Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase: Nate's DL Standouts

The defensive trenches are next! As we took a look at all the live evals we gathered from across the Aberdeen Dome at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase including, our top tier last showcase to DL MVP, new 2029 names, 2027s that are going to rise, and more.    Keegan might have been one of the younger defensive linemen in attendance, but the 2029 defensive end out of Sioux Falls Jefferson put together some nice reps in what I had watched at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Aberdeen. The 6'0 215 pounder, showed off a quick first step for his size and I was impressed with how quick he was able to gain leverage with his hands and the pad-level he displayed with it. He also appeared quicker with those hands than you might expect for someone in his class. There certainly is plenty of upside left to grow, but what I saw on Sunday is a good start for this new name who will be on our 2029 South Dakota rankings very soon.     Jackson now in back to back Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcases has shown to me how well he can use his length to his advantage, as he's added some other traits that intrigued me as well this time in Aberdeen. The 6'2 200 pounder I felt was more progressive with his reps on Sunday in Aberdeen, meaning I felt his intent with his striking ability has gotten much more physical since the last time we watched in at our Dakotas Showcase. Not only is their more force in Jackson's hands, but you can tell that in game-like setting this young man plays with another gear. He has a sizable motor that I feel keeps churning larger in every showcase setting and he added more agile change of direction than before in his reps I watched on Sunday. He'll be a pass rusher you see on our 2028 rankings real soon out of Gettysburg.     Graham is a DL prospect that from a strength perspective was one that impressed me during the Indy drills at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase. Obviously, getting the chance to watch his tape you could tell the strength was there, but seeing on the opposite side of the trenches was enlightened as the 6'0 248 pounder also didn't take long to generate his power as there was fluidity across the board with his hands. He also showed off sound balance in watching his pad-level, as Graham was able to generate his inside move processing thru a tight area to get home into the backfield. Surely a 2027 that college coaches should look at on both sides of the trenches out of Britton Hecla     Another 2027 that has a solid day at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase was Maximum Schmitz of Pierre T.F. Riggs. Maximus showed that he can generate a ton of force with his hands early and often to drive off the offensive linemen out of their stance and off balance, in which time and time again he utilize his inside move off that to penetrate into the backfield. He also has a quick first step for a 6'2 nearly 225 pounder that was seen persistently in reps on Sunday. Maximus is one that I feel the more I watched, the better he got with the momentum he had against the offensive trenches as I felt his motor had that wear-down effect on the offensive line. Surely a 2027 that was in my top-tier on Sunday in the defensive line group.     Jacob was a 2027 defenslive linemen that I said needed more attention just last month in this 2027 ND class, as I felt the reps I watched again showed why in the live eval I got in Aberdeen. The release of sudden burst you get when Jacob gets off his blocks inside, is exactly what scholarship-level schools should be looking for as he showed that in Aberdeen. He came in as-advertised with his measurables, which is always a great sign, and I liked Jacob's ability to improvise in real time with his pass-rush as you can tell he's a defensive end that is instinctive at giving the best angle possible to get into the backfield. Certainly one that we have inside our top 40 overall for good reason, as he surely is a 2027 that can play on Saturdays.   <a href="https://x.com/Baumann15Jacob">TWITTER</a>     Aiden came into our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase with a high bar that I learned about over the summer actually in Aberdeen at the Northern State prospect camp as our DL1 in the 2029 class and #2 overall prospect out of new 11AA state champion Devils Lake. He left our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase as one our couple top performers in the DL group which is impressive for a freshmen especially in the defensive trenches. The 6'1 220 pounder showed off a 6'3 wingspan that I felt not only was long, but his length in his strides showed me one that was also rangy too when he got off the snap. He was one that was balanced in utilzing his quickness off the snap and thru coaching was one of the best 2029s that were top performers due to his coachability for his age. He also had a bigger motor than you might expect for that size and was one that was relentless with his hands in all the reps I watched. It looks like we made a great decision in naming him as our DL1 based off the live eval, as I feel Aiden could be a early offer target in this 2029 class.     Jason is a 2028 prospect that I have had a high grade on since he was an 8th grader at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase, and showed out as one of the defensive linemen top performers at our Prep Redzone Dakotas in Aberdeen on Sunday. The now 6'3 230 pounder has really learned how to work his hands since the last live eval I got on him, as he showed off not only quicker hands on his get offs, but a wide plethora of pass-rush moves he can utilze. He also has kept his change of direction that impressed me a bit ago in testing running a 4.62 pro shuttle at that size which had to me one of fastest amongst the defensive line and especially for his size. He his EDGE moves as a pass-rusher were effective and I saw some growing upside with his power moves that are only going to get better in the coming years. Surely a 2028 DL prospect that got his stock up on Sunday in Aberdeen to possibly head into our top 10 overall in South Dakota.     DL MVP   I had Kullen in my top-tier of defensive linemen at our last Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase and it did take long to see he was one of the best in attendance at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase this winter. The 6'2 234 pounder showed off a 6'4 wingspan and had zero issue using it to his advantage during the 1v1 reps I watched. I loved watching too how coachable he was with Northern State defensive line coach Jake Iery as anything new he got coached on it seemed like he was able to apply it to his reps very quickly. He also ran a 4.56 shuttle and 7.51 on the L-drill which are impressive numbers to see at his size from a testing perspective. I felt Kullen has gotten more natural with use of hands as a pass-rusher and it showed off vividly in top performer 1v1s as Kullen will be a mover up our 2027 ND rankings out of Fargo South.

The defensive trenches are next! As we took a look at all the live evals we gathered from across the Aberdeen Dome at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase including, our top tier last showcase to DL MVP, new 2029 names, 2027s that are going to rise, and more.