South Dakota Underclassmen Top Performers: Thru Week 2/3

Which South Dakota underclassmen get my vote for top performers for their performances at the varsity level thru the first few weeks of the 2025 fall season? This group of six is rising their stock or establishing why we thought their stock was so high heading into the 2025 fall season and before.    A 2028 quarterback that is thriving upwards in 11AAA for Sioux Falls Jefferson has been [player_tooltip player_id='1646309' first='Boston' last='Bryant']. He's been impressive with his poise in the pocket thus far this seaosn and has impressed me with his growth as far as his arm talent goes as there is plenty of balanced touch on Boston's throw especially on those intermediate and deeper routes. Against rival Sioux Falls Roosevelt, this young man went for three passing touchdowns. Certainly a 2028 quarterback that will get a big boost when our rankings get updated in the coming weeks.   <a href="https://x.com/boston_bryant27">Twitter</a>     Mitch is a 2028 quarterback that has proved quickly this season why we have him graded as the QB1 in this South Dakota 2028 class. The 6'3 180 pounder was a gamechanger with his legs and arm talent against Aberdeen Central in Tea Area's 25-7 win. It's clear when you watch the tape from Mitch that this young man is operating at a quicker speed in his sophomore season and you can see it with not just his quicker release but how instinctive he looks especially out of RPO looks. With that instinctiveness, comes more clear-cut vision out of inside box to escape into the open field especially last week against Aberdeen. Mitch will be one I will continue to track throughout the 2025 season, but is off to a hot start for the 2nd ranked Titans.     There's a reason why we very early felt 2028 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1596619' first='Bryson' last='Esser'] of Harrisburg is the best LB in the class as he showed it heavily last week in the Tigers victory over Sioux Falls Washington. He logged a double-digit mark in tackles with 10 and had two fumble recoveries. Rolling out the tape from Bryson against the Warriors it doesn't take long why so much damage was done as Bryson comes downhill with a full head of steam and knocks the ball carrier in the mouth with his physicality and highly-pursuited motor. He also showed how rangy he can be as clearly a linebacker that can carry from sideline to sideline. Bryson is surely a 2028 linebacker I am fired up about in the Dakotas.     A new name in the 2028 class that has impressed me on tape comes out of Mitchell is OL/DL [player_tooltip player_id='1602511' first='Owen' last='Schelske']. The 6'6 265 pounder, has overpowering hands that has translated well for the Kernels trench monster on both sides of the ball thru the first two weeks of the season. The left tackle has shown on numerous reps that he can drive block into the second and even the third level of the field with the amount of overpowering control he has on his defender. Love the upside that Owen can still grow from a footwork perspective as the Kernels have yet another stellar talent this time in their offensive trenches.     I always am impressed whenever I see postion flexibility flourish early in the fall season which is what I have seen out of Sioux Falls Lincoln linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1080174' first='Ethan' last='Olson']. I have him graded as a quarterback in the 2028 class, but the tape shows that Ethan can cause some chaos with getting into the backfield and around the edges with his lengthy strides at now playing at 6'3 175 pounds. The more I watched Ethan at linebacker, the more I see even more flexibility defensively to the safety position as I feel Ethan could be one that is efficent playing out in space as a strong safety.     Another two-way 2028 trench monster leaving an early impact out of Tea Area is another Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase alum in [player_tooltip player_id='1601729' first='Thiik' last='Lual'] who is another top ranked prospect at his position. The now 6'3 220 pounder, shows off an even more fluid get off than we saw last Spring and the power in the hands has certainly gotten more amped especially getting off his blocks on pass rushes. I had never seen Thiik on the offensive side of the trenches until Week 1, but he's made a nice transition, with a quick first step that rep after rep always seems to get the defensive linemen out of position especially with their lower body. He's one of two Tea Area Titans that are in our top 3 in our South Dakota 2028 rankings which should show that we saw the potential coming earlier than the rest.

Which South Dakota underclassmen get my vote for top performers for their performances at the varsity level thru the first few weeks of the 2025 fall season? This group of six is rising their stock or establishing why we thought their stock was so high heading into the 2025 fall season and before.