Lindy’s Film Review: 11 Prospects to Know
In this article:
My PrepRedzone colleagues have been doing successful film reviews long before me, and I thought it was high time I joined them in one of their most successful segments. I posted a tweet offering spots in this article, and to…
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Continue ReadingMy PrepRedzone colleagues have been doing successful film reviews long before me, and I thought it was high time I joined them in one of their most successful segments. I posted a tweet offering spots in this article, and to my surprise, my DMs flooded within minutes. I’ll review the prospect’s highlight tapes for this film review and cover their best features in a short play-by-play analysis. Any player is eligible for a film review, regardless of the level of their film or commitment status.
OLB: Brayden Staples Brayden Staples 6'1" | 195 lbs | LB Alexandria | 2024 State MN 6’2″ 195 lbs Alexandria 2024
Committed To: Minnesota State Moorhead
One thing you’ll learn early on from watching Staples tape is that he lays the wood. His first two plays are bone-crunching tackles where he shows off his ability to tackle in space and track a ball carrier. His third play is a disciplined interception, where he shows off high in-game IQ when he flows with the receiver in his zone and adapts to his new route as the QB scrambles outside the pocket. He follows that play up with another huge hit as a TFL and then shows off some solid coverage and his willingness to adapt to a broken play again. Time after time Staples proves that he is a violent thumper whose ability to seal an edge does not go unnoticed by his coaches and teammates. Staples steps up big with his physicality and eagerness to make plays in big games versus good opponents.
RB: Adam Glynn Adam Glynn 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Byron | 2024 State MN 5’11” 180 lbs Byron 2024
Committed To: University of Sioux Falls
One of the premier backs in the state, Glynn’s explosiveness and speed are on full display throughout his tape. The second play of his film sees Glynn break 4 tackles within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage before breaking away for a 75-yard rushing touchdown. We see him take a kick return to the house on his third play, where he showcases fantastic vision as a ball carrier. He breaks arm tackle after arm tackle and when he hits a hole going 100 miles per hour, it is a challenge to stop him from scoring. The play after Glynn makes a quick cut shortly past the line of scrimmage off of his lead blocker. His speed allows him to easily score as soon as he breaks off in space. His vision is perfectly complimented by his nimbleness at the point of attack. His brain can expertly process plays in a heartbeat, and his feet are quick enough to make those tough cuts.
DL: Jace Ihrke Jace Ihrke 5'11" | 205 lbs | DL NRHEG | 2024 MN 5’11” 220 lbs NRHEG 2025
Ihrke may be an undersized nose tackle, but he makes plays up and down the line of scrimmage due to his quick first step and his tenacity. You can see his aggression on tape when he bullrushes centers and gives them headaches. In his fourth play on his tape, you can see Ihrke utilizing a ferocious swim move to immediately put pressure on the quarterback. Even when double-teamed, Ihrke does a stellar job of keeping defenders at bay with his arms. If he doesn’t break through right away, he has no issue being patient and working his way to the QB. His smaller frame lends itself to those quick releases off the ball, and he can split double teams by getting narrow. Every coach says that a player can truly only control their effort, and Ihrke consistently gives phenomenal effort.
QB: Alden Dobberstein Alden Dobberstein 6'1" | 160 lbs | QB NRHEG | 2025 MN 6′ 150 lbs NRHEG 2025
Dobberstein starts his tape off with a great display of patience and pocket presence. He doesn’t rush the slant in traffic works through his reads, and delivers a missile to the back corner as the pocket collapses. While his first play was certainly pretty, his second one is an eye-popper. Pressure gets to him quickly, and he’s forced to roll out left. He sees his wideout wide open nearly 30 yards downfield and throws an absolute dime off his back foot while running away from a defender. His mobility is also very impressive and on full display in his third play. He takes a designed QB run, realizes that nothing is there manages to cut it back, and takes the rock on a nearly 50-yard run. He tends to make riskier throws but has shown off such stellar ball placement that interceptions aren’t usually a concern.
DB: Owen Bartlett Owen Bartlett 5'10" | 185 lbs | DB NRHEG | 2025 MN 5’11” 180 lbs NRHEG 2025
Early on in his tape, Bartlett shows off his instincts as a safety. He perfectly reads the eyes of the QB crashes down and intercepts the slant. His second and third plays do a great job of showcasing his physicality. Bartlett lights up a receiver catching a hitch, and smokes the returner on a pooch kick. He also shows off his talents as a run-stopper. On the fourth play of his film, he reads run and does a great job of tracking the ball-carriers hip to the sideline where he eventually brings him down for a TFL. He seems very comfortable walking down into the box, where he truly shines as a run-stopper. His physicality and tackling technique make him an exciting prospect as a safety.
WR: Sam Olson 6’2″ 180 lbs NRHEG 2024
A well-built uncommitted senior, there was much to like on Olson’s tape. He begins it by pulling an underthrown ball away from a corner. He makes a good adjustment to the pass, highlights it, and secures it quickly. He follows that up with a nice catch on a go route for a 30-yard gain. Olson can line up in the backfield as well. When given the ball he does a great job of getting north and south. He also makes great contact with defenders and fights hard for extra yards. He shows a lot of good looks in the red zone and makes good use of his size to come down with tightly contested balls. It’s a tough task to guard him on an island.
ATH: Jaylin Raab 5’9″ 155 lbs NRHEG 2025
Committed To: Gustavus Adolphus
Raab is the only player who I would consider positionless on this list. He shows great upside as a kick/punt returner, with his outstanding effort and good vision in the open field, he can gash special team units who aren’t careful. He runs hard too. Often taking one or two defenders with him before he goes down. Raab tracks the ball well when running routes, and creates the most space within 5 yards of the LOS. Defensively it’s more of what you’d expect. Great physicality and hustle on the field. Even as a linebacker, he’s frequently the last line of defense when it comes to a breakaway ball carrier. I expect him to get the largest share of playing time as a returner at the next level.
Edge: Jordan Brouwers 6′ 175 lbs NRHEG 2026
It’s pretty well known that I love seeing younger kids on varsity. I think 3 or even 4 years of varsity football better prepares kids for the collegiate level to the point where they can hopefully step in and play almost immediately. As a sophomore Brouwers already has a good frame and a year of varsity play under his belt. NRHEG runs a funky 3-4 where they’ll often walk down an additional linebacker or two, and you see Brouwers doing that on his first play on tape. He crashes down like a wild man off the edge and chases down the running back who looks to be running an outside zone opposite of him. In the second play, we see him again working off the edge, where he effectively keeps the wing-back at bay with his arms before shedding him and making a tough tackle behind the line of scrimmage. He plays very hard, doesn’t back down from collisions at the LOS, and fights through contact. A lot of great traits for a young athlete.
OL: Brodie Miller Brodie Miller 6'3" | 250 lbs | DL Washburn | 2025 State MN 6’3″ 230 lbs Minneapolis Washburn 2025
If you gave me two words to describe Miller, they’d have to be hyper-physical. We open up with Miller, (a pulling guard), absolutely leveling a linebacker who was unfortunate enough to crash down in front of him. There very next play he pulls again, and this time decleats an unfortunate defensive end. He puts a special emphasis on finishing his blocks, and this continued physicality mentally drains his opponents. His third play on tape sees Miller having to engage the nearside inside linebacker at the second level. He gets out to him quickly and displaces him, before coming back down and flattening him out. Miller proves time and time again that he’s an excellent lineman to run behind, and his talent of completely displacing defenders appears second to none. If he can continue to put on weight, Miller is going to be a serious threat his senior season.
QB: Izaak Johnson Izaak Johnson 6'2" | 185 lbs | QB Cretin-Derham Hall | 2026 MN 6’3″ 185 lbs Cretin-Derham Hall 2026
A JV QB who had a stellar sophomore year, I expect Johnson to put on quite a performance as a starter next season. We see from the get-go that he doesn’t force balls. While he still needs to improve on working through his reads, the touch he puts on his deep balls is impressive. Throughout the film you can see he’s a playmaker, he shows no issues bouncing around the pocket and is more than willing to scramble if needed. His ball placement looks top notch and he excels at winning 1v1 matchups with his receivers. He’s comfortable in the pocket even as it breaks down and keep an eye out for him to have a smoother transition to varsity football.
RB/LB: Jett Olson Jett Olson 5'10" | 180 lbs | ATH Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg | 2025 State MN 5’10” 180 lbs Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 2025
Offensive Highlights:
Olson starts his offensive highlights off with an outside toss. He beats the defenders to the sideline before making a sharp cut upfield where he turns the play into a 75-yard touchdown. His second play is very similar. Again we see Olson making another sharp cut upfield after a toss, to the tune of breaking another big-time touchdown. He’s comfortable as both a zone and a power runner. He’s seen constantly breaking arm tackles and has a tendency to break off big runs.
Defensive Highlights:
As a defender, Olson is a physical outside linebacker who is very comfortable setting the edge. Against run-heavy teams, he’ll get marched down a little where he provides a prominent physical force on the outside. He does a great job of forcing RBs back to the middle where his inside linebackers can freely flow to the ball carrier. When Olson is needed in pass coverage, he’s able to drop back quickly and track the quarterback’s eye movements. He plays very heads-up football and constantly makes great adjustments based on the needs of the play.