Outstate ballers - Southeastern Minnesota

After spending some time in central Minnesota, I am continuing my virtual football journey around Minnesota. For this version, I find myself in the Southeast. Like central Minnesota, I will be back to the Southeast multiple times, but here is a breakdown of five of the region's top Class of 2025 high school football players.    Schneider has all the tools to be a dominating defensive end. He has excellent, athletic size and moves very well. He has the speed to run down smaller players from behind and has that opportunity – partly because of the solid work he does with his hands. Schneider has excellent lateral movement, allowing the primarily defensive end to string out plays even when engaged with a blocker. The Tigers' big man has the strength to stand up against the run, sometimes fighting off multiple blocks to make the tackle at the line of scrimmage. The Montana State commit has a non-stop motor routinely chasing down plays from the backside.     I wasn't able to find any video for Schiltz's junior season, but as a sophomore, he played multiple positions well. Offensively, his main spot was fullback, where he stopped defenders in their tracks with his lead blocking. He has excellent ball skills as a wide receiver and can win fifty/fifty balls. He runs sharp routes and comes out of his breaks quickly. Defensively, his fullback skills translate well to middle linebacker. Schiltz is a solid tackler and moves well laterally. When picking his way through traffic looking for the ball carrier or dropping into coverage, the Panthers' two-way player is smooth in the open field, but his explosive physical play stands out the most.     Russell has been the subject of multiple stories on this sight. During the spring, here is what I had to say about the son-to-be senior.   "Russell is a threat on both sides of the ball. He has excellent instincts and closing speed as a deep safety. As a receiver, his straight-line speed and length are too much for many defensive backs to handle. He has good ball skills as a receiver, which translates into great ball skills as a defensive back."   He takes advantage of that speed and the soft coverage he sometimes gets by using his quick feet to cut off the soft coverage to get open underneath.     Wangen plays receiver and safety for the Tigers. The senior-to-be's strengths on one side of the ball so easily translate over to the other side of the ball. His backpedal and his ability to break on the ball are about as smooth as you are going to see at this level. That skill set perfectly translates to his ability to explode out of his cuts and keep his feet in bounds on offense. That explosion out of his cuts allows him to use his speed to create separation on offense and – in turn – eat up separation on defense. He has solid ball skills that – I don't have to explain – are essential on offense and a great bonus on defense.     Cole is one of the more explosive athletes coming out of his stance, as you are going to see. The Chatfield Gopher takes away any angle an offensive lineman might have on him. Cole is practically across the line of scrimmage before the offensive lineman is out of his stance. When he gets to the ball, he is a powerful tackler. If his initial burst off the line doesn't get it done, he uses his upper body well. He keeps lineman off his body and literally throws blockers off him. His quickness translates well to the offensive line. He pulls across the formation about as quickly as an athlete his size can expect.

After spending some time in central Minnesota, I am continuing my virtual football journey around Minnesota. For this version, I find myself in the Southeast. Like central Minnesota, I will be back to the Southeast multiple times, but here is a breakdown of five of the region's top Class of 2025 high school football players.