2027 North Dakota Winter Rankings Preview

We kick off our new <a href="https://prepredzone.com/dakotas/rankings/south-dakota-rankings/2027-rankings/">2027 North Dakota ranking</a><a href="https://prepredzone.com/dakotas/rankings/north-dakota-rankings/2027-rankings/">s</a> by releasing our North Dakota preview of the class. We talk about our rankings process, meet our top five, kick out some key points about the class thus far, and more. This rankings update has over 100+ prospects ranked, nearly another 100 on our watchlist as we wait for more film as this is a class that is different than most we have had in South Dakota, and we will tell you why below!   Our PRZ Prospect Evaluation Process:   Our #1 priority and goal with Prep Redzone Dakotas is to put athletes to expose them to the college coaches and college programs at all levels to advance their exposure. We evaluate prospects on next-level potential; not stats, not on the team's rankings in the state, it's all about prospect upside and how their skillsets fit in and apply at the next level when it comes down to measurables, athleticism and everything else that college football programs measure as far as skillsets within their evaluations. Rankings are also done with our tier system which simply groups athletes with other athletes of similar skillsets based on level. Ex: #1-#15 in state are usually reserved for Division I graded prospects, but at all levels those tiers are subject to change. All prospects will need to have tape available or have been referred to us by our anonymous sources throughout the North Dakota or South Dakota. Some prospects will peak with a higher rank searly in their high school careers which is why our rankings change 3-4 times per year at Prep Redzone Dakotas, because we also always factor in several live evaluations year-around thru prospect camps in the spring and summer, games during the fall season, and 7v7 season, as we have seen several prospects within a 3-month span add 30 pounds of muscle and a couple inches of height, while others stay the same. That is our clear-cut process with every rankings update for those of you that are new to us! Our main goal? Expose as many prospects state-wide to make sure they get the exposure they deserve in the Dakotas get next-level opportunities thru our network of several hundreds of college programs from Division I FBS, FCS, Division II, NAIA, Division and the JUCO ranks. We also on occassion will individually refer prospects to college coaches at all levels, other recruiting sources, etc. for their input to share.   Meet our New Top 5:   This top five saw two movers into our top five, one that was our DL MVP at our most recent Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase hailing from the Magic City.   #5: [player_tooltip player_id='1292622' first='Mathieson' last='DuBord'], OL, Fargo Davies <a href="https://x.com/MathiesonD35">Twitter</a>   #4: [player_tooltip player_id='1113076' first='Ethan' last='Howey'], DE, Minot North <a href="https://x.com/EthanHowey1">Twitter</a>   That mover into our updated top five and was our DL MVP at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase, was Minot North's [player_tooltip player_id='1113076' first='Ethan' last='Howey'], who moved up from the #6 spot to #4.   #3: [player_tooltip player_id='1027992' first='Brooks' last='Bakko'], ATH, Kindred <a href="https://x.com/BakkoBrooks">Twitter</a>   One of TWO prospects from powerhouse Kindred Vikings in the top five, 2027 athlete [player_tooltip player_id='1027992' first='Brooks' last='Bakko'] is up seven spots to #3 overall and our ATH1 in the class.   #2: [player_tooltip player_id='1319906' first='Ben' last='Hynek'], DL, Stanley <a href="https://x.com/hynek_ben">Twitter</a>   Staying put in our #2 overall spot in what is a stacked top five for defensive linemen, is Stanley defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1319906' first='Ben' last='Hynek'], who just picked up his first power four offer from my hometown Wisconsin Badgers recently.   #1: [player_tooltip player_id='1027991' first='Luke' last='Starcevic'], DL/OL, Kindred <a href="https://x.com/lukestarcevic8">Twitter</a>   The second of two Kindred Vikings in our top five, is [player_tooltip player_id='1027991' first='Luke' last='Starcevic'], one of the only pair of brothers we have had in our top 10 rankings in the Dakotas. Luke has an impressive offer sheet already in the Power Four and it should continue to grow further this summer.   Nate's Key Points with this 2027 Class:   This is a Stacked Class for the Defensive Line   We just met the three defensive linemen in our top five, but this class gets even better when you get deeper in the class as in our top 10 alone, I believe we have five total D1 grades defensive linemen. The others just outside the top five are:   [player_tooltip player_id='1113077' first='Ian' last='Schweigert'], Bismarck Century <a href="https://x.com/IanSchweigert21">Twitter</a>   Ian was our Co-MVP at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase at Augustana this spring and is our top defensive tackle this class has to offer.   [player_tooltip player_id='1328151' first='Anthony' last='McArthur-Morin'], Bismarck <a href="https://x.com/Anthony_M50_">Twitter</a>   Another one of my favorites in the defensive line group this winter at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase that cracked our top 10 and our DT2 is [player_tooltip player_id='1328151' first='Anthony' last='McArthur-Morin'] out of Bismarck High.   RBs and WRs are Competitive   We stacked up our top RBs and WRs nearly back to back in both position groups because of how close they were in our evaluation process. We meet the names at each below.   RBs:   [player_tooltip player_id='1314732' first='Beckett' last='Price'], Bismarck St. Mary's <a href="https://x.com/BeckettPri4837">Twitter</a>   Our RB MVP at our winter Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase is our new RB1 in the class moving up from RB2 which is [player_tooltip player_id='1314732' first='Beckett' last='Price'] out of Bismarck St. Mary's.   [player_tooltip player_id='1292624' first='Corban' last='Youngmark'], Fargo Shanley <a href="https://x.com/CorbanYoungmark">Twitter</a>   Another name I learned about at the NDSU prospect camp last summer is [player_tooltip player_id='1292624' first='Corban' last='Youngmark'] out of Fargo Shanley. Also showed off some solid tape as a linebacker this fall too and comes in as RB2.   WRs:   [player_tooltip player_id='1625946' first='Austin' last='Kanenwisher'], Stanley <a href="https://x.com/akanenwisher1">Twitter</a>   We have always been intrigued by Stanley Blue Jays wide receivers over the years, as 6'3 175 pounder Austin Kanewisher was a late add to our 2027 rankings that I am surely glad I found on tape. Enters as a new addition on our rankings as our WR2.   [player_tooltip player_id='1604859' first='Aiden' last='Green'], West Fargo Horace<a href="https://x.com/aidengreen1521"> Twitter</a>   This is worth repeating, as on both sides of the ball West Fargo Horace wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1604859' first='Aiden' last='Green'] was the only sophomore on the All-State team. Aiden moves up as a stockriser as our new WR1 in the class.   What is On Tap for Content in the Coming Weeks?   Content will flow consistently from both Dakotas daily over the next week or two from each of these groups of article series:   Newcomers (Multi-Part Series)   -Who was added to our prospect database of 2027 North Dakota prospects and what do they bring to the table as far as their skillsets?   Stockrisers (Multi-Part Series)   -Which prospects that were already ranked in the 2027 class rose their stock from last update into this offseason and what did they do to improve their rank?   Positional Breakdowns (Multiple Positions)   -You will see Pos. Breakdowns a ton over the coming months as eventually we will have covered a high amount of every ranked prospect from the D1 targets to the NAIA targets and more. We tell you the why x prospect is ranked where they are based on tape evals and live evals this summer.   Small Town Sleepers   -One of my favorite article series every ranking update. Which prospects from sleepy small town North Dakota made waves on our rankings whether newcomers or stockrisers? Also because I am a geography nut, we will talk about the populations of the small towns these young men are from and of course the skillsets in our evals they bring to the table. Could we find the next Tucker Kraft, Dallas Goedert or Cordell Volson in this class? This list will focus on targets from several small towns across the Roughrider State.

We kick off our new 2027 North Dakota ranking s by releasing our North Dakota preview of the class. We talk about our rankings process, meet our top five, kick out some key points about the class thus far, and more. This rankings update has over 100+ prospects ranked, nearly another 100 on our watchlist as we wait for more film as this is a class that is different than most we have had in South Dakota, and we will tell you why below!