Midseason Breakout Performers: Part IV

DAKOTAS- The tape grind never ends especially once we hit near the midseason mark across the Dakotas. We take a look at six prospects across the Dakotas that are raising their stock, as we look forward to seeing how much more traction they can get going forward.   NORTH DAKOTA:    Israel was one of my favorite 2026 wide receivers I covered at camps this summer, so it's no secret to us at PRZ as to why he is off to a strong start with the Hawks in the 2024 season. He plays with a ton of finesse upon getting the football in his hands and I have seen the growth that Israel quickly grew this summer with how sudden this young can be in the open field as you can tell he has put in the work with his COD and burst over the last few months and beyond. I also have been impressed with Israel is pass coverage at corner, as his footwork and physical ball tracking ability has seemed to catch several wide receivers off line with his overall presence as he plays way bigger than his measurables. There are not too many 2026s that have offers yet in North Dakota, but Israel already has two on his resume which shows off a great sign for his next-level future as I could certainly see more recruiting steam coming over the next several months.     Talk about a prospect that has had himself one heck of a midseason tape, logging over 1000 total yards already, that is [player_tooltip player_id='1370689' first='Hudsen' last='Sheldon'] of Mandan. Hudsen is in my eyes the most elusive quarterbacks in the Dakotas outside of the pocket and even when being heavily chased plays with an high amount of poise with his throws on all three levels of the field. The pass efficency of his throws even when in a jam seem to lose no arm strength, precision, and accuracy either as Hudsen's speed checked one local Division I schools boxes over the summer at camps and there should probably be more in the running for his talent at the next level. Defensively, he is also clutch at safety showing off so much range and a bigger vertical than you would expect on his midseason tape. There is no doubt that Hudsen could be North Dakota's Gatorade Player of the Year after the season based on how his season and the Braves season has gotten started. <a href="https://x.com/HudsenSheldon">Twitter</a>     I have been very impressed with Cash's growth with his football IQ from 2023 to 2024, as this young man has grown well with his ball tracking instincts thus far this season. We have always thought that Cash played with great range at his 6'4 205 pound frame, but I believe he has even gotten deeper with his range looking so far from this 2024 season. He also has shown thus far in 2024 that his position angles have been excellent as constantly Cash is in the right place at the right time with his ball-tracking ability. He certainly has shown why we believe he will be a Division I prospect at the next-level at safety. Twitter      SOUTH DAKOTA:    The 6'3 190 pounder from Lennox is a 2026 athlete that is trending up on my 2026 recruiting board with how athletic he is for his size on both sides of the ball. He certainly checks my boxes at safety at the next-level as his downhill run stopping ability has a quick trigger and shows off sound position angles. In the backfield, Tate is not one you want give the open field to as his elusiveness has been fun to watch on tape especially getting out of the first level of the field. He certainly in my eyes has a great shot at the next-level especially at strong safety. <a href="https://x.com/tategerdes11">Twitter</a>     What have we seen out of our OL2 in the South Dakota 2026 class in De Smet's [player_tooltip player_id='849018' first='Grant' last='Wilkinson']? Let's just start with his unreal physicality at the point of attack. The 6'8 315 pounder, is a human pancake anytime he gets his hands on his defender and has added more finish to his tape over the first four weeks which I LOVE to see. It also is almost unfair at defensive tackle how great Grant's athletic movement and vision is to gobble up ball carriers. Grant by far has one of the best offensive line tapes I have seen thus far in the 2026 class in the Dakotas and is one should be a certainly early offer for Division I schools. You won't want to wait around to offer this young man. <a href="https://x.com/GrantWilk07">Twitter</a>     Four sacks in three games is no small feat especially at the linebacker position, as Brandon Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='1293580' first='Evan' last='Gray'] is off to a great start for the Lynx. The finesse that this young man plays from the start of his first step is violent if you leave him unblocked, which too many 11AAA teams have done in the first few weeks as Evan flies downhill to the ball like a bat out of you know what. Even when he has to shed out of blocks, Evan's suddenness getting off of blocks has some quick torque that just hammers down with physicality on contact. His agile has been a force to be reckoned with and I am surprised of his lack of recruiting attention, which I expect to change swiftly over the next month or so. <a href="https://x.com/Evangray06">Twitter</a>

DAKOTAS- The tape grind never ends especially once we hit near the midseason mark across the Dakotas. We take a look at six prospects across the Dakotas that are raising their stock, as we look forward to seeing how much more traction they can get going forward.