Back 2 Ballin: Athlete Standouts, Part II
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CEDAR FALLS– We close out our list of athlete standouts from Back 2 Ballin with a bang, as we finished with seven more in Part II as these young men brought their A-game when it came to their position flexibility…
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Continue ReadingCEDAR FALLS– We close out our list of athlete standouts from Back 2 Ballin with a bang, as we finished with seven more in Part II as these young men brought their A-game when it came to their position flexibility and how balanced they were on both sides of the ball. With four states represented on this list of athletes we will get into. Who was my MVP amongst the athletes? Who is tearing it up this Spring in the 2027 class? We also have a handful of new names that advance their exposure at Back 2 Ballin.
Cooper Nielsen Cooper Nielsen 5'11" | 160 lbs | ATH Tri-Valley | 2027 SD , ATH, Sioux Falls Sharks/Tri-Valley, SD 2027 Twitter
One of South Dakotas biggest 2027 stockrisers this Spring has been Tri Valley athlete Cooper Nielsen Cooper Nielsen 5'11" | 160 lbs | ATH Tri-Valley | 2027 SD . In back to back tournaments, Cooper has continued to grow his instincts, and it doesn’t matter which side of the ball he lines up on. Combining it with his length he is a defensive back that travels from sideline to sideline with his long strides that seem to always be in the wheelhouse of the ball career at safety. You also cannot forget his play at wide receiver, as he was impressive with his open field vision too that has sudden burst and agility that trends upfield quickly. You can expect Cooper to be one of our top athletes when the 2027 class rankings roll out.
Grant Beckenhauer, ATH/QB, Spirit7Even/Papio South, NE 2026 Twitter
Grant was a new name I tracked last Spring at a couple 7v7 tournaments in South Dakota and Iowa, and he left his mark again at Back 2 Ballin in 2024. The poise that Grant has grown as a quarterback certainly appeared that has seen some growth since last spring in my eyes. He showed off some solid ball fits with his placement particularly with his intermediate routes. I also have seen growth in his athletic movement coming thru at wide receiver as he displayed good hands that showed great upside with adding to his positional flexibility.
Austin Fischer, ATH, Sioux Falls Sharks, SD 2028 Twitter
Austin is a 2028 athlete that each time I get the chance to watch him, he shows off the upside that is to come once he hits high school. For his size, Austin has showed off as a hard-nosed wide receiver that shows off great efficiency with his vision knowing where there those first down markers are as this has been shown off at a handful of tournaments I have watched him at this Spring. I love this kid’s hands for his age and despite being undersized, he has impressed me with how well he finishes with his hands thru contact against usually bigger competition. An early 2028 target to add to my South Dakota radar out of Sioux Falls.
Dallas Miller, ATH, Rip City/Iowa City Liberty, IA 2025 Twitter
If I were to name an MVP amongst the upperclassmen of athletes, my vote would be in for Liberty High 2025 Dallas Miller. His efficiency on both sides of the ball was electric at Back 2 Ballin. His ball-tracking was very instinctive as Dallas on numerous reps would come out of nowhere and take the ball the other way with three interceptions in the game I watched. As a wide-out Dallas showed off a twitch first step and showed off a high level of balanced footwork and awareness with his catches along the sidelines which was consistent in the multiple times I watched him. His best fit positionally shows off as a slot WR but no doubt, I would like to see Dallas get reps this summer at corner at camps.
Judeah Kniskern Judeah Kniskern 6'1" | 180 lbs | WR West De Pere | 2026 State WI , ATH, Wisconsin Bombers/West De Pere, WI 2026 Twitter
Judeah was a 2026 prospect I got my first look at Back 2 Ballin and one that throughout the tournament, was certainly one that played with a chip on his shoulder for the Wisconsin Bombers and that applied to both sides of the ball. Physicality was Judeah’s bread and butter as a DB that did not give off an inch to any wide receiver he went up against. As a slot wide receiver, I thought Judeah showed off sound agility with his lower body while turning outside and showed off the competitive balance around the sidelines. Also, showed off a great amount of fluidity with his routes at 6’0 180. Judeah will be a home state of Wisconsin name I will be tracking this fall out of WDP.
Karsten Sissoko Karsten Sissoko 6'1" | 170 lbs | WR Brandon Valley | 2026 State SD , ATH/WR, Sioux Falls Sharks/Brandon Valley, SD 2026 Twitter
One of our top wide receivers in South Dakota’s 2026 class has seen reps at safety this Spring and I have to say I Karsten’s play there, certainly shows off more positional flexibility for this kid in the future. Last Spring we saw splashes of what Karsten can do at defensive back and that translation has crossed over into 2024 as he shows off more intensive vision of the field and seen his football IQ grow in my eyes. His frame and physicality passes the eye test, and should be a prospect that certainly hits his stride this fall as the upside on Karsten is certainly a high one as a top 15 prospect in 2026.
Matthew Potter Matthew Potter 5'11" | 170 lbs | RB Xavier | 2026 WI , ATH/WR, Wisconsin Bombers/Appleton Xavier, WI 2026 Twitter
Another Wisconsin Bomber that cracked our final standouts list for athletes was Appleton Xavier 2026 Matthew Potter Matthew Potter 5'11" | 170 lbs | RB Xavier | 2026 WI . Matthew popped out quickly on my radar with his impressive hands he debuted in my first live eval of his game which he showed off on a consistent basis. As a sophomore Matthew nearly had 1000 receiving yards, so it is no question as to why I was impressed I was impressed with how smooth his route-running showed off to be as a WR prospect that had some of the best composure I saw amongst wide receivers all weekend across the board with all of his skillsets. Defensively, I thought Matthew showed off quick play recognition and showed off pre-snap position angles that ended up right in the wheelhouse of the ball carrier. He certainly is one to watch out of the Fox Valley in 2026.