South Dakota 2029 Rankings: Defensive Pos. Breakdowns

Now that our 2029 South Dakota rankings are out, we get to the best part by telling our subscribers "the why" on where these young men are ranked and what we saw and feel about all their skillsets. I'll say it again, I know these young men are not finished products, but getting on our radar early, has led to a fast track to the next-level for several prospects later in their high school career.   We start it off by breaking down what we know about every defensive prospect ranked inside our Top 20 from the EDGE rushers, defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs.    There's no question, Tea Area has some dudes in their last couple of classes and in this 2029 class [player_tooltip player_id='1747279' first='Noah' last='Sheppard'] looks to be another defensive end to know for the Titans. For his age, I was really impressed with the twitch he has with his first step off the snap. In my eyes, Noah portrays an EDGE rsuher that has an eager nose for the finding the ball with his vision as it's intriguing how long his strides are and how quick he's downhill to the ball carrier. The 6'0 200 pounder looks like he has even more powerful strength than what those measurables show off as I feel when he makes contact you can see the strength at hand easily on tape. Our #1 ranked EDGE in the Dakotas and #4 overall in our South Dakota rankings is another one I am pumped about to watch develop in this 2029 class.     Our DL1 in the new South Dakota 2029 rankings hails from powerhouse Sioux Falls Lincoln which is [player_tooltip player_id='1741111' first='Hudson' last='Kok']. The currently 6'1 185 pounder has a lot of length with his wingspan and my gut tells me has plenty of size and frame left to fill out into. The tape I have been able to find shows off bull-like tackling ability when Hudson makes contact on any ball carrier. The durable strength this young man has also applies to the offensive side of the ball at the tight end position. Hudson has sound instincts for his age and it doesn't take long to grasp that, as one I am stoked to watch his growth over the next several years. <a href="https://x.com/hudson_kok2">Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hudson_kok/">Instagram</a>     Our LB1 in the South Dakota 2029 class hails from another Sioux Falls Area powerhouse, which is [player_tooltip player_id='1747327' first='Burke' last='Ostrem']. This last name might be familar to some that have been around us before, as his older brother Isaac had scholarship offers to play at the next-level, hard hitter and had ideal next-level size for linebacker. The track and field numbers tell me that Burke has the strength brewing in this class, as a top-tier discus thrower in South Dakota for his age bracket. The distance numbers in the 400 and 200 meter also intrigue me with the corelation to linebacker, showing off what could turn out to be a linebacker that carries the motor and longevity around the field. He'll be one I'll be intrigued to see how his freshmen season turns out with the Tigers upcoming.     Gabe is one of a couple defensive backs we have an early rank on in this 2029 class, as another one on our list that will head to Sioux Falls Lincoln. He's another one that intrigues me based off his track times, as the relay teams he was a part of were always in the top tier in Sioux Falls in the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400. I got to see Gabe in action during 7v7 season, as acouple skillsets I can recall were his good ball-tracking ability for his age and I felt he had some glue to him in 1v1 pass coverage.     Even though it might be early to make this call, I am going to make it and say Elijah looks like the best defensive back not only in South Dakota, but all of the Dakotas. He has great footwork for his age and brings menace-like instincts with his 1v1 pass coverage in the reps I have seen on a few ocassions. You can tell Elijah brings a "dog" mentality when he's around the football as the 5'11 160 pounder also has a vertical that caught my eyes quickly. Our #3 overall in South Dakota looks like a good one that is headed to Sioux Falls Washington. <a href="https://x.com/Elijah1012011">Twitter</a>

Now that our 2029 South Dakota rankings are out, we get to the best part by telling our subscribers "the why" on where these young men are ranked and what we saw and feel about all their skillsets. I'll say it again, I know these young men are not finished products, but getting on our radar early, has led to a fast track to the next-level for several prospects later in their high school career.