Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase: Nate's Top RB Standouts

Moving on down with the offense, as we take a look at the all the running back talent we found at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showccase in Aberdeen on Saturday as this group had a ton of under the radar backs that are destined to play at the next-level.    Jacoby was a new name for my 2028 radar in South Dakota, as a running back that brought intriguing size and athletic ability that has just started brewing for his age. The 5'10 190 pounder out of McLaughlin, has the ideal next-level RB size profile as a freshman and I feel he has a plethora of upside to groom his burst and change of direction into a finished product over the next several years. Raw at the moment, but Jacoby is one that to add to my 2028 SD radar.     Another 2028 name from Minot that has been on my radar since he was an 8th grader, is Bishop Ryan running back [player_tooltip player_id='1596588' first='Zachary' last='Spain'] who has been well-travelled this showcase season, as he was a RB standout at our PRZ Colorado Showcase and here at the PRZ Dakotas Showcase last Saturday. He brings very bouncy hips for his age, sound vision, and instinctive change of direction with a quick developing football IQ. What impressed me in the live reps in Aberdeen is how much Zach has grown from a durability perspective as one of the most balanced RBs in this North Dakota 2028 class.     Talk about a 2027 running back that was an immediate on the eye test, surely was the case with Bon Homme's [player_tooltip player_id='1652350' first='Major' last='Aarstad']. The body type surprised me (in a good way) as Major showed off constant fluid movement in every rep I got to watch from start to finish which was intriguing. His burst amps up quickly into the first level and even if slightly off balance, he is intriguing for how sound his top speed can get even at not 100% balance. I feel Major could be boost his exposure by putting together a highlight tape from last year of his best plays, as there certainly were some good reps that could rise his stock on our board and college football boards.   <a href="https://x.com/major_aarstad">Twitter</a>     The other offensive standout from the 9-man school that brought us NFL Star TE Dallas Goedert, comes again in the Braves 2027 class at running back in [player_tooltip player_id='1668634' first='Bennett' last='Suther']. Talk about a tailback that wastes no time with how sudden he gets to his top speed and doing so with a sound frame at 6'0 172 pounds. That suddenness didn't just flash once from my eyes, it happened multiple times throughout our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Aberdeen on Saturday in multiple schemes, as Bennett also showed it off as a route-runner in 1v1s. There isn't much tape out nor eval besides what I saw on Saturday in Aberdeen, which tell mes this young man is a deep sleeper in this South Dakota 2027 class to know and one I hope to see his sophomore tape pop up soon!     I swear it happens everytime I watch Jesiah at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcases, I untap something new that intrigues me with his skillsets he brings to the table. In Aberdeen on Saturday, it was his instincts that popped out in my eyes. The instinctive movement processed with translation to Jesiah's high football IQ he has grown since I first evaluated him as a freshmen. His "instinctive vision moves with pure intent whenever the ball in his hands", which is in fact what I heard from college coaches on Saturday in what intrigues them with Jesiah at the next-level. He surely doesn't get enough credit for how durable he is as one of the most durable running backs in South Dakota 9-man football. If you want a running back who plays with a chip on his shoulder and has excellent character, Jesiah should be on your recruting board ASAP.     Cole showed off as a running back that I felt the live eval at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Aberdeen did us the justice we wanted to see. Where I thought Cole popped out right away was with how fluid his agile movement was on the several reps I was able to watch, as he ran in testing the fastest pro agility amongst the RB group with a 4.31 showing off and the translation to the live reps was evident in our eval. Cole showed off great open field vision that you can tell the game-speed fires up once he sees his openings around the outside and the edges of the field. The tape shows off one that takes a gang tackle to bring to the turf as Cole in the live eval showed off a RB that has the gritty running ability college coaches are going to want in their backfield at the next-level.   <a href="https://x.com/colemcclennen07">Twitter</a>     https://x.com/AidenSamekIt doesn't seem to matter what position Aiden lines up as at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase, as this young man has shown up and shown time after time after the last few showcases, this time at running back. The straight line speed showed off for Aiden as he recorded a 4.71 40-yard dash which seems to keep getting better across the board in testing as I felt all of his testing numbers were improved from December's showcase in Aberdeen. The 5'9 165 pounder has absurd contact balance for his size from what I grasped during our Dakotas Showcase and I feel has even amped that up since his junior season at West Fargo. He shows that he can turn a nothing run into something with how agile and how well-versed his football IQ is once reaching the open field. Oddly enough, this top 40 overall ranked prospect doesn't have his first offer yet and I am super surprised how light his interest is as a prospect with position flexibility that plays miles ahead of his measurables he shows off. <a href="https://x.com/AidenSamek">Twitter</a>     One of our top running backs in the state of Nebraska, that caught my attention during our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase was Blair's Blaise Baughman. The 5'11 196 pounder was efficent on all fours in testing constantly being either in the top spot or just outside of it during our Dakotas Showcase and certaintly intrigues me from my SES analytic (size, explosiveness, speed). There was plenty of noticable sudden movement from Blaise in the live reps I took in as I felt this young man probably had the best hands amongst the running back group in my eyes. Watching Blaise and his change of direction, I saw a RB prospect that was constantly one step ahead of the linebacker which contributes to what looks like a running back that plays witha significantly high football IQ. If you want a running back that processes with durability, instincts and more, Blaise could be a excellent addition to your backfield. He surely is one that should have more offers coming his way very soon in these eyes.   <a href="https://x.com/BaughmanBlaise">Twitter</a>     Looking for that under the radar running back that came out of nowhere? [player_tooltip player_id='1422347' first='Mickenson' last='Bosh'] of Spearfish our RB MVP on Saturday in Aberdeen fits that description very well. Interesting enough, Orginally, I had him graded as a defensive back, but the position flexibility Mickenson showed off on tape flashed like we had expected in Aberdeen on Saturday.With all the prospects at skill positions, Mickenson showed off the most physically imposing prospect via the eye-test alone, 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 as his agile movement certainly struck a chord with me and the college coaches. 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 great depth with his twitch, sound hands, and I loved how Mickenson was totally 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 super intriguing. Surely a 2026 prospect out of Spearfish that is going to get a rankings boost incoming and a great shot at playing at the next-level.

Moving on down with the offense, as we take a look at the all the running back talent we found at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showccase in Aberdeen on Saturday as this group had a ton of under the radar backs that are destined to play at the next-level.