North Dakota: 2025 Winter Newcomers, Part II
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NORTH DAKOTA– Meet five more newcomers to the 2025 North Dakota rankings from the small school sleepers making significant noise, to a handful of prospects with position flexibility, and more! Brett Tastad Brett Tastad 6'4" | 245 lbs | OL…
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Continue ReadingNORTH DAKOTA– Meet five more newcomers to the 2025 North Dakota rankings from the small school sleepers making significant noise, to a handful of prospects with position flexibility, and more!
Brett Tastad Brett Tastad 6'4" | 245 lbs | OL North Prairie | 2025 State ND , OL/DL, North Prairie Twitter
Brett is a offensive guard prospect that wastes no time with his instinctive first step, which drives a ton of downhill leverage as well as quick and efficent footwork. Brett has no problem quickly getting his drive blocks into the second level either. His hand placement and speed of his hands also drives the quick leverage and strength as some of the fastest hands I have seen amongst offensive linemen in this 2025 class. The little brother of 2024 NDSU commit Nate Tastad Nate Tastad 6'5" | 265 lbs | DL North Prairie | 2024 State ND at 6’4 250 pounds, certainly looks like another Division I target in the Tastad family, that cracks the top 10 as a newcomer to the 2025 rankings.
Drake Schlosser Drake Schlosser 6'2" | 185 lbs | WR Stanley | 2025 State ND , WR, Stanley Twitter
Have I mentioned yet that a handful of prospects that I have listed this week benefited from a live evaluation this winter at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase? Stanley 2025 wide receiver Drake Schlosser Drake Schlosser 6'2" | 185 lbs | WR Stanley | 2025 State ND was another one, that cracked inside our top 15, as our new WR1 in this class. Drake demonstrates a long 6’2 180 pound route-runner that impresses me with his smooth route-running that also shows off his agile athletic twitch on his routes. He also has the long catch radius you would hope to see as Drake excels with his versatility as a total mismatch as a slot receiver, but shows to me that there is some flexibility on which wide receiver spot he could end up at in college. I also love the fluidity of this young man’s speed within his routes as it certainly sticks out significantly on tape. Drake will certainly be a name to know on the college camp circuit this summer.
Thomas Kraft Thomas Kraft 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Grand Forks Red River | 2025 State ND , RB/ATH, Grand Forks Red River Twitter
One of my favorite running backs hailing out of Grand Forks in this newcomer 2025 update is Grand Forks Red River’s Thomas Kraft Thomas Kraft 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Grand Forks Red River | 2025 State ND . Thomas shows off polished durability with his getting yards after the catch as it takes a significant pack of tacklers to bring him to the turf despite Thomas just slightly being undersized, he plays much bigger on tape. I also like the balanced hands he shows off as a pass-catcher or an athlete type prospect that will create waves in the open field. He shows off sound instincts on his first cut with the ball in his hands with his vision. Has some positional flexibility on either side of the ball as a two-way threat for the Roughriders.
Kolter Simon Kolter Simon 6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH Bismarck Century | 2025 State ND , ATH, Bismarck Century Twitter
The swiss-army knife of the Bismarck Century Patriots in Kolter Simon Kolter Simon 6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH Bismarck Century | 2025 State ND standing at 6’4 185 pounds, crashes into our rankings just outside the top 20 as a newcomer. Whichever side of the ball Kolter lines up on he shows off a wrecking ball of durability with his size when he makes contact with a defender or a ball carrier. In my eyes, Kolter shows off at the next-level as a wide receiver, as his very long strides and pull away speed I see setting a tone getting into the open field. The instincts Kolter shows off on either side of the ball, are significantly under the radar as I think schools should track this young man sooner rather than later as he is a relative unknown right now.
Kaden Olson Kaden Olson 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB West Fargo Sheyenne | 2025 State ND , QB, West Fargo Sheyenne Twitter
Kaden is a quarterback prospect that shows off plenty of skillsets I look for when evaluating quarterbacks, especially at 6’3 185 pounds. His release is impressive and the speed of his release shows off plenty of fluidity thru it. Kaden also shows off precise ball placement especially with his intermediate and deep routes and understands the arm strength presciently with the routes involved. His reactive pocket presence shows off one of the best in the state in my eyes amongst 2025 quarterbacks as one that looks like a next-level talent.