Dakota Bowl XXXIII: Top Gunslingers

After spending over 12 hours locked in on player evaluations in all four state championship games, we have a lot to talk about on who were our top prospects at each position. We start off with the top qauarterbacks that we witnessed at the FargoDome, in which there were plenty including. Big-Time Stockrisers in 11A and 11AA, more QBs that stoodout but yet are waiting on their first offer, and quarterbacks that I feel have high upside that is still brewing.   Looking to advance your exposure in the Dakotas this winter? Sign up for our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Aberdeen, SD with the promo code WahlWinterPRZ   Link to Sign Up: https://events.prepredzone.com/e/2117/register/stock-up-showcase-dakotas    Xavier is the card-dealer of the Fargo Davies wing-T offense who dealt some great hands on Friday night with his running backs and fullback for the Eagles. Obviously in that offense you need to have elite vision to see how the defense is lined up and the Eagles were able to break some big chunk plays in their dominating 41-19 and that starts with Xavier. He is one with a great football IQ with that being said plus I feel he has a lot of upside left to prove in the college ranks over the next couple of years as a prospect that doesn't have an offer yet that should be playing on Saturdays.   <a href="https://x.com/XaviermuseQB">TWITTER</a>     We got another live eval of our QB2 in the 2026 class in [player_tooltip player_id='1475706' first='Noah' last='Herr'] as he showed in muliple areas where he can be a factor at the next-level. When Noah has a clean pocket, I felt he enhanced bigger arm strength than we had on our radar especially on that 80-yard passing touchdown he had early in the game for the Patriots. Obviously as a dual-threat quarterbaqck, he's quite mobile throwing from the run, yet the upside he has could show cleaner footwork setting his feet with more timing outside the pocket to get a cleaner throw on intermediate or deep routes. No reported offers as of yet, but the exposure has been persistent amongst the D2 and NAIA schools this fall.     Emerson was a 2027 quarterback from Bottineau that was a good one I was looking to get the live eval on in the 11A state championship game. The 6'1 180 pounder appeared more mobile in the live eval I got especially with his vision he had around the edges of the field with his legs. He also had better poise in the pocket than I had envisioned that seemed to progress quicker with his release the more times I watched him throw. He has upside to grow with utilizing his arm angles to his advantage as there were times when Emerson would throw across his body which created high risk, high reward scenarios protecting the ball. With all that being said, I think Emerson will likely move the needle upwards in our 2027 rankings this winter.     Jax was a 2026 prospect that I needed to seee the live eval in the 11A state championship game, as there isn't much tape out there, yet he proved his stock cracking our gunslingers list from Friday. He threw for 177 passing yards on three passing touchdowns and added another 100 yards on the ground for 277 total on Friday afternoon for the Cardinals. The 6'2 200 pounder, showed off persistence with his arm talent on all three levels and I was even more impressed with his mobility for his size in the state championship game. He also was a big timer on defense, as I feel there is some positon flexibility with this young man at the next-level at linebacker as well as Jax was a hard physical athlete that could pack a punch on contact around the ball. I did have him on my 2026 board and you can assure he will be rising up it this winter.     Brayden is one that showed off muliple great tight window throws for the couple of passing touchdowns he had against Devils Lake on Friday night. Those throws also had solid touch built in with them as Brayden has been one this winter that has gotten more proficent with his balance with his arm talent. He also has stepped up in his senior season with is arm strength and added more precision on his throws that I saw in the 11AA state championship game. I surely would expect this young man to play on Saturdays somewhere in the Dakotas next year as he was a top-tier QB at the Jamestown prospect camp over the summer.     Those that remember my 9-man piece from a couple of weeks ago should recall how much I was impressed with thie quarterback group coming into the FargoDome last week, as [player_tooltip player_id='1320074' first='Mason' last='Warcken'] was one of those I was mentioning. I thought he took a significant step up from watching him in junior season at the Dome, as there was much more poise at his disposal this time around in Fargo. Another area that we saw development was with his legs, as I felt on one ocassion Mason could turn nothing yards with his legs into something yards by his elusive movement out of jams and record a couple touchdowns on the ground during cruch time. His passing touchdown showed off ideal ball placement as a quarterback I would love to see more of at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase coming up in this 2027 class.     Another one of our "best for last" gunslingers at Dakota Bowl XXXIII was [player_tooltip player_id='1568610' first='Easton' last='Simon'] of New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock as him and the Rockets took home the 9-man title now back to back. We had expected a big-time game from Easton ahead of the 9-man Friday morning championship, and he certainly delivered. He had 405 passing yards on four touchdowns which I would easily assume were the top stat-stuffers amongst the quarterback position out of the eight quarterbacks we have on this list. I have said it muliple times, that Easton has the best pocket poise in the state and that was evident watching him on Friday morning. He also I felt had grew from a year ago with how well he could buy time while getting out of the pocket to throw, as there was more athleticism I felt this time around from Easton in that skillset. I did find out that this young man does have at least an offer to play QB next-year (which I was ecstatic to hear) but holy cow does this young man need more looks in my eyes. <a href="https://x.com/EastonSimon_2">TWITTER</a>     In my eyes, we saved the best two gunslingers we saw at Dakota Bowl XXXIII for last, as [player_tooltip player_id='1568605' first='Mason' last='Palmer'] was one I was fired up about in my live eval on Friday night in the 11AA state championship game as Mason and the Firebirds won their first ever state championship. The amount of balance that Mason played with his throws out of the pocket were something to watch especially on his passing touchdowns I watched. He seemed to always have the proper velocity on his throws from what I watched from him on passing downs as he was one that I felt was the most comfortable quarterback I watched all day throwing from out of the pocket. The 6'0 173 pounder has reported baseball offers, but man I would love to see Mason get a shot from an NSIC school for football and the college coaches I talked to were really impressed with this young man as well as he and the Firebirds shook North Dakota in 11AA and Mason was named 11AA Player of the Year. He certainly will go up our rankings quite a bit this winter.

After spending over 12 hours locked in on player evaluations in all four state championship games, we have a lot to talk about on who were our top prospects at each position. We start off with the top qauarterbacks that we witnessed at the FargoDome, in which there were plenty including. Big-Time Stockrisers in 11A and 11AA, more QBs that stoodout but yet are waiting on their first offer, and quarterbacks that I feel have high upside that is still brewing.