Back 2 Ballin: Athlete Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CEDAR FALLS--</strong> After getting way too deep into the NFL Draft coverage yesterday, we gear back into our Back 2 Ballin coverage from last weekend, today focusing on what we call the athletes. The athletes are the ones that give the college coach the flexibility to line them up at multiple positions, as they are such 50/50 players that can dominate on both sides of the field which the coach always need to figure out what their true best fit positional is because they are so balanced on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of the 2024 NFL Draft, you will see one of the brothers of an athlete on this list get drafted tonight, more Iowa last names you will recognize, and a list that is loaded with 2027 targets to start to add early to your recruiting board.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Preston Nelson, ATH, E7/Champlin Park, MN 2027</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/preston_nelson1">Twitter</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1258645,"width":"285px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0551-rotated-crop-480x316-1714169147.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1258645" style="width:285px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the 2027 Minnesota athletes that impressed me from the get-go at Back 2 Ballin was Champlin Park's Preston Nelson. He showed off length that went outside his 6'0 190 pound frame he showed off as I thought showed off balanced on both side of the ball for E7. Specifically where Preston stood out was with his route-running as I thought he showed off a man vs. boys mentality around the edges of the field against the secondary. He also showed off fluid open-field vision and that is a translation to what he puts out on tape from his freshmen year with the Rebels too, which is great to see. He certainly already flashes positional flexibility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Gianni Gary, ATH, Iowa Savages/Waterloo, IA 2028</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/Giannigary_39">Twitter</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gianni has been evaluated too as a basketball prospect, but I was intrigued last weekend with his polish on both sides of the ball for the Iowa Savages. Even as a youngster, I thought Gianni showed off great agility with his breaks as you can tell he has growing instincts on when that ideal time is make his cut. He also showed off a great vertical for his size, getting his fix by making a splash play I witnessed that high-topped over the secondary for a critical touchdown for the Savages. He also showed off impressive vision for his age in pass coverage as a DB that was attached to his wide receivers hit when I got to watch him. Gianni is a two-way athlete to watch out of Waterloo in 2028.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1197438' first='Jaxx' last='DeJean'], ATH, Odebolt–Arthur–Battle Creek–Ida Grove, IA 2027</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/Jaxxdejean35">Twitter</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1258626,"width":"303px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0548-rotated-crop-480x316-1714168522.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1258626" style="width:303px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This last name will be a familiar one to Iowa football fans and 2024 NFL Draft fanatics right now, as Jaxx is the little brother of Cooper DeJean and was one of the top 2027 athletes I saw at Back 2 Ballin last week. At 6'4 200 pounds, Jaxx has length for days and it equated very well last weekend at the UNI Dome to both sides of the ball. He has huge hands as just a freshmen, as he showed off several reps where he took the top off the secondary with his physicality he showed off extensively off his routes. Jaxx is also highly fluid with his athletic movement on all sides of the ball, and has a sound football IQ for his age. With the measurables, he translates to wide receiver at the next-level early in my eyes from an early look, but certainly will get looks at both as an early offer target out of NW Iowa, no doubt. Easy Division I grade in my eyes with the bloodline as an added bonus.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='466364' first='Tate' last='Wallace'], ATH, Avalanche/Iowa City Regina, IA 2027</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/tatewallace_2">Twitter</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1258628,"width":"302px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0498-rotated-crop-480x316-1714168578.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1258628" style="width:302px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Something about this 2027 class in Iowa shows off early that is going to be a great one for athletes, as another standout we had from Back 2 Ballin was Iowa City Regina's [player_tooltip player_id='466364' first='Tate' last='Wallace']. At 6'2 220 pounds, Tate is an athletic specimen that showed off splash plays at both tight end and linebacker throughout the weekend. When I watched him at tight end, Tate showed off a prospect that I am sure will be a run-blocking machine come fall season, but he also showed off plenty of power in his upper body to at the moment become a good short-yardage or a physical red-zone threat to look for. His ball instincts impress me most at linebacker as Tate had the "coach on the field" mentality that I constantly saw all weekend at UNI. The versatile football IQ Tate has shows off certainly a Division I grade, that I don't typically give out this early amongst underclassmen, but man this list of athlete standouts from Iowa is a special one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>George Niederauer, ATH, Sioux Falls Sharks/Sioux Falls Lincoln, SD 2027</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1258631,"width":"332px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0497_219d96-rotated-crop-480x316-1714168658.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1258631" style="width:332px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the first looks I got from the tournament last Saturday came from Sioux Falls Lincoln athlete George Neiderauer. George passed my eye test for his skillsets on both sides of the ball, as I felt this kid was always in the wheelhouse of the ball defensively and his offensive play really flourished from what I witinessed. He showed off an eye-popping catch radius for his age. George also I thought was quite elusive with his hands showing solid instincts no matter where the ball was placed with his handful of catches he had. Although it is 7v7 and the contact is light, my eyes felt that this young man showed off his durability well not only making catches in high traffic areas, but had a good finishing ability when he released his athleticism after making a catch thru contact. George will be a future playmaker to watch for the Patriots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->