2025 North Dakota Superlative Awards Week: Part 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will be spending all week long dropping our Superlative Awards througout the Dakotas as we review some of the best and favorites we saw from the year 2025 on the gridrion, at camps etc.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Best Live Performance I Watched</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1568610' first='Easton' last='Simon'], QB, New Rockford Sheyenne 2026</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am sure everyone knows by now how persistent I have been with how under recruited I feel New Rockford-Sheyenne 2026 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1568610' first='Easton' last='Simon'] is. He put up the best live performance I watched in North Dakota in the 9-man state championshpi game and verified everything I saw on tape in that live eval, not once but now back to back years in the state championshp. He moved up to our QB2 in this 2026 class and is still uncomitted and has some of the best poise amongst quarterbacks overall in this North Dakota class. He can stretch the field with his arm talent on all three levels and has plenty of pure balance with just about every throw you want him to make. He has offers to play at the next level, but after putting up 400+ passing yards along with several passing touchdowns, he should have caught more attention this winter and I will we will find out on NSD where he ends up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Best Live Performance from a Hidden Gem</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2080514' first='Bryar' last='Exner'], RB, Devils Lake 2026</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If you watched the 11AA state championship and watched the Devils Lake Firebirds win thier first ever state championship, you certainly should remember the name [player_tooltip player_id='2080514' first='Bryar' last='Exner'] who was the running back for the Firebirds. He lit up the stat sheet for well over 200 yards rushing with muliple touchdowns as the stat sheet doesn't even close to tell his full story as Bryar put up games like this mostly all year. His durability really struck me as one of his top skillsets that he possessed and how fluid he was from start to finsh with any of his carries was another reason he had so much success against the Minot North defense. You won't find Twitter or highlights on hudl from Bryar, but i have heard from close sources this young man want wants to play the next level so it might be worth making the trip to Devils Lake this winter for North Dakota college caoches looking to add to their 2026 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Favorite 2027 New Name Find</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Nelson DeCoteau, TE/EDGE Dunseith 2027</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tight Ends are usually a late find scouting the Dakotas especially ones with pure next-level size, but Nelson DeCoteau of Dunseith who was a multi-time Big Dogs of the Week this fall 2025 season that we have got on early and is trending as our TE1 in this 2027 class. The 6'8 215 pounder has all the length you could want and in his junior season certainly developed with how to use it. He dominated the 1v1 matchups against cornerbacks with his sound hands and I and a couple D1 contacts I sent his film to were impressed with his route-runner for his size. Expect him to be a big name to know out of Dunseith that gets a D1 grade from us.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Biggest 2029 Recruiting Splash</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1740349' first='Ty' last='Barman'], WR, Ray-Powers Lake 2029</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another prospect we have had a D1 grade on this time in the 2029 class since the NDSU prospect camp this summer and is our #1 overall prospect in the class, the splash that [player_tooltip player_id='1740349' first='Ty' last='Barman'] made this fall/winter is an unreal one. He picked up his first D1 offer after a game day visit at the University of Minnesota which not only is the only offer in this 2029 class in North Dakota, but also the 2028 class which is absurd. He was another multi-time Big Dog of the Week for Prep Redzone Dakotas for Ray-Powers Lake. Most folks outside the state probably didn't know where Ray, North Dakota was prior to Ty's first offer but they probably do now as I can't wait to see how much Ty grows from now to his senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->