Prep Redzone NEXT Minnesota Combine: Nate’s Standouts, Part IV

BROOKLYN PARK-- With our second to last group of standouts from the Prep Redzone NEXT Minnesota Combine, we dive heavily into the running back position amongst other positions. The questions we got answered in our evaluations: Who travelled 7.5 hours one-way to our NEXT Minnesota Combine and left his mark? Who came in extremely raw but relished the coaching and reps they received at one of the hardest defensive positions? Who impressed with their change of directions? That question gets answered by multiple prospects on this list as we dive deep into our Part IV standouts from Brooklyn Park.   Ka'shawn Parker-Watkins, DB, Minneapolis, Minn (2028) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kashawn_pw4195/">Instagram</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/45-Ka_shawn-Parker-Watkin-crop-4800x3152-1712720455.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1241469" style="width:308px;height:auto" /></figure>   Ka'shawn was a defensive back prospect that I thought came into our NEXT Minnesota Combine quite raw, but I liked how much stock this kid put into his attention to detail with the coaches I saw on Sunday in Brooklyn Park. He was one of the longer athletes in the secondary and from an upside perspective showed off the length of his strides quite well when I watched him in Indy Drills. He also has good length in his upper body too. I thought the change of direction testing numbers came in better than I expected for his size, with his top pro agility number landing at 4.82 which shows growth coming in my eyes over the next year or so.   [player_tooltip player_id='1145733' first='Kade' last='Grant'], QB, Blaine, Minn (2030) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/qbkade/">Instagram</a>   Kade was another one of the small batch of 2030 athletes that caught my eyes on Sunday in Brooklyn Park at our Prep Redzone NEXT Minnesota Combine. My notes had Kade as the most explosive broad jumper in the 2030 class, posting a 7'6 which was a whooping 4 inches higher than the next athlete in the 2030 class, as Kade was in all categories within the top two in 2030 in testing overall. I liked what I saw in 1v1 drills as well from the young man out of Blaine, as he showed good touch for his age when I watched him hit a couple throws on intermediate routes with good consistency. Looks like a quarterback that will never lack reps year-roud based on his dedication to the QB position.   Zachary Spain, RB, Minot, ND (2028)   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/22-Zachary-Spain-crop-4800x3152-1712720275.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1241462" style="width:302px;height:auto" /></figure>   By far the farthest travelled athlete to our Prep Redzone NEXT Minnnesota Combine was Minot Bishop Ryan's Zachary Spain who drove nearly 7.5 hours (one-way) to Brooklyn Park and clearly the long drive was worth his while as he made my list of 2028 standouts from Sunday. Zachary was a RB prospect that flashed certainly with his footwork from the bulk of reps I watched from him throughout our combine, as Zachary posted a 8'0 with his broad jump and consistently had his L-Drill under 8 seconds which is impressive for his age and his 5'7 145 pound size. Zachary is one that across every second rep in testing he was given, he made the most of it posting a better number across all of his second reps which demonstrates a quick developmental football IQ in the making. He also passed the eye test within the running back group, as this young man certainly has the frame that shows off I am sure great durability when the pads come on. As our head scout of the Prep Redzone Dakotas site, you can bet already Zachary has my attention when those 2028 North Dakotas come around towards the end of the summer.   Parker Running, RB, Minnetonka, Minn (2028) <a href="https://www.instagram.com/park_runn/">Instagram</a>   Another running back that certainly flashed to me early in his pro agility was Minnetonka's tailback Parker Running who posted the best pro agility time at our Prep Redzone NEXT Minnesota Combine with a 4.50 even, which beat his competition by almost .10 as we saw the COD he showed off first hand. Not only did Parker move as one of the best running backs, he also won me with his athletic base from the early stretches we got to watch out of the NEXT group on Sunday. Parker was inside the top five for his 40-yard dash (5.19) and was second in another change of direction category in testing which was the L-Drill which he ran at 7.19. The lacrosse background Parker has also intrigues me from a durability perspective. The football IQ also showed out later in the session, which with all this together puts Parker amongst my skill player MVPs that peaked highly in Brooklyn Park on Sunday.

BROOKLYN PARK-- With our second to last group of standouts from the Prep Redzone NEXT Minnesota Combine, we dive heavily into the running back position amongst other positions. The questions we got answered in our evaluations: Who travelled 7.5 hours one-way to our NEXT Minnesota Combine and left his mark? Who came in extremely raw but relished the coaching and reps they received at one of the hardest defensive positions? Who impressed with their change of directions? That question gets answered by multiple prospects on this list as we dive deep into our Part IV standouts from Brooklyn Park.