South Dakota State Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part I
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BROOKINGS, SD– We move our camp focus to last Thursday, where we came back to the South Dakota State for the third straight year to camp with the 2022 FCS Champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits. With over 300+ prospects in…
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Continue ReadingBROOKINGS, SD– We move our camp focus to last Thursday, where we came back to the South Dakota State for the third straight year to camp with the 2022 FCS Champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits. With over 300+ prospects in attendance from as far away as Hawaii to right up the road to Brookings High, there was plenty of talent to evaluate for us at Prep Redzone. With big camps like this, we emphasis our “no prospect is off limits” mindset at Prep Redzone so to our new subscribers, you will find us taking a Midwest approach to covering prospects from all over America’s Heartland.
What states dominated this first list of standouts in Part I? This one the home state of South Dakota dominated this first list, and we also saw some extremely intriguing prospects from the Hawkeye State as well. It’s time to clock into Part I from the South Dakota State Prospect Camp!
Jonah you could tell has been working his tail off since I last watched him at the The Line Iowa Showcase. He showed off an excellent pad-level and smooth drive blocking ability from what I watched from all of his reps in Brookings on Thursday. What struck the biggest chord with me with Jonah was how mobile his footwork has gotten from my evaluation from a few months away as he showed plenty of fluid downhill footwork to win plenty of reps on Thursday at SDSU. He added an NSIC offer from his resume from USF from Thursday showing and I am sure is picking up more steam as one of the best OLs I got to watch on Thursday in Brookings.
Highlights
Juven is a RB prospect that has significantly been a name I have been tracking quite a bit this summer from his showing at the Minnesota camp a few weeks back to Thursday’s showing at South Dakota State. There is no doubt that Juven is one of the fastest running backs in the 2024 class that South Dakota has to offer, however he took a skillset that I had been watching to watch develop on tape and showed it off significantly well in Brookings on Thursdays. That skillset I mentioned was his ability to get yards after contact and I thought Juven did a excellent job of showing that off in drills at the Jackrabbits camp on Thursday afternoon. This young man is extremely elusive with his change of direction and if he can put together consistently what I saw at SDSU towards his senior season at Watertown, he will have a huge senior season. Juven is another one that added a new NSIC offer from what he showed off on Thursday as Juven looks to be a stockriser up our 2024 class rankings from his impressive summer at camps.
Simon Kieffer Simon Kieffer 5’11” | QB Rapid City Christian | 2025 State SD was a 2025 quarterback I was glad to see in attendance at SDSU and is one that I thought showed off some promising and growing skillsets in the reps I caught at South Dakota State. Simon showed off high bases of fluidity with his throws on short and intermediate routes. The Rapid City Christian quarterback also showed off some quick development that I saw throughout the camp with his growing footwork as he portrayed a high football IQ with just how quick he picked up new skillsets with growing his game with his lower body. I also liked the growing poise Simon has developed since watching his last fall tape as our QB3 in our 2025 South Dakota rankings certainly moved the bar for his ranking from an impressive showing camping with the champs on Thursday in Brookings.
We got to watch one of South Dakota’s top linebackers in the 2024 class in Sioux Falls Christian’s Kade Van Egdom Kade Van Egdom 6’3″ | 210 lbs | LB Sioux Falls Christian | 2024 State SD and I came away impressed with a handful of skillsets that he showed off on Thursday. Kade showed off some catchy instincts with his reads from late reps I watched from camp, as he also showed off effective read steps as well. Kade also was excellent with working his pad-level with his hands he showed off as he also showed off plenty of feisty with getting off the snap to the ball quickly. I also love this kid’s reach at the linebacker position regardless of he’s in pass coverage or stopping the run as he uses his longer reach to drag down the ball carrier with a quick twitch off the snap or can extend for the ball in pass coverage. Somehow some way, Kade has is still waiting on his first offer however I think it will be coming sooner rather than later for a LB prospect that had 109 tackles last year for the Chargers.
Highlights
Cruz is a South Dakota 2024 quarterback prospect I have been waiting to see in live QB reps as he missed his junior season with the Cubs. What did I see in Brookings on Thursday? I saw a QB prospect that at 6’4 200 pounds plays with much more mobility than you would expect and also brought good poise in the reps I caught from him at SDSU on Thursday. Cruz shows off some fiery arm strength with great precision on his deep ball and has solid technique in the pocket to buy himself more time if he needs it. Cruz is likely a prospect that college programs will need to see senior tape out of however, based on what I saw on Thursday, I think this young man has healed nicely from his injury and is one you could take a chance on sooner rather than later based on the skillsets we saw in Brookings out of Cruz.
Out of the quarterbacks I got to watch in Brookings, I thought Woodbury (Minn) quarterback caught my eyes the most during Indy drills and later into 1v1s at South Dakota State. George in my eyes had some of the best technical skillsets from start to finish with his stance holding the football thru finishing with his release. George also showed off plenty of poise when working in and outside of the pocket from what I watched on Thursday afternoon. He also showed off one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the building at SDSU and I love watching George’s precision and timing with his intermediate and deep ball routes. George to me is one of the biggest surprises on this list without an offer as he is certainly due for one ASAP as an offer now prospect in my eyes.
Cole Marsh
Cole Marsh
One of the most interesting first looks I got at the South Dakota State Camp was from 6’6 215 pound Cole Marsh out of Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa. The first word I had written down on Cole was smooth as at that elite size, Cole showed off much smoother route-running than you typically see as when you dive into this kid’s tape from his fall season it makes plenty of sense of why his athletic mobility is what is is on the football field. I also liked how developed Cole was with his catch radius on Thursday in Brookings as he was quite fluid from bringing the ball to his chest to his release in the open field with the ball in his hands. Cole saw his recruiting start to blow up from the SDSU prospect camp, grabbing two NSIC offers and I am darn sure he will have more in the coming months from the FCS level for sure.