South Dakota: 2025 Winter Rankings Preview
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SOUTH DAKOTA– We unleashed our 2025 winter rankings update in South Dakota tonight as well, as we found over 150+ prospects that makes the Mount Rushmore State great from a football perspective and more. Just like North Dakota, South Dakota…
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Continue ReadingSOUTH DAKOTA– We unleashed our 2025 winter rankings update in South Dakota tonight as well, as we found over 150+ prospects that makes the Mount Rushmore State great from a football perspective and more. Just like North Dakota, South Dakota stays consistent with this class and per usual, is dominated in the trenches (we will get to more in depth later). Let us take a look with this preview, our evaluation process, some superlatives, and much more!
Our PRZ Prospect Evaluation Process:
Our #1 priority and goal with Prep Redzone Dakotas is to put prospects on the map for college coaches and college programs at all levels to advance their exposure. We evaluate prospects on next-level potential not stats, not on the team’s rankings in the state, it’s all about the prospects upside and how his skillsets fit at the next level when it comes down to measurables, athleticism and everything else that college programs measure as far as skillsets. All prospects will need to have tape available or have been referred to us by our anonymous sources throughout the North Dakota or South Dakota. Some prospects will peak early in their high school career and which is why our rankings change 3-4 times per year at Prep Redzone Dakotas, because we also always factor in several live evaluations year-around thru prospect camps in the summer, games during the fall season, as we have seen prospects within a 3 month span add 30 pounds of muscle and a couple inches of height, while others stay the same. That is our process with every rankings update for those of you that are new to us! The main goal? Expose as many prospects state-wide to make sure they get next-level opportunities thru our network of college programs from Division I FBS, FCS, Division II, NAIA, Division and the JUCO ranks.
New Names In the Top 10
Newcomers:
“It all starts up front,” is a common quote you will hear from any high school and college coach and these newcomers to our Top 10 are the definition of that on both sides of the ball.
#10: Lucas Feldkamp Lucas Feldkamp 6'5" | 285 lbs | OL Brandon Valley | 2025 State SD , OL, Brandon Valley Twitter
#8: Elias Gillen Elias Gillen 6'6" | 300 lbs | OL Rapid City Stevens | 2025 State SD , OL, Rapid City Stevens Twitter
#6: Austin Miller Austin Miller 6'6" | 215 lbs | DL Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2025 State SD , DL, Sioux Falls Jefferson Twitter
Stockriser:
The most notable stockriser in the past couple of months hails from the Winner Warriors as his recruitment at the FBS level has shot up out of nowhere.
#1: Shawn Hammerbeck Shawn Hammerbeck 6'6" | 245 lbs | OL Winner | 2025 State SD , OL, Winner Twitter
Key Points from the 2025 South Dakota Rankings Update
Wake Up Fast
What stood out in this Top 10 2025 class in South Dakota is how fast this class has come along within the last month or so. Although not as stacked as North Dakota’s 2025 class (as of yet) there is plenty of prospects in this top 10 that still do not have that first offer, but from a skillsets and measurables standpoint fit the bill. Who are the first two that come to mind? Sioux Falls Jefferson DE Austin Miller Austin Miller 6'6" | 215 lbs | DL Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2025 State SD (6’6.5 215) and Rapid City Stevens OT Elias Gillen Elias Gillen 6'6" | 300 lbs | OL Rapid City Stevens | 2025 State SD (6’6 305). I have seen both of their recruitment grow over the last few several weeks and I feel they are quite close to getting their first offers and then more dominoes will start falling. The target that I expect to rise the fastest in the Missouri Valley? Sioux Falls Christian’s OG/OC Lincoln Semchenko Lincoln Semchenko 6'4" | 290 lbs | OL Sioux Falls Christian | 2025 State SD , as I think the position flexibility has to intrigue any Missouri Valley program and I could certainly see SDSU and NDSU fighting heavily over this young man.
Trench Domination
Have you noticed the trench dominance yet in our rankings? A scouting mentor of mine once told me “the big guys get all the breaks” and the longer i have been scouting high school football the more that quote resonates with me. The reason for it resonating with me is regardless of which side of the ball you are on, it has become more and more crucial that you win your battles up front. A running back is nothing without his offensive line, a secondary doesn’t have a fair shake if the defensive line can’t slow down the ball carrier, etc. That is why year after year you see more prospects in the trenches at the top of our boards as measureables are also becoming more heavily weighted based on conversations I have had with college coaches. 7 of our top 10 prospects are offensive or defensive linemen (70%) and 60% of our top 20 are also in the trenches by the numbers. I expect this trend to continue over the next several years as well in South Dakota. The prospects that make this list that hadn’t already been mentioned are:
#24: Connor Harrison Connor Harrison 6'3" | 265 lbs | OL Lead-Deadwood | 2025 State SD , OL, Lead-Deadwood Twitter
#18 Easton Van Scoyk Easton Van Scoyk 6'3" | 245 lbs | DL Dakota Valley | 2025 State SD , DL/OL, Dakota Valley Twitter
#16: Benjamin Paepke Benjamin Paepke 6'5" | 280 lbs | OL Rapid City Central | 2025 State SD , OL, Rapid City Central Twitter
#14: Jacob Jongejeugd Jacob Jongejeugd 6'4" | 255 lbs | OL Tea Area | 2025 State SD , OL, Tea Area Twitter
#12: Carson Hughes Carson Hughes 6'3" | 270 lbs | OL Sioux Falls Jefferson | 2025 State SD , OL, Sioux Falls Jefferson Twitter
#11: Elijah Boutchee Elijah Boutchee 6'2" | 230 lbs | DL Pierre | 2025 State SD , DL, Pierre T.F. Riggs Twitter
#9: Luke Krempges Luke Krempges 6'4" | 225 lbs | DL Sioux Falls Lincoln | 2025 State SD , DL, Sioux Falls Lincoln Twitter
What is Next on Tap from the Content Side with the 2025 SD Rankings Now Released?
Content will flow between both Dakotas daily over the next week or two from each of these groups of article series:
Newcomers (Multi-Part Series)
- Who was added to our prospect database of 2025 prospects and what do they bring to the table as far as their skillsets?
Stockrisers (Multi-Part Series)
- Which prospects that were already ranked rose their stock from last fall into this offseason and why did their rank see improvement?
Positional Breakdowns (Multiple Positions)
- We will stack up some of our position groups and evaluate why x prospect was ranked over x prospect due to what their tape shows, live evaluations, etc.
Small Town Sleepers
- One of my favorite article series every ranking update. Which prospects from sleepy small town America made waves on our rankings whether newcomers or stockrisers? We always love to talk the population too showing off these prospects from small town South Dakota.