North Dakota 2027 Rankings: Small Town Sleepers, Session 1

We turn the page with our 2027 rankings update in North Dakota and move to the several small town sleepers North Dakota has to offer. A small town is considered any town under 5000 people, but when you scout the Dakotas like we do you find small town kids from MUCH smaller towns than that, which is why I love scouting the Dakotas as much as I do as we look heavily for the athletes from sleepy small towns that are also sleepers on recruiting radars. This group makes Session 1 a good one, as the biggest small town sleeper we have comes from a community of just over 2300 people and the rest are much smaller.    Drayton Pop. 757   Mason was a new additon that we added to our radar after the Jamestown prospect camp this summer, as one of our prospect standouts in the receiving core from camp. Mason plays 6-man football so the frame he has displays more of a TE positionally but has the position flexibility to play wide receiver at the next level. The now 6'1 200 pounder dominates at the point of attack on both sides of the ball with his great use of hands as a blocker and defensive end. If you want to see one of the best all-around athletes in 6-man football in the 2027 class, Mason is surely one to look at that has a good shot to play on Saturdays.   <a href="https://x.com/masonpollestad1">TWITTER</a>     Surrey Pop. 1357   Jaxon is a linebacker that might be smaller on the size profile for the linebacker position, but surely is one that gives you the instinctiveness you want from your middle linebacker in the box. His downhill presence in the A-gap utilizes how well his frame fits in tight areas to get to the point of attack, as Jaxon certainly makes contact with the ball carrier harder than you might expect at his size. The advantage he has at his size comes with his agility as a linebacker that can control the inside box in pass coverage with how quick he can change direction to the ball carrier. He missed a strong chunk of his junior season, so I i will be impressed with how he develops in his senior season for Surrey.     Hankinson Pop. 921   An All-State linebacker as a junior for the Pirates, Kade is one that we still are awaiting junior tape to verify what has changed from a skillset perspective since his sophomore season. What we know is Kade is a swiss-army knife on all three levels of the field and is one that has a well-versed footbal IQ on all three levels. He's another linebacker in this small town sleeper group that makes up for his size with his physical tackling ability in the open field on a consistent basis. There is good position flexibility with this young man for college coaches to figure out here in the near future.     Colfax Pop. 209   Dillon is a athlete in the 2027 class out of Richland that surely shows off an athlete that plays with a chip on his shoulder when the ball is in his possession. The 5'8 160 pounder runs like a running back that wants to run thru you versus around you which is sometimes hard to find with those measurables in the Dakotas that have live tape. There is some reps from his junior tape where it takes a gang tackle to get Dillon to the turf which were impressive runs from this evaluators perspective. He is also a efficent route-runner that does well in high traffic areas around the edges. The all-around athlete that Dillon shows off is an intriguing one in this class out of tiny Colfax, North Dakota.   <a href="https://x.com/Sillyfeller789">TWITTER</a>     Richardton, Pop 692, Taylor Pop 230   We head to the Western part of North Dakota and find one of my favorite quarterbacks from this part of the state in this class in [player_tooltip player_id='1403911' first='Chase' last='Christensen']. The 6'1 195 pounder will surprise you on tape with his legs, as he shows an elusiveness getting outside of the pocket and still showing poise with his throwing ability on intermediate routes. That elusiveness stays consistent as Chase can stretch the field with his legs in very tight areas which tests how durable he can be to tackle. He shows off a quick release that has sound precision downfield into the second level. Chase certainly is the biggest playmaker we have in this list and is destined to be one that moves up here soon in this 2027 class.     Stanley Pop. 2321   Hunter hails from a metropolis of this batch of small town sleepers as Stanley has over 2300 people and plenty of talent college coaches will like in this 2027 class. Hunter pops out on tape with his great vision down to the ball, but what I like most as a middle linebacker is his pursuit angle he takes into the backfield. He has grueling hands for his size to get off and in between blocks and certainly possesses the short area vision you want in those tight windows. Hunter is also a MLB that you should like the motor he plays with as he's an run-stopper that is balanced in the run game and has a lot of upside to give in pass coverage looking at the next-level.

We turn the page with our 2027 rankings update in North Dakota and move to the several small town sleepers North Dakota has to offer. A small town is considered any town under 5000 people, but when you scout the Dakotas like we do you find small town kids from MUCH smaller towns than that, which is why I love scouting the Dakotas as much as I do as we look heavily for the athletes from sleepy small towns that are also sleepers on recruiting radars. This group makes Session 1 a good one, as the biggest small town sleeper we have comes from a community of just over 2300 people and the rest are much smaller.