Five North/South Dakota Ballers Still in Middle School To Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'll say it until I'm blue in the face: There is football talent in every corner of this country. North and South Dakota are overlooked every year for a number of reasons--some of them being legitimate such as: population, talent level as a whole, distance between schools, etc. With that said, there are some really impressive young athletes there. In fact, athletes from the Dakota's are able to compete in some high school sports as eighth-graders and get a head start at putting themselves on the map. Here's a look at five class of 2027 prospects to get familiar with from North and South Dakota.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["852667"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003ePrep Redzone Next National Scouting Directoru003c/strongu003e, u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootballu0022u003eAL Popsu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: From To qualify for the High School Varsity State Championship Track Meet in any event, in any state is an accomplishment. To accomplish it as an eighth-grader is exceptional. To qualify for u003cstrongu003eu003cspan style=u0022text-decoration: underline;u0022u003esevenu003c/spanu003e u003c/strongu003edifferent events as an eighth-grader is borderline unheard of. However, that's what North Dakota's [player_tooltip player_id='852667' first='Kai' last='Zabel'] recently accomplished, as he finished 5th in the state in the 200m with a 22.68 and was 2nd in the state on the 4x200m relay team with a 1:30.73 time. For reference, his PR in the 100m is 11.35, which stacks up to many times around the nation for the 2027 class. The son of former North Dakota State defensive back Todd Zabel, the talented 2027 prospect will be at Oak Grove Lutheran for high school. This kid could be a sleeper and a steal for someone in four short years.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["852668"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003ePrep Redzone Next National Scouting Director,u003c/strongu003e u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootballu0022u003eAL Popsu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: Joining Zabel at the NDHSAA State Track Meet this year, on the same 4x400m relay team and at Oak Grove Lutheran will be [player_tooltip player_id='852668' first='Will' last='Ness']. The similarities don't stop there, Will's father Matt Ness, also played defensive back for the NDSU Bison back in the day. The duo are part of an incoming freshman class of athletes at Oak Grove Lutheran that has some optimism, considering the Grovers last winning seasons was 2017. Before that, the last season north of .500 was in 2008, as the Minnesota state line-bordering institution finished just 6-4 as a Co-Op program with MN's Park Christian Grovers. Here's to new beginnings.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["852873"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eHead Prep Redzone Dakota Scout, u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/NWahlScoutingu0022u003eNate Wahlu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: Cooper, in my eyes looks like the best athlete I saw out of South Dakota's upcoming 2027 class, not just from passing the eye test on Sunday, but from the skillsets he showed off in his plethora at Battle of the Borders. He struck a chord for me most with his route-running ability as he was extremely efficient with his routes and got ample separation with the length from the bottom to the top of his body he showed off en-route. He also demonstrated excellent hands in my eyes for his age. The best fit for Cooper positionally certainly stood out at wide receiver, however he also made some key plays for the Midwest Miners in their secondary showing how well he was able to utilize his size  in pass coverage as a safety looks like his best fit defensively. I said it on Sunday, Cooper is likely one of South Dakota's best athletes I have seen this spring out of this upcoming freshmen class out of Tri-Valley. He is certainly a prospect I will be watching heavily over the coming years.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eu003cstrongu003ePrep Redzone Next National Scouting Directoru003c/strongu003e, u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootballu0022u003eAL Popsu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: Absolutely looks the part in terms of build, length and demeanor. Admittedly, I don't see a lot of upper Midwest football but when u003cstrongu003eNate Wahl u003c/strongu003etexts or calls me on a weekend excited about a kid, I make it a priority to look into it. Nate's assessment above is spot on and I agree with him being a matchup nightmare over the next four years of high school football in the Dakota's. I would be very interested to see testing numbers on him to see actual size/speed.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["853198"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003eHead Prep Redzone Dakota Scout, u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/NWahlScoutingu0022u003eNate Wahlu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: James is a physical specimen that is developing his football instincts of how to utilize his size on both sides of the ball, as there is plenty of it to go around with his length he adds on both sides of the ball. I thought he showed off some intriguing change of direction on both sides of the ball, and showed off a massive catch radius as a pass-catcher that had the size of a man amongst boys from the reps I caught on Sunday in Crooks. He will certainly develop his twitch in the coming years, as I love the high ceiling this young man possesses as he still has a few years to go before high school ball.rnrnu003cstrongu003ePrep Redzone Next National Scouting Director, u003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootballu0022u003eAL Popsu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: I'm sold right now that Terry Jr. could possibly be the top kid coming out of South Dakota when NSD 2029 comes around. The length on this kid is unlike any other 2029's in either of the Dakota's that we've seen up to this point. Has genetics going for him, too. His father (who goes by the same name) is a South Florida native and was an Honorable Mention All-American at Kansas State in 2003. Junior has the same long, slender build as his dad did and I think he certainly projects to a D1 wide out at this point. All that said, anything he can do pack on the pounds and hit the weight room hard will only help.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["853340"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003cstrongu003ePrep Redzone Next National Scouting Director,u003c/strongu003e u003cstrongu003eu003ca href=u0022https://twitter.com/AlPopsFootballu0022u003eAL Popsu003c/au003eu003c/strongu003e: I came across DeJong when doing research on another player and immediately stopped looking up anything about the other prospect and zero'd in on DeJong. He's a very gifted 2027 athlete that already has high school basketball and track and field experience under his belt. In fact, he threw down his first in-game dunk as a seventh grader in December of 2021. More recently, he was part of a school record-setting 4x400m team that finished third in the SDHSAA State Track Meet. While his best sport appears to be basketball from what I can tell, he looks like he could become one heck of a tight end too. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds (unverified), if he uses the same sudden quickness on the football field, that he does on the hardwood, he would be a matchup nightmare anywhere in the country. He'll be at West Central High School to continue writing his athletic story.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-647f1ed919337"} /-->