amorrortu Iggy Amorrortu 6’0″ | 185 lbs | QB Minnetonka Middle West | 2028 MN . Although he was the youngest, he blended in nicely with the upperclassmen in my opinion, as Iggy showed an extremely strong touch ball on all three levels for his age. He also had the precision I look for out of the younger quarterbacks as his ball allowed the bulk of the WRs he worked with to catch & go quickly with his good throwing velocity as well. Iggy also showed a good plethora of poise while in the pocket as he adapted well to some of the pressures he was given. Iggy is certainly a Minnesota prospect to be added to our 2028 Prep Redzone Next Watchlist in my eyes as this young man has a bright future and is only going to continue to develop with several years left of MS and HS football.
Highlights
If I had to dish out an MVP from the 2026 class at the Crown College Elite Camp, my vote would have been for St. Michael-Albertville wide receiver Owen Egge Owen Egge 5’10” | 165 lbs | WR St. Michael – Albertville | 2026 State MN . Owen played way above his age with the skillsets he laid out there in Saint Bonifacius. He was extremely efficient with his catch & go instincts, as Owen showed off a high amount of short burst once the ball came into his hands. His route-running is extremely twitchy with his change of direction as he got ample separation in 1v1s last weekend by his reactive instinct that could tie up several defensive backs feet that were upperclassmen last Saturday. After seeing him at Crown and at SDSU on Thursday, I certainly believe Owen is going to be a climbing stockriser in next 2026 rankings update in Minnesota as this young man I can already say will be playing scholarship-level football in his future and that is not something I say persistently about the young 2026 class.
Highlights
Kevin Boeke
Kevin Boeke
Kevin first caught my early eyes when we got into the early stretch and testing session, as with his solid size and wrestling background, showed off some efficent footwork that has a high ceiling of growth for more over the next couple seasons at Princeton. He showed off good depth with that frame along with the depth of his stance, and had solid coordination with the balance he was able to maintain throughout the camp. Once we got into 1v1 action, Kevin I thought was one of the better offensive linemen within the group, as he showed consistency with his feet I mentioned and displayed good and growing punch as well with his pad-level. The other reason why I like Kevin’s ceiling, is I have yet to find his football tape, which was why he left a mark in my eyes with his upside that is to come in the coming years as another well-built offensive linemen for the Princeton Tigers.
Tommie Gilkey
Tommie Gilkey
I called it out last week, Tommie would have been my selection for Defensive Line MVP from the Crown College Elite Camp. Tommies showed some good twitch with his 6’3 215 pound frame that showed off solid glimpses of the athleticism he has with his skillsets. He also unlocked in my eyes some of the best swim moves amongst the defensive line group as Tommie played with a high amount of poise on every rep he was given (which was a lot) to find plenty of ways to get into the backfield with his great hand technique and pad-levels. On tape, Tommie shows off plenty of instincts around the football and with the long arms he showed off at Crown should have a stock-rising senior season for the Polars in my eyes and should get more college football attention in the coming months.
Jon Wainz
Jon Wainz
A way under the radar Northwest Wisconsin prospect that showed off some promise at the Crown College Elite Camp was Birchwood (WI) offensive linemen Jon Wainz. This young man has plenty of raw skillsets still to unpack and develop, however that 295 pound size this young man has, is intriguing if you are a small school looking for more beef on your offensive line and looking for a prospect that you can groom significantly with his skillsets. What impressed me with Jon was the length he had in his arms as well as the great size he had with his hands. With the development of his technique, I like this kid as a small town sleeper to watch for out of NW Wisconsin.
Will is a defensive tackle prospect I remember from our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcases and was one of my early standouts from the Crown College Elite Camp last Saturday. The Rochester Lourdes two-way prospect, showed off some fluidity with his athletic movement from the early session of camp and showed off a huge motor at 6’0 240 pounds. Will showed off plenty of strength with the leverage he could get in Indy drills and into 1v1s at Crown and showed off great vision when deeper we got into 1v1 reps with also good use of his hands with his moves. Will on tape shows off the big motor and first step you want off the snap from your defensive tackle as he also shows soft hands within his progressions into the backfield. Will picked up his first offer from the Polars on Saturday, and I would be willing to bet that he is going to be a hot commodity in the UMAC, WIAC, and MIAC over the next several months.
Gabriel Vaitierrez
Gabriel Vaitierrez
Gabriel showed off plenty of consistency in the reps I got to watch at the Crown College Elite Camp last Saturday. He showed off more length with his depth than you would expect with his 5’7 205 pound frame. You could tell based on watching his reps that this young man has a solid football IQ, as he found a way to get home into the backfield in 1v1s on multiple occasions using his strong vision, significant strength and good hands to power into the backfield. This kid’s instincts around the football are intriguing to me and would be a good small school fit at the next-level.