2027 North Dakota Winter Rankings Update: The Newcomers, Pt. 1

We start with the pedal to the floor with the update of our 2027 North Dakota rankings, with our Part 1 of our newcomers that we welcomed to our list of over 100+ prospects in the Roughrider State. We will meet several over the coming weeks, but we kick off with that ooze with upside in our eyes.    Nathan is the linebacker that intrigues me with his vision to the ball which is why as a newcomer, he came thru as our LB2 in our 2027 rankings out of Oakes. The 6'1 195 pounder, I like how he processes getting downhill and utilzing his instincts showing off solid pursuit angles and fluidity with shedding ability getting off blocks. The upside is certainly there for this young man to make a leap in this 2027 class.   <a href="https://x.com/NathanS05970832">Twitter</a>     Although Eli doesn't have the tape yet we have been told by his high school coach that the upside he has screams out for playing at the next level. The 6'2 170 pounder from Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, shows off the explosive traits I want to see just from the hardwood alone as a wide receiver that even though I don't have the tape yet, I can only imagine shows off a fiery release that is just getting started nailing down his attention to detail. Wide receivers at that size are a dime in a dozen in North Dakota, so surely this young man got a tier two grade for now (D2) and I'll say should be on the rise if we look at this update by next time.     I could tell, right away upon watching Chan with the sophomore tape that this young man has a sound football IQ and IQ is just getting started based on how well this young man finds the ball. He is not the biggest safety you will see, but the range he shows off is fun to watch on tape as a safety that I feel plays way bigger than those measurables will show you. To me with Dakotas defensive backs, it's more about showing off the physical presence than the size as with Chan, that pops out consistently on tape. He is also one that I would love to see more reps of how he plays downhill, as what I see lightly on tape shows that this kid plays with a chip on his shoulder as he comes in as our DB4 in the 2027 class.       One of two of the Ajak brothers within our 2027 newcomers is [player_tooltip player_id='1625528' first='Madit' last='Ajak'], the other Fargo South Bruins safety. There is just something about when this kid makes contact that forces the ball to consistently pop out in pass coverage as I like the persistent physicality with Madit's pursuit angles that show off versatile in run stopping and pass coverage. Madit also shows off a good ball-tracking ability that I believe has upside to grow even more over teh coming years and similar to his brother, his range he shows off is intriguing. I like the 2026 class from Fargo South, but man I surely think I already am getting intriguing with his 2027 class too.       I got to watch Colby in the 11AAA state championship game and I realized then that I have found our number #1 kicker in the class. Colby shows off a very long kickoff leg and sold me too with his hangtime on his kicks. Even though we didn't get many opportunities to watch many field goals, we saw extra points that consistently showed off a strong finish with his kicking leg and in my eyes the ball elevated very quickly with his hangtime. Colby looks like a young man that really relishes attention to detail and is a touchback machine in the tape I have watched all year.

We start with the pedal to the floor with the update of our 2027 North Dakota rankings, with our Part 1 of our newcomers that we welcomed to our list of over 100+ prospects in the Roughrider State. We will meet several over the coming weeks, but we kick off with that ooze with upside in our eyes.