Minnesota's Biggest Offseason Winners of the Spring

Somehow, someway, we have made it through the dark and desolate winter offseason and are staring down the bright lights of the excitingly chaotic Summer Camp SZN. If you've been checking in with the PRzMN site the past few months, you already know that we've been to our fair share of offseason, in-person camps, showcases, 7v7 tournaments, workouts, and anything else we can get eyes on. Throughout the likes of the near 20 in-person events we've covered this offseason, specifically this spring, which we're recognizing as March to May, we've seen some particular Minnesota 2026 and 2027s hit big on the offseason's long recruiting trail, the best of whom we've highlighted for your eyes only below. Meet Minnesota's Biggest Offseason Winners of the Spring, only PrepRedzone Minnesota!   --    Arguably the biggest recruiting winner from the spring (I'm counting [player_tooltip player_id='1255902' first='Pierce' last='Petersohn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='212362' first='Roman' last='Voss']'s success as the winter), Benilde-St. Margaret's monstrous sophomore of an offensive tackle and projected iOL has blown up this spring. After P4 offers from Kansas State and Iowa State in January, things turned up a notch this spring on the recruiting trail. Sparked by a Boston College offer in late March, Yarborough added Kansas, Maryland, Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, Wisconsin, and last but not least, the home state Gophers, who offered on the 19th. Minnesota generally prefers their in-staters to camp with them in the summer, particularly the linemen, but their hand was forced due to the 330 lbers. growing popularity and attention. A factor in the Red Knights OT's offer streak is also the fact that there is a big-time drop off in the 2027 Minnesota class and its OL and TE depth, a trend that is somewhat consistent through parts of the Midwest and particularly the Upper Midwest. With P4 and NY6 programs always keeping an eye or two on the upcoming recruiting cycles, especially in the trenches, Yarborough is reaping the rewards of both Minnesota's tradition of OL quality as well as it being a potentially light year for big bodies in the Upper Midwest. Either way, Yarborough is deserving of the attention, as his brute strength, lateral agility, ability to climb and dominate at the second level, and general and overarching athleticism make him an obvious P4 talent with room and potential to add NFL and Sunday projection to his resume this coming offseason and fall.     Another surefire Minnesota-born-and-bred recruiting trial winner from this spring, [player_tooltip player_id='1368410' first='Eli' last='Diane'] is also a massive winner for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who landed the Wayzata products verbal commitment on April 12th. Diane's power and explosiveness, as verified by his unreal track & field times in the shot put and discus, have college programs abuzz, and he's showing top end ability and projection as high as anyone the state has produced in the last 10 years. The now-Gopher commit landed offers from Wisconsin, Rutgers, Colorado State, Iowa State, Iowa, and Kansas State, as well as the hometown Gophers, all in January and February, but the April commitment secured his status for one of the big winners of the spring. Not only does the commitment add clout, Diane's track times and throws have been nothing short of fantastic, especially for a sophomore underclassman. Diane has thrown a 58'2.25", 57'2.5", and 55'11", all this month only, elite throws to say the least, and his sophomore tape screams "upside", as well "power" and "athleticism. Diane displays mobility, lower body strength, balance, and a quick get-off with solid pad level, as well as strong, active hands that can shock and shed blocking attempts, positional versatility along the DL, and lateral agility, and when you combine it with the track times and the fact that he started as a sophomore for a Minnesota Big School traditional powerhouse, and you have to answer as to why he's debuting as a Top 100 kid in the United State's 2027 class. Diane will competing with fellow Gophers commit [player_tooltip player_id='592117' first='Howie' last='Johnson'], for a Big School shot put title to end his sophomore year soon. RTB!     For Moorhead's [player_tooltip player_id='1629849' first='David' last='Mack'], it was a matter of "when" and not "if" when talking P4 offers, and if you subscribed to PRzMN through last fall, you've had the most extensive and up-to-date insight and tracking of this spectacular sophomore receiver. Mack's breakout sophomore season, which turned into one of the most prolific of any individual performer in the state of Minnesota last season, totaling 69 receptions for 930 yards and 18 TDs through the air to complete one of the state's most explosive duos, helped turn Moorhead into one of the state's Big Dogs and top contenders, regardless of class. Mack also produced those eye-catching sophomore statistics in a way more fluid and athletic than I've seen in Minnesota since Andre McDonald. Whether it's his elite quickness, capability to create and maintain separation, ball skills and body control, or strong route running ability, Mack just moves, executes, and competes with more finesse and obvious athleticism like an elite athlete, and with all the hype surrounding his QB, I think Minnesota high school football fans are underestimating just how good of a WR prospect the state has on their hands in the 6', 170 pounder. Beginning with the hometown Gophers offering first on March 29th, Mack also added Sacramento State, and South Dakota State offers this spring. Only a matter of time before more P4s come calling.     The 2nd of the Moorhead star-studded 2027 trio that is making substantial noise on the recruiting trail this spring, RB [player_tooltip player_id='1288313' first='Taye' last='Reich'] is undoubtedly one of the spring's biggest recruiting winners. After camping with Kansas State and earning an offer in June, 2024, Reich popped off in late March, earning his second P4 offer from the home state Golden Gophers, and the North Dakota State Bison joined in a month later with an offer. Reich is absurdly athletic for his age, with unpadded camp setting testing numbers that would knock your socks off and two years of varsity starting experience already under his belt with the 5A turned 6A Spuds. Great vision, twitchy in space, and possessing homerun speed, Reich is the best RB prospect Minnesota has produced since Jeff Jones, maybe Jason Williamson, although the latter wasn't necessarily projected to RB at the next level. Can't wait to see him and his Spuds teammates against 6A defenders in 2025.     Another 2027 spring recruiting trail winner, Shakopee's [player_tooltip player_id='212480' first='Blake' last='Betton'] also qualifies as a "when" not "if" developing P4 prospect who has been in the crosshairs of PRzMN and regional D1s since he was a freshman. The son of Shakopee's head coach Ray Betton, Blake has always had impressive size and range as a young safety, with a strong basketball background and athleticism visibly above his peers. With dynamic freshman tape competing against non-varsity competition, Betton became a shoe-in playmaker for the Sabers varsity defense in 2024, helping them to a Class 6A state semifinal appearance while proving himself to be more than capable of asserting himself physically in run support and explosively in pass defense. It's been a slow and steady offer climb for Betton, who earned his first scholarship offer in January from NDSU, but things really began to heat up in April, with North Dakota South Dakota State offering, followed by South Dakota in May. Then, in an exciting yet unsurprising turn, Betton became a P4 offeree on the 15th, as one of Minnesota's top out-of-state suitors in the Iowa State Cyclones pulled the trigger on the Shakopee SAF and potentially future LB. You watch the tape, or even better, watch Betton live, and it doesn't take a professional scout to know this kid is different. More offers coming!     One of the most surprising, yet deserving, offseason rises and winners comes out of Andover High School and their star quarterback Joe Mapson. I got to see Mapson play last fall against Elk River early in the regular season, where the first-year starter proved himself to be dynamic and capable of moving the chains with both his arm and/or his legs, but I think I underestimated and under-appreciated his skillset going into the offseason. In what will go down as a historic 2026 QB class, Mapson has continued to climb the state's leaderboards and QB ranks, in large part due to an excellent offseason on the prospect camp trail. Now ranked as Minnesota's QB5, Mapson has been offered by MSU-Mankato, Concordia-St. Paul, and UW-Eau Claire, all while dazzling scouts and college programs throughout the process. A focused and competitive presence in the pocket, Mapson cam throw with precision and velocity to all three levels of the field, and has been pinpoint accurate in multiple unpadded settings PRzMN has attended this winter and spring. His offseason performances can probably be highlighted by his showing at the 612Q's Offensive Skills Camp in late March, where he went 4.67 on the laser 40, as well as 4.34 on the short-shuttle and a near 30" vert, spotlighting some major juice as a potential dual-threat QB at the next level. With Andover bumping up to Class 6A in 2025, it's going to be a major prove-it year for Mapson and his Huskies teammates. We at PRzMN think he's up for the challenge.     One of the state's biggest sleepers, Heimer came to mind as an obvious winner from this spring, in large part to him cementing himself as an under-the-radar talent in the 2026 class. The Byron Bears product, who owns some fantastic junior tape and two-way production to go along with multiple strong, in-person offseason showings, finally earned his first D1 offer earlier this month after South Dakota reached out with an offer after an in-person workout, and the likes of Minnesota-Duluth and MSU-Mankato have also offered for good measure. Additionally, Heimer eclipsed a can't-ignore athletic data point during this 2025 Outdoor Track & Field Season, cracking the sub-11-second mark in the 100M a few times, including two 10.98s and a blazing 10.84 to really highlight the speed and explosiveness you can see in his junior tape. Heimer has also added a flyin' 22.09 200M to solidify said speed and explosiveness, and I can't help but be curious as to where the P4 interest is at here.     No matter how athletic you look on film and how productive of a junior season you have, it's still tough to eval and project a triple-option QB, but Elk River's [player_tooltip player_id='923833' first='Levi' last='Harris'] has really helped clear things up this spring. Harris, who is a dazzling ball carrier with smooth, twitchy footwork, lethal burst, and a wide variety of moves and jukes in the open field, verified the speed you can see on his junior tape thanks to a more than successful 2025 Outdoor Track & Field Season. Harris has clocked a 10.93 and 10.92 100M, as well as a 22.48 200M, immediately triggering scholarship offers from South Dakota and Army-West Point, forcing extra looks, recruiting board rises, and camp invites to the Elk River three-sport playmaker. I like Harris at DB at the next level, and he's a big-time name to watch and follow on the summer camp circuit. Some good showings in person and unpadded, and his offer sheet could be looking a lot more filled out in the matter of a few days.     One of the state's most popular juniors of the spring, Lakeville North's [player_tooltip player_id='924226' first='Roman' last='Johnson'] tore things up on both the recruiting trail and outdoor trck & field. More than likely due to the verified size, defensive lineage coming out of Lakeville North, and junior tape, Johnson was able to work out for and get in front of the eyes of a variety of college coaches, workouts of which he knocked out of the park. The 250 lber. worked out for and earned offers from Minnesota-Duluth and MSU-Mankato, and Sioux Falls and the University of Jamestown also have joined in on the race for Johnson's talent. If you're earning D2 offers this early, you're high up on their recruiting boards, and generally a fringe FCS type player, and Johnson has strengthened his resume by adding an impressive 49'2" shot put this spring. Aided by his get-off, pad level, and twitch, Johnson is poised for a monster season in 2025 with his Panther defense.     One of the biggest sleepers of the 2026 Minnesota class, as well as a top candidate for a breakout performer for this upcoming fall, college programs are finally paying attention to Maple Grove's dynamic rising senior playmaker [player_tooltip player_id='402073' first='James' last='Engle']. Engle, a verified burner who has clocked multiple 4.5s and 4.6s at the plethora of in-person exposure points we've got on him, can finally go into camps and unpadded settings and show colleges - in the correct recruiting window - that his speed and explosiveness are no joke. Additionally, Engle's footwork, ability to create separation and reel in receptions as a route runner, and toughness all show up well as both a WR and RB, and he's hitting his stride at the perfect time going into the summer camp circuit. After yet another strong showing at a PrepRedzoneMN Showcase, this time walking away with MVP honors at April's Combine Series, Engle came into the St. Olaf College Prospect Camp and clocked an eye-popping 4.4 hand-timed 40, which helped translate to a Concordia-St. Paul offer out of the NSIC. 10ish days later, Engle had a great showing at MSU-Mankato's prospect camp, leading to an offer from the Northern Sun heavyweight Mavericks in person and in shells against high-quality MN and WI competition. I wouldn't be surprised if Engle has most of the NSIC under his belt in a month.     Another spring recruiting trail winner who kickstarted his campaign at the PrepRedzoneMN Combine Series, Orono's [player_tooltip player_id='1602733' first='Wes' last='McLean'] is due for a MASSIVE rankings update come June, all thanks to the classic in-person, offseason performance. At a verified 6'3+, 265 lbs. with room to grow, McLean was sturdy and balanced at the point of attack at the Combine Series, showing off a great base, comfort and effectiveness in pass protection, and some real fight and aggression, and he combined his hard work, varsity experience, coachability, and athleticism to a camp performance in Mankato with Minnesota State, earning an offer from OL coach Chad Henning and OC Ryan Schlichte. McLean has also earned an offer from Winona State, as well as a personal camp invite from the Purdue Boilermakers defensive analyst & safeties coach Ty Rocconi. He'll be a popular name to follow during June's chaotic summer camp szn.     Another Lakeville North Panther qualifying as one of the state's biggest winners from the spring recruiting window, Crawford's rise to the top of some regional DII heavyweight's recruiting boards was as swift as his pulling ability on tape. Crawford, a rising three-year starter who already has two All-District nods under his belt in the Class 6A ranks of the Metro, earned his first offer two months after his junior tape went public, as the Bemidji State Beavers showed that Crawford was a priority target with a very early offer to the OC/OG. Winona State joined in with an offer last week, and Crawford has also taken visits to St. Thomas and South Dakota State in the meantime. The owner of some of the most memorable junior film in the class, Crawford is an aggressive, thunderous hitter with a low center of gravity and a TON of pop at the contact, and with his physical dominance against Big School competition, ability to get out of his stance and change direction smoothly, and natural leverage advantages, he's only going to get more popular. I hope to see Crawford padded up at a couple of the upcoming regional summer camps in June.     Fresh off the press, and right at the time this article was set to go live, Edina's monstrous defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='924336' first='Sawyer' last='Jezierski'] entered the ranks of P4 offerees after the Boston College Eagles reached out with the young man's first ACC offer. The P4 scholarship was the culmination of a busy spring that resulted in the 260 pounder earning offers from South Dakota State, Army, Washington State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota, all since March. The Edina product is capable of taking over a play, a drive, and even a game, with real pass-rush juice from the interior and verified size and measureables that you can't ignore. Coming off a junior season in which the massive DT posted 21 TFLs and 3 sacks, I think Jezierski is an early shoe-in for an All-State/All-Metro selection and capable of really blowing up and expanding his offer sheet in the coming month.     All it takes is one in-person to kickstart a recruitment sometimes. Minneapolis Camden's brick wall of a sophomore OT/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1642211' first='Zivad' last='Robinson'] was the star of the show at an LOScrimmage Big Dawgs camp this March, and after PRzMN did our thing and got his name out into the recruiting stratosphere, Robinson was rewarded only a week later with a personal invite to the Gophers summer prospect camps, as well as North Dakota and Indiana camps for good measure. With massive mitts, some significant quickness and flexibility for his size, and pure, undisputed power at the contact point, Robinson is dominant and physical in 1v1 settings, not to mention has clocked some D1-worthy athletic numbers, and he could really blow up in the summer camp circuit going into the all-important junior year. I'll be watching him closely when I see him this summer.     Sticking with the 2027s here, as we once again dive into the growing-in-popularity Providence Academy defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1629872' first='Jon' last='Wiseman']. Seems like we've been talking about the 6'2, 280 lber. more and more this spring, and for good reason, as Wiseman continues to make an effort to hit the offseason events trail hard and get in front of the eyes as as many college coaches and programs as possible. With verified size that fits in perfectly in the interior trenches, Wiseman has some serious twitch in his game, and is a nightmare for OL to handle in 1v1 settings. Starting with the LOS x Brute Free OL/DL/TE/LB camp, Wiseman has showed up and showed out at the PRzMN Combine Series, TrainingHAUS Combine, St. Olaf College Prospect Camp, and Augsburg Football Camp, earning top performer nods from PrepRedzoneMN at every camp and really building some experience and momentum going into the summer camp grind, which includes padded camps and 1v1 contests. Big, strong, physical, and quick, Providence Academy has another monster on their hands.     Someone is due for a rankings bump! I couldn't be more stoked about Mankato East's [player_tooltip player_id='551354' first='Hayden' last='Tischler'] and his 2025 offseason. A prospect whose electric film and playmaking ability left an impression on me during the rankings update process, the only thing I was left unsure of was Tischler's top-end speed, but he sure helped to check that box this offseason, along with quite a few more as a route runner and pass catcher during the long unpadded offseason. Tischler has clocked 40s in the 4.7s this offseason, as well as 9'8 broad jumps, 7-second L-drills, 4.3 shuttles, and some notable track times that includes an 11.48 100M, 23.34 200M, 21'5" long jump, and 42'3.25" triple jump for a strong and still-developing athletic profile going into his senior season. Additionally, Tischler has been nothing short of unguardable during each and every unpadded 1v1 competitive session we've seen him at. The Augsburg 2025 Skills Camp and the PrepRedzoneMN Combine Series - where he won WR MVP - were two particular events where Tischler was obviously in the zone, using his outstanding suddenness, twitch, and route running nuance to consistently create separation against even the best DBs he saw on the offseason trail. Tischler is particularly nasty at the LOS in his releases, has the speed to win vertically and tracks the deep ball very well, and possesses unreal body control that catch and keep the eye when he's playing the ball in the air. Look for him to make a big rise in the rankings as well as earn some scholarship money this summer.     A favorite of the PRzMN staff, Hamblin was an absolute road-grader during the 2024 season and was a key contributor and lynchpin to Minnetonka's ride to the 2024 Class 6A state championship, where they finished runner-up to Maple Grove. With verified size, solid athleticism, and some great junior tape that shows off a quick and balanced OG who is effective in space and a nasty finisher, Hamblin has earned three offers in three months, beginning with MSU-Mankato in March and adding Bemidji State and Winona State offers to top it off. Sounds like Hamblin may be kicking out to OT for his senior season, and no matter what happens, I'm excited to see what this Minnetonka offense is going to produce. I hope we get to see Hamblin and his teammates on the camp trail soon.     Another Minnesota senior very much due for a rankings bump, Zimmerman's [player_tooltip player_id='901018' first='Bryce' last='Nordlund'] has been one of the most popular names in the NSIC recruiting scene during the spring. The PrepRedzoneMN Showcase veteran and top performer, Nordlund has earned offers from MSU-Mankato, Northern State, and Sioux Falls, solidifying himself as a top target of the three NSIC competitors going into the fall. Nordlund's Mavericks offer camp after a standout performance at Mankato's camp as well. Big-time pop at the contact point, active and effective hands, a mean bull rush, and good strength and power from the interior, Nordlund is going to be a popular name on the summer's camp circuit next month.     A 4.62 laser 40 and a first Division 1 offer? All after missing his entire junior season? I'd say that's a pretty strong spring! Burnsville's stud rising senior RB [player_tooltip player_id='1289981' first='Caleb' last='Kamara'], who is easily in contention for one of the state's fastest players, is one of the players I am most excited to see in 2025, and with the Blazing getting relegated down to Class 5A, the 170 lber. could be poised for a potentially monstrous senior campaign. This is about all you can ask for after a catastrophic knee injury and no tape from the all-important junior season, and I'm excited to see Kamara open some more eyes during the summer camp circuit.    --

Somehow, someway, we have made it through the dark and desolate winter offseason and are staring down the bright lights of the excitingly chaotic Summer Camp SZN. If you've been checking in with the PRzMN site the past few months, you already know that we've been to our fair share of offseason, in-person camps, showcases, 7v7 tournaments, workouts, and anything else we can get eyes on. Throughout the likes of the near 20 in-person events we've covered this offseason, specifically this spring, which we're recognizing as March to May, we've seen some particular Minnesota 2026 and 2027s hit big on the offseason's long recruiting trail, the best of whom we've highlighted for your eyes only below. Meet Minnesota's Biggest Offseason Winners of the Spring, only PrepRedzone Minnesota!