Crown College Elite Camp: Nate's Skill and OL/DL Top Performers

I can finally say, that my June camp content is a wrap, as it ended at the Crown Elite Camp, which I was lucky enough to be at their first ever camp couple years ago already and watching it grow from year one to year three to now 85 athletes in attendance, has to feel outstanding for the Polars program, their coaching staff, and more. Like the song "Arms Wide Open" by Creed, we've been grateful over the years of always having the Polars staff in attendance at our Prep Redzone showcases, as we all are firm believers in giving love and showing love to anyone that helps us out.   With muliple PRZ boots on the ground in St. Bonnie, we were able to find plenty of talent on the beautiful campus of Crown College. I mostly was in the trenches most of the day, but I'll touch on a handful of skill standouts along with of course giving love to the hogs and dogs that make the trenches great. All in all, I logged nearly 15 standouts that caught my attention!   Skill Positions   [player_tooltip player_id='1590640' first='Blake' last='Anderson'], QB, Eden Prairie, MN 2028   With this being I believe my second live eval of Blake this summer, I have I say I have been impressed with the progress he's made in that short time. Although I didn't spend all the time with the QB group at the Crown Elite Camp, I could tell even from a far that Blake's progressions thru his reads have picked up speed and his ball-placement has gotten more fluid over that short time. That's not the only items that have picked up speed, as Blake was one of the best QBs in attendance for athleticism by far, with a 4.5 pro agility and a 7.06 L-drill and that translation to the field was evident in the live eval. Certainly one to watch for the coming years in the QB room for the Eden Prairie Eagles.   Charlie Myers, RB, Underwood, IA 2027   Charlie was easily one of my favorite running backs during the Crown Elite Camp as one that tested really well from the jump and relished his athletic traits surely once we got into 1v1s. You could gauge quickly the suddenness that Charlie showed off on all of his reps I watched as it was clear when this young man picks up speed he's one that is going to be tough to catch in the open field. He also was elusive with his change of direction and there was a direct correlation from testing into Indy drills and 1v1s as I thought Charliether played at a constant fast pace all day, but yet seemed really balanced with his footwork. Surely a 2027 to track out fo the great state of Iowa over the coming year.   Hunter Steinhaus, WR, Sioux Valley, SD 2026 <a href="https://x.com/SteinhausHunter">Twitter</a>   Hunter is a wide receiver that I am somewhat kicking myself I didn't learn about sooner out of 11B powerhouse, Sioux Valley as one that earned a well-deserved offer from the Polars at Saturday's camp a couple weeks back. The 6'0 nearly 160 pounder, threw up some eye catching testing numbers, with an 8'7 in the broad jump, 26.2 inch vertical, 7.04 with his L-drill and 4.62 with his pro agility. In the live reps I watched out of Hunter, I saw a wide receiver that showed off his springy movement that was on display and showed off the soft hands I wanted. He surely is one that despite the lack of tape that I need to get on my SD 2026 radar as a prime example that the camp eval is crucial.   [player_tooltip player_id='1248628' first='Devon' last='Luckas'], DB, Anoka, MN 2026 <a href="https://x.com/Devon_Luckas">Twitter</a>   I said it at last year's Crown Elite Camp and I'll say it again, Devon's football IQ was a tough one to be matched up against as I believe now in back to back years with camping with the Polars, he didn't lose one 1v1 rep from my eyes. I feel where he grew even further this year, is he was slowing down the wide receivers he went up against at a faster shutdown rate compared to last year. You cannot miss on the athletic traits, as at 6'2 nearly 190 pounds he ran an eye-popping 4.51 40-yard dash and had a 9'3 broad jump which I believe was in the top tier amongst all of the 80+ athletes that were in attendance at Crown. With the Polars in the mix with a plethora of NSIC schools starting to catch wind of this young man, I'll be intrigued to find out where this young man lands at the next-level.   Trench Monsters   [player_tooltip player_id='1683376' first='Carson' last='Stay'], OL, Zimmerman, MN 2028 <a href="https://x.com/carson_stay">Twitter</a>   I am no expert, but when you can catch my attention on now three different camps during camp season, as a 2028 prospect you are on the right path for your college football future which is the case with Zimmerman offensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1683376' first='Carson' last='Stay']. He showed off too where his upside can grow in pass-protection during the Crown Elite Camp however, it was how Carson rebounded that impressed me as an underclassmen. The 6'2 240 pounder was one that the more reps you gave him, the more comfortable I could tell he was getting especially with his finishing ability and footwork. Even as a 2028 prospect, I already love this young man's character he'll bring to the table in the OL room at the next-level.   [player_tooltip player_id='1292061' first='Evan' last='Rosha'], OL, Alexandria, MN 2028 <a href="https://x.com/Evan_Rosha64">Twitter</a>   Another 2028 young buck that caught my attention at the Crown Elite Camp was [player_tooltip player_id='1292061' first='Evan' last='Rosha'] out of Alexandria. The old sang "it's not how you start, it's how you finish" applies with Evan, as although he has plenty of upside left ot untap as a 2028 target, I felt the quick strides he made were evident when I watched him in 1v1s. He even had the courage during camp to go play on the other end of the trenches, which I thought was benefical for Evan as one that showed in St. Bonnie that he is already making moves to improve his positon flexibility that some seniors are afraid to make during camps. In the OL reps I watched out of Evan you can gauge very quickly that he has the strength at the point of attack, he just needs to put the other pieces together to become more fluid with his footwork in the offensive trenches. Surely one that I will love to see what his sophomore season brings his way.   Micahel Gwin, OL Rapid City Christian, SD 2028   Another prospect that hailed from the 605 that caught my attention into Indy drills and later into 1v1s, was Michael Gwin out of Rapid City Christian. I was impressed with how firm this young man's wide base appeared to be as even as an underclassmen he had a few reps where he was a tough cookie to move off his base for his age. I was intrigued too with Michael's coachability he showed not just once, but on numerous occasions when interacting with the Crown coaching staff. He was one that I felt surely from watching his first rep to his last, improved the most with his footwork as a 2028 that the live eval should put him in as a newcomer to our South Dakota 2028 rankings.   [player_tooltip player_id='1580757' first='Mason' last='Edwards'], OL, Byron, MN 2027 <a href="https://x.com/MASONEDWAR86769">Twitter</a>   There is not a doubt in my mind, that Mason was surely the best 2027 offensive linemen in attendance at the Crown Elite Camp a couple Saturdays back, so much so that I could gauge from standing with Crown's coaching staff that they were very tempted to offer this young man early even as a 2027 prospect. It was very evident that defensive tackles were having a heckuva tough time with getting Mason out of his powing wide stance with the strength he had with it, as I saw that several times watching his 1v1 reps. Where Mason surprised me was with his footwork, as I felt he possessed a quicker first step than I was expecting and was very efficient during his reps very seldomly allowing defensive linemen to even get a look into the backfield. as this young man you can tell quickly is a relentless QB protector. I feel like I might have said the words, that [player_tooltip player_id='1292679' first='Oliver' last='West'] said in his eval on Mason towards the end of the Crown Elite Camp, he's one that college coaches should absolutely buy stock in sooner rather than later.   [player_tooltip player_id='1699948' first='Emerson' last='Johnson'], OL, Sleepy Eye, MN 2026 <a href="https://x.com/EmersonJoh97593">Twitter</a>   If we are talking from start to finish at the Crown Elite Camp in the 2026 OL group, I don't think I saw more consistency in every rep more than what [player_tooltip player_id='1699948' first='Emerson' last='Johnson'] of Sleepy Eye brought to the table. The 6'3 285 pounder, from the jump of camp showed off the most fluid hips based on eye-testing this 2026 OL group and surely that was just the start of what Emerson showed off in St. Bonnie. I feel like it gets repetiive to say in live evals, but I loved how coachable Emerson appeared to be and you could tell this young man was gelling from a character perspective most of the afternoon with the Polars staff. Emerson showed off later during 1v1s, that his could quickly replace his hands in a better spot and still drive leverage quickly. He's one of the most intriguing prospects I have seen out of Sleepy Eye in a while in my six years covering Minnesota.   [player_tooltip player_id='1709725' first='Benjamin' last='Matson'], DL, Two Rivers, MN 2027 <a href="https://x.com/BenMatson2027">Twitter</a>   If I had to dish out an award for the hardest worker in the defensive trenches, my vote at the Crown Elite Camp would go to [player_tooltip player_id='1709725' first='Benjamin' last='Matson'] of Two Rivers. It's always a good sign when you are standing next to a college staff and they say the words "I got to get on that kid for next year", which are the words I heard from the Crown coaching staff about Benjamin towards the end of camp. Not only was he the hardest worker in my eyes, but you could see it when you watched his hands grind thru the trenches, as Benjamin was relentless at getting down the ball in every rep I watched. It didn't matter if it was the first rep or his last rep of 1v1s, I loved how this young man finished every single rep and got back to line like he was running from a crowd.   Warren Uptain, OL, Durango, CO 2026 <a href="https://x.com/WarrenUptain">Twitter</a>   Surely the farthest travelled prospect to the Crown Elite Camp came out of the state of Colorado to show off what he could do, and surely one that left an impact in my live eval, was Warren Uptain from Durango. The first word that launched into my notebook was "dominant", which is always a great first word to see during a live eval as Warren lived up to every ounce of that word during 1v1s. I was impressed with how balanced he was from a footwork perspective as his feet were some of the lightest I saw at the Crown Elite Camp. Another great skillet I saw out of Warren in the live eval in St. Bonnie was how quick his hands fired to get a few speedy defensive linemen down to the turf as I feel like this kid produced the most pancakes during 1v1s that I saw.   Honorable Mentions   Conner Schmidt, RB/LB, Springfield, MN 2029   Rodelle Nathaniel, WR, Rochester John Marshall, MN 2026   [player_tooltip player_id='1651477' first='Cole' last='Dahl'], OL, Farmington, MN 2028

I can finally say, that my June camp content is a wrap, as it ended at the Crown Elite Camp, which I was lucky enough to be at their first ever camp couple years ago already and watching it grow from year one to year three to now 85 athletes in attendance, has to feel outstanding for the Polars program, their coaching staff, and more. Like the song "Arms Wide Open" by Creed, we've been grateful over the years of always having the Polars staff in attendance at our Prep Redzone showcases, as we all are firm believers in giving love and showing love to anyone that helps us out.