PRZ Dakotas Big Dogs of the Week: North Dakota, Week 1
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NORTH DAKOTA— We dive into Week 1 of the North Dakota high school football season with nine notable nominees that shined out in Week 1 action. From 11A on down, there was plenty of star performances going on from Grand…
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Continue ReadingNORTH DAKOTA— We dive into Week 1 of the North Dakota high school football season with nine notable nominees that shined out in Week 1 action. From 11A on down, there was plenty of star performances going on from Grand Forks, Mohall, Beulah and every place in between. Let’s meet the crew and you will want to check the site, for our new this year, the weekly fan vote in which the player with the most votes, will get a player feature in the coming weeks!
Trace Beauchamp
Trace Beauchamp
Stat Line: 4/5 passing, 248 total yards, five total touchdowns (4 rush, 1 pass)
Even though I do not have Trace’s game from Week 0 yet, if that stat line you see above is not the definition of a swiss-army knife from one position, I don’t know what is as he was statistically and consistently dominant for the Beulah Miners playing up against 11A foe Turtle Mountain in a 50-8 win. Twitter
Carter Knutson
Carter Knutson
I liked the instinction Carter showed off within the inside box with his athletic ability to move side to side to quickly close the gap of their opponent’s running game. He also showed developing strength with the power he showed off in 1v1 reps in which he showed off how versatile he is from either his left or right to angle his body for success to get to the ball. He also showed off some pressing pad-level in the handful of reps I caught here in Week 1 and is one I expect to improve especially in the defensive trenches based on his tape versus South Prairie with how agile his steps show off to be. Twitter
Carter came out in Week 1 with some intriguing growth within his footwork and football IQ from start to finish of his reps on tape. He also shows off that developing closing burst when the ball is approaching that I love out any defensive back out there as you can tell this kid has grown since watching him over the summer. I love watching how smooth Carter is coming out of his stance to ball track the ball within deeper routes, as he has some glue like instincts that also plays with poise, not trying to risk the pass break up for the home run interception. In my eyes, Carter is a DB prospect that plays way bigger than his frame and should be a stockriser when we re-evaluate the rankings. Twitter
Highlights
Jim showed off in Week 1 for Fargo North how well-balanced this kid’s vision shows off at the linebacker position and is a outside linebacker that has clear-cut understanding of where to attack to the ball with his angles he shows off within his physicality as a tackler. Not to mention as one of North Dakota’s best fullbacks, he has good levels of durability thru contact as he has that downhill presence either around the edges in high traffic areas or in the open field as a rumbler in the backfield. With one local NAIA offer so far, I expect Jim to gain more NAIA attention this fall for sure across North Dakota especially with his position flexibility. Twitter
Ty showed off some significant gains in Week 1 with his physicality level from what I caught from his contact he made on the ball carriers against Dickinson Trinity. He also showed off a more lengthy motor than what I have seen over the recent year or so, as he shows that he can finish his pressure well no matter if he’s making tackles in space or within the inside box. Ty also showed off some catchy potential in pass-coverage with his positioning and vision, which is something I will be tracking in the upcoming weeks of the season.
Grady is a defensive linemen that I thought after watching his Week 1 tape, is one that has gotten more instinctive with his get off with his hands and rotational balance to get to the ball on a smoother path than what he showed off in his junior season. At 6’0 260 pounds, Grady also you can tell has gotten more athletic mobility this summer brewing his way, as I thought he was quicker getting to the edges of the inside box showing off more range in his skillsets. He also shows off more speed with those hands I mentioned earlier with an impressive Week 1 outing against LaMoure-Litchville-Marion. Twitter
Highlights
Thomas Kraft
Thomas Kraft
Stat Line: 109 all purpose yards, two touchdowns.
Thomas showed off high levels of versatility in Week 1 for the Roughriders with his balanced pass-catching ability and also showed off fluid bases of durability thru contact from his Week 1 tape against Williston. I like the upside Thomas’s vision shows off as a junior as I believe he has plenty of room to develop by season’s end. Also as safety, Thomas showed off lengthy steps to get downhill into the heart of the play and finish by playing up a level. It is starting to look like this 2025 class from Grand Forks Red River is one of the most loaded ones in 11A. Twitter
Cris is a wide receiver that just keeps getting more developed with his route-running ability as he showed plenty of smooth traits in Week 1 for MLS. Even when coming out in Week 1 as a tight end in reps, Cris showed off a well-balanced catch radius with balls that would be slightly out of reach for other WRs with less athleticism. Cris certainly took the top off the Duniseth secondary in Week 1, on his way to four receiving touchdowns. Twitter
Kyler Droog
Kyler Droog
Stat Line: 16/29 passing, 344 passing yards, five touchdowns.
6’5 190 pound Grafton quarterback Kyler Droog is a newcomer to our radar of PRZ Dakotas Big Dogs of the Week, in an impressive 34-20 win over Thompson. As a ranked Prep Hoops Dakotas power forward, I will hope to see this young man’s tape pop up so we can spotlight him even more with the season ahead!