Midwest Summer Camp SZN Early Winners: 2027 Edition

The tidal wave of recruiting information and movement that comes with the beginning of the summer camp szn has taken a brief pause, and in the midst of this break, PrepRedzone is your foremost source for the biggest winners and must-know names from the tsunami of recruiting news that has gone down these past few weeks. In this Midwest Summer Camp Szn Early Winners series, we'll be highlighting the most notable and important offers, camp performances, and ensuing commitments from the 2028s to the 2025s of America's Heartland. Yesterday, after spotlighting some incoming freshman who have earned FBS and/or P4 offers this summer due to their camp and in-person performances, we're onto the 2027s, and boy, has that class been hot on the trail this summer. Nine different states represented, eight different position groups, including one of the best looking TE groups I've ever seen this early, and some of the future superstars of college football, all below.   --    Representing Central Illinois and Saint Joseph, a town of nearly 4,000, it's only a fitting that a Champaign area kid grabs his first P4 offer from the Fighting Illini. However, this one came a lot sooner than most, as 6'6, 300 lb. rising sophomore Cameron Wagner is in the midst of a breakthrough summer camp szn that has named him one of the biggest winners in America's Heartland. After a performance at the UIndy Mega Camp in early June, Miami (OH) pulled the trigger and became Wagner's first overall offer, setting up an eye-catching camp performance in Champaign to earn P4 offer #1 from the hometown team. Wagner's also camped at Tennessee and Iowa this summer, going two for four on FBS offers on his summer camp schedule.   His freshman tape displays a RT who is a fluid and balanced puller and mover who looks like he can bend and play with consistent and low pad level for a 6'6 underclassman. Wagner also displays good leg drive post contact, solid strength, and the ability to set his anchor and absorb power at the point of attack in pass rush situations. The balance and overall mobility are impressive to say the least, and I'm assuming the overall athleticism and potential drew the eye of OL coach Bart Miller & Co. in Champaign. Wagner will be making a big debut on the upcoming PrepRedzoneIL inaugural 2027 rankings release. Stay tuned!     Pretty cool story here, as a freshman tight end from the Great State of South Dakota worked out in-person and earned an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs. Pierre's T.F. Riggs High School, home to recent 4star QB now Ohio State Buckeye Lincoln Kienholz, has another nationally-renowned prospect on their hands, and with this offer, their superstar soon-to-be-sophomore TE Cooper Terwilliger has asserted himself as not only one of the best TEs in the 2027 class, but in the entire nation overall. This wasn't a huge surprise, as Terwilliger earned his first P4 offer back in April from the Iowa State Cyclones, and he's done nothing but gain steam from there. Kansas State, Nebraska, and Iowa all joined in after, with the latter two coming in June, but that Georgia offer thrusts Terwilliger into the national spotlight in what is looking like a loaded TE class overall.   Speed, ball skills, contested catch ability, and an overall dynamic skillset on the gridiron, Terwilliger helped the Govs win a 2023 South Dakota 11AA state championship and looked and played like a far more seasoned TE prospect. Nuanced and effective route runner for his size and age, shows some juice after the catch, both with power and suddenness, and a physical and assertive blocker, he already shows NFL and Sunday potential as a freshman. Buckle your seat belt, folks, South Dakota is on the come-up.     Already gunning for the top spot in the 2027 national TE rankings, Dexter High School's 6'5, 225 lber. Holden Niemi has been an offer machine since December of his freshman year and really cranking the volume up to 11 in June. Beginning with Bowling Green State and Central Michigan, who offered in early December, right before Niemi showed up at our PRzMichigan Stock-Up Showcase and blowing the roof off the event while getting tabbed as a B1G-worthy prospect by our Michigan scouts Alex Pallone and Tyler Graham. Their projection was a homerun, as Niemi was offered by Kent State, Duke, and Wisconsin in May, setting the stage for a prolific June. Michigan, Toledo, Ohio State, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have all offered this month, arguably the best run of any 2027 in in the nation, which included an in-person camp performance and offer in Gainesville and in front of Head Coach Billy Napier and staff.   A multi-sport prospect who also excels as a center fielder and pitcher on the baseball diamond, Niemi missed the first three games of the season but still manufactured one of the most impressive freshman tapes in the Midwest. The first play of his freshman tape lets you know that this a different kind of cat, as he takes a TE screen to the house in the blink of an eye and with eye-popping explosive burst that looks like he was shot out of a cannon. Whether as an inline or flexed out passing option, Niemi has the juice. He possesses soft hands that can pluck the ball out of the air and away from his body, is sudden and powerful at the top of the and willing to go over the middle and make catches through traffic and with potential oncoming contact, and shows great balance and quickness after the catch. Niemi can create missed tackles in a variety of ways, but most of the time he's simply untouched thanks to his excellent burst and top end speed. The now-225 lber. is a physically dominant blocker with strength at the point of attack more indicative of an upperclassman than 14/15 year old. He can pancake opponents with the power of an OL as compared to a TE and shows great technique, led in his hands, and can redistribute force and power after initial contact. Also able to breakdown in space and corral perimeter defenders but is strong enough to open up gaps on the LOS against defensive linemen. As a final note, the burst and speed are about as good as I've seen from a freshman TE while scouting for PRZ. it really pops off the tape and is a game-changer after the catch. Obvious 4star talent and one of the best TEs in the country for 2027.     Sticking with the TE position here and the current #1 TE in Ohio's 2027 class, a title I don't see Xavier Ratica relinquishing without a fight. The 6'6, 230 lber. saw the 2024 Summer Camp SZN produce his first college offer, as a camp performance at the University of Toledo earned him his first FBS offer from the hosting Rockets. Coming out of the storied Lakota West program in Eastern Ohio, Ratica had a strong showing at the PreRedzoneMichigan Combine Series Showcase stop, earning a First Team All-Camp nod, and followed it up with a standout performance at the Rivals Combine in May, putting up the best shuttle and 3-cone of any 2027 TE in the country. A boatload of P4 and FBS college camp invites poured in, and he capitalized well, earning that FBS offer from Toledo earlier this month.   A multi-sporter who also plays basketball, Ratica was primarily a non-varsity contributor in 2023 as a freshman, but proved himself to be a big-play pass-catching option that can win 50/50 balls and make contested catches, both in the air and through traffic. Ratica was especially dangerous down the seam in 2023, and also showed himself to be a willing and effective blocker who can line up all over the field. He'll need some varsity tape to really get going on the recruiting trail P4-wise, but judging by the size and now-verified athleticism, it's only a matter of time.     I wrote about Corsair way back in September for a PrepRedzone Midwest-focused series just like this one, mentioning in my last sentence that "he'll be a popular prospect on the recruiting trail sooner rather than later." I also mentioned how his weight room prowess and natural strength he possesses coming into high school were big reasons why he was finding so much varsity success so early. He came into this past season already able to clean 265 lbs., toss the discus 162'9", and was close to a 400 lb. squat. The well-developed strength and physical maturity, combined with his tape and on-field ability, all helped my prediction come true, as he used a standout camp performance at the Iowa State prospect camp to earn his first college football, coming from the hosting Cyclones of the Big12. Corsair has also has camped at Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, KState, and hit the Washburn University team camp with his Hays High School squad.   The 6'3, 290 lber. placed seventh at the 2024 Kansas Class 5A discus throw with a 146-1 throw, also threw 146'8" at regionals, and 152'5" at the Dodge City-hosted conference meet. Corsair went 4.85 in the short-shuttle and 7'9.5" broad jump in April at a showcase, and squated 405x5 in early January, maxing out at 515 pounds and also cleaning 285 pounds and benching 260. An LT possessing a thick, powerful, stout build, everything about him says physical maturity and development above his age. The build, the strength, the mobility, and the toughness scream "this isn't your typical freshman." He's laterally agile and a crushing finisher in the run game, with great balance and noticeable leg drive post-contact. I like watching him in space, and he was utilized well in the screen game in 2023, demonstrating the ability to breakdown in space to corral quicker second and third level defenders, and Corsair has only gotten bigger, faster, quicker, and stronger since last fall. Going to be a road-grading year for the bulldozer out of Hays.     The darling of the Early Summer Camp SZN in the Great State of Wisconsin, Germantown's 6'6, 275 lb. towering rising sophomore of an OT Cole Reiter has accomplished what few freshman in the state have before him, and that's earn an offer from the home state Wisconsin Badgers before his sophomore year. Reiter had a good showing at the opening Wisconsin Badgers prospect camp of the summer, earning offer #1 from Central Michigan, and added a North Dakota State offer the following weekend after a standout performance in Fargo. A few days later, Reiter went back to Madison, balled out, and earned his first P4 offer from the home state Badgers and OL coach AJ Blazek.   Reiter comes out of the same program as 2025 Badgers LB commit Cooper Catalano, and although he only has two games of freshman film, you can see that Reiter flattening run blocker with good pop at the point of attack with noticeable length and room to fill in. Plus, he can be disruptive and make plays behind the LOS as a defensive lineman. In a camp setting, it's safe to say his athleticism, length, mobility, and physicality are showed up in big-time fashion, and passing that in-person eye test and evaluation is about as good as it gets. Can't wait to see how he transfers this momentum into his sophomore season on the gridiron. Breakout year coming for the 2027 three-sport standout from Germantown.     Yet another rising sophomore TE vying for the title of #1 TE in the Midwest, and possibly the nation, Norwalk's 6'5, 220 lber. Luke Brewer has been on an absolute heater all year long on the recruiting trail. There wasn't a doubt he was the real deal since the first game of his freshman season, and it didn't take for long for him high-majors to take notice, most notably the instate P4s. Brewer was offered by Iowa State in mid-October, well before Norwalk's 2023 season, and Kansas State and Miami (FL) offered up in April. Toledo joined the mix on June 2nd, preceding big-time, in-person camp and workout performances that netted him offers from the Iowa Hawkeyes and Georgia Bulldogs, two of the best producers of TEs in all of college football.   The PrepRedzoneIA Showcase standout is dynamic, polished, and tough as nails. Here's what I wrote about him a couple of months ago for a breakdown on some noteworthy 2027s earning early P4 and FBS offers:   "Possessing a traditional and balanced TE skillset, including some exciting and promising juice as a pass catcher, Brewer can flex out to the slot or align as an inline TE on the LOS and shows off good speed, impressive strength, and fluid athleticism that shows up all over the gridiron in his freshman tape. The 6'4 TE is tough as nails when going over the middle and can complete catches through contact, sometimes massive collisions, as he showed in his freshman tape. I like his big catch radius and ability to reel in catches away from his body and make receptions in traffic. Plus, he displays some shake at the top of the route and is really clean when getting in and out of his breaks as a route runner and when the ball is in hand, he's powerful, quick, and shows off some intimidating contact balance after the catch. The physicality box is checked too, as Brewer demonstrates noticeable strength for a freshman that is occasionally overpowering as a blocker, and I like how he runs his feet post-contact, keeps his hands active, and utilizes body positioning effectively. He's a crushing blocker in space who flies in like a bat out of hell to eliminate LBs and DBs so quickly that they can barely react, and Brewer also made some big hits on kickoff coverage to boot. Obvious P4 talent who is poised to continue the trend of NFL-worthy TEs produced by the state of Iowa."     Wouldn't be a Midwest special highlighting TE standouts without Wisconsin involved, and the Badger State is already repping a good one with Iola-Scandinavia 6'5, 210 lber. Korz Loken. Yet another PrepRedzone showcase standout who we had on our radar early, Loken went 9'6 in the broad jump and 4.5 on the shuttle at our spring showcase, which I'm assuming also showed up in his performance at the Iowa State prospect camp, wherein he earned offer #1 when the Cyclones reached out after camp. Central Michigan has also offered this summer.   Loken can easily dunk on the hardwood already, and is an impressive multi-sport athlete and basketball player who excels in whatever sport you throw him into. A First Team All-Conference selection at TE and OLB who caught 370 yards worth of receptions at a 17.6 YPC average for 5 TDs, Loken was commended by Head Wisconsin Scout Mark Johnson for his ability and effectiveness as a route runner and pass catching threat in 1v1s at our spring showcase. The frame jumps off the tape first. Loken is tall, long, and lean, and he's got the chance to fill into imposing proportions and already knows how to use his size to his advantage in pass catching situations. The 6'5 TE can win catches through contact, shows burst after the catch, and lined up all over the field and was productive as a pass catcher in a variety of situations last fall. Loken can generate some power when he plants his foot in the group, which shows up both at the top of the route and after the catch, possesses a mean stiff-arm, and does a good job of stacking DBs after he gets a step on them and tracks the ball well in the air. Still a lot of developing and refining to do, but the raw athleticism and pass catching skill set are more than present and have laid a foundation to be an uber-productive and dynamic target in the passing game these next three years.     Seems like we keep talking about Andrean High School - located in Merrillville, Indiana, right outside of Chicago - more and more on the recruiting space. The private, Catholic Division 2A competitor has been pumping out talent at a notable clip as of late, and already has a 2027 hot on the FBS scene in 6', 210 lb. LB/RB Ethan Reyna. A varsity starter in 2023, Reyna transferred the on-field success to the offseason camp trail, as a camp performance at Toledo and Miami (OH) both netted offers from the FBS host. The 210 lber. also competes in track and field and holds a 3.7 GPA. He shoots gaps, can execute twists, and changes direction well when finding seams and avoiding blocks as an OL as a blitzer, and is a strong tackler who also contributed as a notable asset in the offensive game as a RB/HB. Reyna does a good job of working through traffic, evading blocking attempts, and scraping across the LOS in pursuit, shows solid pursuit speed and a noticeable motor, and avoids and gets off blocks well, showing the ability to beat blocking attempts in a variety of ways. Everything about Reyna's play screams upperclassman as opposed to a rising sophomore, and it's safe to assume the eye tests and athletic benchmarks are being hit in-person and live for FBS schools to pull the trigger so early. Fun name to watch out of Indiana and their budding 2027 class.     A big-time QB name to know out of the Midwest with potential national implications, Greencastle's freshman phenom Cole Stephens set two single-game state records in 2023 after a fantastic showing in September that netted him 572 passing yards and 10 TDs, in a single game. Yes, in one and one game only. Hard not to think the kid could be bound for the brightest of lights in a few years, and he has already begun to live up to the hype this Summer Camp SZN, earning an FBS offer out of the MAC from Miami of Ohio. Great offer to kickstart the recruitment, and Stephens, a 6'2, 175 lber. who reports a 33" vert, shows off accuracy and arm talent in spades in his freshman the tape. A pocket passer with a strong arm and one of the more impressive freshman tapes I've ever seen accuracy-wise, Stephens can really sling the rock around. He shows notable velocity and zip on his intermediate and second-level throws that can fit the ball into tight windows and right through the outstretched palms of waiting DBs, and is able to put the ball on a rope or drop it into a bucket with as much in-game confidence and execution as I've seen from a QB his age. Stephens scans the field, sees the defense, and makes snappy decisions that keep his offense moving and can stretch the field on a defense. and displays a strong arm with a quick release, good timing, and surefire mechanics that really pop on tape. Stephens completed 154 of his passes on 229 attempts for 2,675 yards as a freshman, including a 17.4 YPC average and a whopping 34 TDs through the air. His efforts helped Greencastle to an 8-3 record in 2023, along with his 67% completion percentage. For me, winning, accuracy, and ball security are my three big checkmarks for a QB prospect, and Stephens is possessing all three very early. Pay attention, this kid could be making national waves soon.     Coming out of my home state of Minnesota, it was hard not to hear about the dynamic freshman duo up in Moorhead that were already tearing up the MN 5A varsity scene. Along with his standout 2027 QB counterpart, Moorhead's freshman RB Taye Reich posted a notable freshman campaign of 81 carries for 458 yards and 2 TDs, and comes out of an under-rated area of talent in the Fargo/Moorhead metroplex. Competing in the second-highest level of MN competition, Reich showed off a skillset that included soft hands, a sudden and laterally quick running style, and big-play capability with a shifty running style. The 180 lber. has big-time burst that helped him explode through the first and second levels of a defense in 2023, and he used that quickness and elusiveness to consistently make that free defender miss, as well as absorb contact well and display some notable balance. Reich went down to Manhattan, Kansas at the beginning of the summer and absolutely put the state on notice with a P4-offeree worthy performance in front of the Wildcats staff that earned him his first offer from KState. Heckuva place to start, and after I got my eyes on some of his testing numbers from a regional camp up here in the North, I can see how it happened. This kid is legit athletic, and although I'm not ready to share the numbers just yet, I can absolutely see how he earned an in-person P4 offer so early. This was also in pads, so safe to say that Reich has some physicality and juice, and has hit the offseason weight room and speed circuit hard. Can't wait to see how he performs in 2024, the future is bright for the 2027 Moorhead Spud.     The Great State of Illinois has one of the top QB prospects in the nation in the 2027 class, and it looks like a #1 contender has emerged as well. A transfer from St. Viator to Montini Catholic in the Chicagoland area, Abrams had a prolific freshman season with Viator's non-varsity ranks, totaling 3,027 yards and 32 passing TDs with only 8 INTs as a freshman and JV contributor. Already at 6'4 and 180 lbs. with the freshman tape to back up the measurements, Abrams owns a big-time arm that can stretch the field with ease and is able to throw the ball into tight windows and displays accuracy to all three levels of the field. He throws a good ball on the run and looks like a man amongst boys when he takes off and runs. At most programs, I think this kid is starting right away, and Abrams backed up the talent by going into Iowa State's first prospect camp of the summer and earning offer #1 from the Cyclones after an electric performance in Ames. Despite the lack of varsity snaps, Abrams looks about as physically gifted and talented as JV QB as I've seen, and will face a big benchmark and test with hopeful varsity reps coming this fall. He has the all the makings to embrace and run with the opportunity, not looking back until he's one of the top QBs in America's Heartland. Get on the bandwagon now, folks!    --

The tidal wave of recruiting information and movement that comes with the beginning of the summer camp szn has taken a brief pause, and in the midst of this break, PrepRedzone is your foremost source for the biggest winners and must-know names from the tsunami of recruiting news that has gone down these past few weeks. In this Midwest Summer Camp Szn Early Winners series, we'll be highlighting the most notable and important offers, camp performances, and ensuing commitments from the 2028s to the 2025s of America's Heartland. Yesterday, after spotlighting some incoming freshman who have earned FBS and/or P4 offers this summer due to their camp and in-person performances, we're onto the 2027s, and boy, has that class been hot on the trail this summer. Nine different states represented, eight different position groups, including one of the best looking TE groups I've ever seen this early, and some of the future superstars of college football, all below.