Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase: Nate's Top Linebackers, Part I

BROOKLYN PARK, MN-- We get a little deeper into our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase content and take a peak at the first batch of linebackers that stood out on Sunday at the Park Center Dome. Both the 2027 and 2026 classes are well represented in Part I.   [player_tooltip player_id='1288296' first='Carson' last='Pruett'], LB, Princeton 2027 <a href="https://x.com/carsonpruett55">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/10/IMG_1712-rotated-crop-481x316-1734476283.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1582918" style="width:325px;height:auto" /></figure>   Carson is a prospect I got a live eval on this season as a defensive end, and watching him at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase at linebacker, he surely fits the mold even better. The 6'1 228 pounder from Princeton was another linebacker prospect in the 2027 class that was in my top-tier of linebackers as one that I felt really excelled with his attention to detail and on constant reps with the coaching tips he got from our linebacker coaches. Carson was also one of the most physically imposing linebackers I felt in the entire group but even with that elite linebacker size, he surely showed off to be more rangey with his sudden athletic movement as what looks like has the long strides to carry from sideline to sideline. I surely was highly intrigued with this group of 2027 linebackers that Minnesota offers as scholarship talents in my eyes   [player_tooltip player_id='1306596' first='Hudson' last='Clarksean'], LB, Mankato West 2027 <a href="https://x.com/HudsonClarksean">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/12/IMG_2225-rotated-crop-481x316-1734476409.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1582924" style="width:343px;height:auto" /></figure>   Hudson was a linebacker I had all over my notebook on Sunday at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase as one of the top 2027s I watched all day. I recall him as a standout at the Minnesota prospect camp last summer and since then you could tell he has grown out his frame significantly. He showed off nimble athletic movement that showed off great instincts during Indy drills as a linebacker that you could gauge knows how to finish rep after rep and that surely checks out when you get the early looks of him on tape. He also showed off excellent pursuit angles in the reps I watched as there was a ton of consistency across the board for Hudson. I know [player_tooltip player_id='1292679' first='Oliver' last='West'] and I were impressed last summer, but man did this live eval do the justice for me in what looks like to me a easy call for a probable scholarship fit at linebacker in the 2027 class.   [player_tooltip player_id='1581340' first='Braden' last='Daubige'], LB, Rochester John Marshall 2026 <a href="https://x.com/bradendaubige">Twitter</a>   It seems like year after year over these last handful of years I find a linebacker from Rochester John Marshall that intrigues me as a college football target as [player_tooltip player_id='1581340' first='Braden' last='Daubige'] is next up on that list in my eyes from his performance at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. Braden showed off some of the most physical hands off his sheds that I got to watch from the linebacker group and when you roll the tape you see that exact match. Braden is a linebacker that after rolling the tape wishes I had caught more of his reps at Park Center as he surely looks like a scholarship talent in my eyes.   Mason Helfmann, LB, St. Louis Park 2026 <a href="https://x.com/mhelfmann11">Twitter</a>   Mason was another 2026 linebacker that hit my notebook muliple times on Sunday at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. He showed off some of the smoothest vision I caught overall in the linebacker group as a linebacker that you could gauge has a stocked football IQ in the reps I got to watch. Not only was his vision locked in he showed off the balanced footwork that passed the eye test at the linebacker position and moved with more fluidity in his reps than I expected to see.   [player_tooltip player_id='924343' first='Austin' last='Anderson'], LB, Elk River 2026<a href="https://x.com/Austin_050"> Twitter</a>   Austin was a new local linebacker that I added to my radar on Sunday at Park Center as one that popped out at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. What I got most out of Austin's reps on Sunday was how balanced his footwork was in the reps that I watched and he showed off ample fluidity and I felt like his came out longer and quicker to the ball for his in 5'10 195 pound frame. Despite maybe not being the biggest linebacker on the field, Austin I felt had a longer range in my eyes and is another linebacker that the motor and well-versed pursuit angles to the ball should attract college coaches at the next-level in the coming year.   [player_tooltip player_id='592135' first='Will' last='Raymond'], LB, Maple Grove 2026 <a href="https://x.com/willraymond21">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/23-William-Raymond.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1252214" style="width:329px;height:auto" /></figure>   Will was a 6'0 200 pound linebacker out of powerhouse Maple Grove that impressed me with the multiple skillsets he showed off at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase on Sunday. The first clear-cut skillset that impressed me from Will was his great vision he showed off in the reps I got to watch and one that you could see quickly plays with a heavy nose for the ball and a sizable motor at his disposal. He also possessed sudden power with his hands getting off his blocks with his physical instincts as I think the mix of defensive end and linebacker reps last year for the Crimson shields more strength in his frame than one might expect. He is one that is under the radar at the moment, but his reps at Park Center showed off a linebacker with great upside to show off in his senior season.   [player_tooltip player_id='1120544' first='Jamal' last='Smith'], LB Spring Lake Park 2026 <a href="https://x.com/jamal2shiftyy">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/12/IMG_2267-rotated-crop-481x316-1734469503.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1582817" style="width:346px;height:auto" /></figure>   Not only was he the first linebacker to catch my eyes on the day, but [player_tooltip player_id='1120544' first='Jamal' last='Smith']<a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jamal-smith/"></a> of Spring Lake Park came home with our linebacker MVP in the end. He flashed excellent speed with a 4.56 40-yard dash which I have yet to see from a first run in a group during any of our Midwest showcases I have scouted throughout the years. Jamal also showed off such great physicality in his hands getting off his sheds in the reps I watched as a linebacker I could gauge very early from reps plays with a ton of finesse and range you want at the linebacker position as his fluidity had to be some of the best we saw in reps we had in the linebacker group. He showed off the agility too from his first step from what I grasped in his reps and even with all that talent, he was captioned as such a hard worker and coachable by the linebacker coaches at our showcase. Jamal surely showed off to me like a linebacker that should be playing scholarship football on Saturdays.

BROOKLYN PARK, MN-- We get a little deeper into our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase content and take a peak at the first batch of linebackers that stood out on Sunday at the Park Center Dome. Both the 2027 and 2026 classes are well represented in Part I.