Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase: Meet the MVPs

We start rolling down the bend starting off with our MVP series from last weekend's Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase at every position. We had a couple that we called out in previews last week, but I was very impressed with the new names that took the reigns at their positions including ones that are surely on the rise on our rankings boards for their impressive live evals.   QB MVP:    First we meet our now two-time QB MVP at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Centerville 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='825396' first='Alec' last='Austin']. Alec I knew had a chip on his shoulder after our December showcase of wanting to redeem that title in May and he got it done by enhancing his development from the live eval on Saturday. He developed athletically too, knocking down his 40-yard dash to a 4.87 at a verified 6'3 219 pounds and I felt he was more elusive with his movement getting a 4.37 in the pro agility. Even by the early look pre-testing, Alec just appeared with more dexterity which was great to see. Watching his mechanics, Alec appeared in my eyes more robotic with his throwing motion and displayed that arm-talent on all three levels in Aberdeen on Saturday. That nearly robotic motion, ball placement, elite size, is going to create some shockwaves this summer at college camps as Alec surely had the attention of all three levels with their eyes on him on Saturday.    RB MVP:    Mickenson was a running back I'll admit came out of nowhere and took home our RB MVP on Saturday in Aberdeen. Interesting enough, I had him graded as a DB, as I could grasp the athleticism he had but seeing that transformation to running back was a great sight to see on Saturday. As far as the skill positions, Mickenson was easily the most physically imposing prospect via the eye-test alone and looks and plays way bigger than the measurables you see.He impressed me with his dexterity not only pre-testing, but later into the live reps. I felt Mickenson was a running back that has an highly increased game-speed that caught my attention in 1v1s as he showed off as a route-runner that had a deeper twitch with his change of direction, sound hands, and I loved how Mickenson was unphased against bigger competition when it came down to 1v1 reps as this young man just owned his craft and went to work, which I saw on tape but seeing it at his other position was very intriguing. Surely a 2026 prospect out of Spearfish that is going to get a rankings boost incoming.    WR MVP:    Our WR MVP comes from a high school that is no stranger to winning MVPs at our Prep Redzone Showcases as they have had a few, as 2027 WR [player_tooltip player_id='1636764' first='Jonas' last='Parsons'] of Bismarck Legacy was next in line to take the cake from the Sabers. The 5'8 156 pounder, showed off a quietly long wingspan for his size and utilized it well when showing off his catch radius on a handful of reps I got to watch on Saturday in Aberdeen. As a route-runner, Jonas just had this instinct about his game, that knew how to win 1v1 reps with his ball-tracking ability getting inside leverage on the DB group I watched as a WR prospect that I felt got better rep after rep during our showcase. He might not be the biggest wide receiver out there, but the wins Jonas had are a contribution to his growing football IQ and one I surely will need to get on our 2027 rankings ASAP in North Dakota. <a href="https://x.com/jonasparsons27">Twitter</a>    OL MVP:    Mason was right up there in my top-tier amongst offensive linemen in attendance in December and man, did he take a great step forward taking home our OL MVP last Saturday, as it's pretty rare to see a 2028 offensive linemen take the title amongst the hog mollies. Mason not only grew a more athletic base, but I certainly felt his agile first step improved since December which told the tale in the live eval and with his improved pro agility number (5.07).He also improved from a fluidity perspective which didn't take long to see the development he had. In 1v1s, Mason showed off well-versed technique with his footwork, and I felt his base was wider to close off the defensive ends quickly and get them off their line to the ball. He also in my eyes improved with his pad-level as there wasn't a rep that I watched from Mason that didn't show his hands right on point with the defensive linemen. His football IQ is developing quickly as just a freshman, and I cannot to see where it takes him in the coming years as a young man too that has fantastic character for his age.   <a href="https://x.com/BickelMason54">Twitter</a>    DL MVP:    Not only did Tone take home our DL MVP on Saturday, but it seemed like every time I was over with the DL group this young man stood out as a vocal leader amongst the group. On the several 1v1 reps I watched out of Tone, I was continuously impressed how smooth he was with his inside move as his athletic movement from outside to inside showed off how much dexterity he has in his verified 6'0 255 pound frame out of powerhouse Brandon Valley. It was also his first step consistently that set the tone (no pun intended) for the rest of the rep that usually led to a win during 1v1s as a DL that is very under the radar in this 2026 class. Tone surely looks like a next-level prospect that appears as a senior bloomer in the making that made his first spark at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase to start that trend into his camp season and senior year.    LB MVP:    Joey was a linebacker I had a high bar set forth in our previews last week, as a linebacker that college coaches needed to surely watch in Aberdeen. He let his play on the field on Saturday at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase do the talking, as he came in as our LB MVP. The 6'0 212 pounder, had one of the biggest hand sizes (9.75) at our showcase and that tells me why his physicality on tape is so damaging on both sides of the ball. He saw growth in testing in my eyes with his pro agility time improving, going 4.56 at his size mentioned. What struck a chord most for Joey, was in pass coverage as I was impressed with his longevity and athleticism in coverage towards the end of our showcase 1v1s as he took almost the whole field to get the win as I felt that rep solidified why he is getting recruited as a linebacker at the next-level despite not all the tape in the world at the LB position, but his upside is certainly there as we saw. I called it last week, I wouldn't be surprised if the floodgates start opening on Joey's recruting trail very soon.    DB MVP:    I could grasp on Saturday in Aberdeen, that our DB group had a tight race for DB MVP and I was pumped to see it go to one of our recent new additions to our 2027 rankings, in Fargo South safety [player_tooltip player_id='1667239' first='Chan' last='Ajak']. The 5'9 150 pounder possesses an intriguing 6'3 wingspan which I could grasp the length in the reps I watched from Chan in Indy and into 1v1s later. Chan also lead the pack of defensive backs in the broad jump with a 9'2. His ability to standout during 1v1s intrigued me as you can tell Chan has long strides for his size and a developing ball-tracking ability with a growing football IQ and you cannot miss on that wingspan for his measurables as I thought that paid it's dividends in the end with his reps. Chan surely is a 2027 that should see a rise in this DB group within our rankings.   <a href="https://x.com/ChanAjak10">Twitter</a>

We start rolling down the bend starting off with our MVP series from last weekend's Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase at every position. We had a couple that we called out in previews last week, but I was very impressed with the new names that took the reigns at their positions including ones that are surely on the rise on our rankings boards for their impressive live evals.