2027 South Dakota Winter Rankings Preview

We kick off our new <a href="https://prepredzone.com/dakotas/rankings/south-dakota-rankings/2027-rankings/">2027 South Dakota rankings</a> by releasing our South 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 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:   We saw three moves via our rankings into our top five with this February update coming into our #2, #4, #5 spots.   #5: [player_tooltip player_id='1300022' first='Dylan' last='Frederick'], OL, Harrisburg<a href="https://x.com/DylanFrederick0"> Twitter</a>   Dylan was our biggest stockriser during this 2027 South Dakota rankings update. He was just on our watchlist last update and let his fall tape do the talking to end up in our top 5 as our new OL1.   #4: [player_tooltip player_id='1263883' first='Brody' last='Schafer'], QB, Sioux Falls Lincoln<a href="https://x.com/Brody4Schafer"> Twitter</a>   If you heard me last week you knew this one was coming, as like I said no quarterback had a bigger rising sophomore season in the Dakotas than [player_tooltip player_id='1263883' first='Brody' last='Schafer'].   #3: [player_tooltip player_id='1152874' first='Rocky' last='Clark'], DL, Mitchell<a href="https://x.com/rockyclark123"> Twitter</a>   #2: [player_tooltip player_id='1212272' first='Drake' last='Mikkelsen'], WR, Lennox <a href="https://x.com/Drake_Mikkelsen">Twitter</a>   Up five spots to #2 overall and obviously still our WR1, is [player_tooltip player_id='1264231' first='Drake' last='Mikkelson'] of Lennox. Outstanding next-leve size at 6'5 185 pound and the fall tape was due for his stock rise. I have already had numerous colleges and others in the industry that loved this young man's tape as much as me.   #1: Cooper Terwillger, TE, Pierre T.F. Riggs<a href="https://x.com/CooperTerwilli1"> Twitter</a>   Cooper is already a national recruit with an impressive offer list across the Power Four. One of the most impressive tight ends we have in the Dakotas in the Prep Redzone Dakotas era since 2020.   Nate's Key Points with this 2027 Class:   This is a Deep Class for Skill Positions   This might be the deepest class for skill positions we have seen in South Dakota in years. Just looking at our top five alone, you will find three in the top five coming outside of the trenches. Here are a few more that impressed us with this update:   [player_tooltip player_id='1289261' first='Kade' last='Vavruska'], ATH, Spearfish <a href="https://x.com/KVavruska83460">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1622030' first='Collin' last='Olson'], ATH, Garretson   [player_tooltip player_id='1293067' first='Jase' last='Unzen'], WR, Sioux Falls Jefferson <a href="https://x.com/Jaseunzen30">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1625460' first='Teelan' last='Kjerstad'], WR, Wall <a href="https://x.com/teelankjerstad1">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1300016' first='Brayden' last='Jackson'], RB, Sioux Falls Washington   [player_tooltip player_id='1275173' first='Mack' last='Saxon'], RB, Mobridge-Pollock<a href="https://x.com/Mack_Saxon"> Twitter</a>   It's a Great Time to be a South Dakota DB   In all the years we have been in the Dakotas, I don't think I have been impressed with a class of defensive backs like this one as to my count, we have five DBs just in the top 50. We have also seen a lot of tape get updated since last update, so the rankings surely made some moves. Meet the ones that intrigue me out of that list:   Aiden Kemnitz, Sioux Falls Lincoln <a href="https://x.com/aidankemnitz">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1293122' first='Carter' last='Sundall'], Wall <a href="https://x.com/carter_sundall">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1264213' first='Kaden' last='Carroll'], Sioux Falls Washington <a href="https://x.com/kadencarroll4L">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1300026' first='Karsen' last='Seyer'], Spearfish <a href="https://x.com/KarsenSeyer5">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='852873' first='Cooper' last='Nielsen'], Sioux Falls Jefferson <a href="https://x.com/CNielsen316">Twitter</a>   Who Could be the Next Early Offer in this Class?   I'll put on my recruiting coordinator hat for a second and rattle off a few names I would offer sooner, not later. Obviously the whole top five would be on my list, but here are a few more from this 2027 class:   [player_tooltip player_id='1617596' first='Austin' last='Dowd'], DE/TE, Brandon Valley <a href="https://x.com/AustinDowd_20">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1293174' first='Rush' last='Turner'], OL, Rapid City St. Thomas More<a href="https://x.com/RushTurner71"> Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='763887' first='Andersen' last='Semchenko'], OL, Sioux Falls Christian <a href="https://x.com/andesemchenko">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1621132' first='Seth' last='Reinhardt'], DL, Dakota Valley <a href="https://x.com/SethReinhardt64">Twitter</a>   [player_tooltip player_id='1568290' first='Jevyn' last='Lefers'], LB, Lennox<a href="https://x.com/JevynLefers41"> Twitter</a>   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 South 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 South 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, Cordell Volson in this class? This list will focus on targets from several small towns across the Mount Rushmore State.

We kick off our new 2027 South Dakota rankings by releasing our South 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!