South Dakota 2027 Rankings: Small Town Sleepers, Session 1

We just started our Small Town Sleepers series in North Dakota yesterday with Session 1 and now it's time to cross the border over to the Mount Rushmore State to do the same. We'll keep saying it, we love finding small town sleepers in the Dakotas as we feel there is no better region to really find true small town athletes that have a chance to play at the next-level, no matter where that is. The largest towns in session one? 3485 the smallest is 586. The consideration of what defines a "small town" is 5000 people, but man is there some talented kids from populations much smaller than that in South Dakota.    Mobridge-Pollock Pop. (combined) 3,485   Easton is a playmaking free safety that you can tell has a growing football IQ out of Mobridge-Pollock. He's one that is rangy and instinctive finding the ball and doing so with great agile quickness. Easton also has ideal length and ball tracking ability that translates well in 1v1 coverage situations. Surely one I will be intrigued to see what he can show off during camp season, as one that surely has a great shot to move up our 2027 SD board by summer.   <a href="https://x.com/easton_eisemann">TWITTER</a>     Alexandria Pop. 649   A new additon to our 2027 South Dakota rankings and another small town sleeper at the quarterback position is [player_tooltip player_id='2105206' first='Jett' last='Jager'] of Hanson. The 6'2 175 pounder, showed off on tape a quarterback that has a quick release and that has well-versed throwing mechanics consistently getting the ball out of his hands quickly. He also shows athleticism with his utilizing his legs outside of the pocket and the precison on his throws alert are well-aligned to get his receiver downhill with a lead on their routes. He's another small town sleeper that comes in as our QB7 in the class that has a chance to move up soon.     Avon Pop. 586   Grayson comes from 9B powerhouse Avon, and is one that appears quickly as a swiss army knife on offense, defense, and special teams. His durability is a skillset that jumps out to me on tape, as he has excellent size especially in the backfield showing off solid power throughout his runs. He also shows off great open field vision that appears as one that surely could play on Saturdays somewhere in the Dakotas.     Wessington Springs Pop. 771   Nathan saw starting reps on both side of the ball for the WWSSC Bucks in the 2025 season, but the consistency he brings at the linebacker position is what caught my attention at our Dakotas Showcase and on his junior tape. The 5'11 190 pounder plays with a great motor that ranges well as a run-stuffer within the inside and exterior of the inside box. You also get a middle linebacker that has great short-area vison that can fly downhill to the football quickly on a persistent basis. He shows off a linebacker that shows off sudden movement to the point of attack. The WWSSC Bucks had a few signees in this 2026 class that went on to play college football and it appears to me they will have another one for sure in this 2027 class.   <a href="https://x.com/GaikowskiNathan">TWITTER</a>     Alcester-Hudson (combined) Pop. 1115   Evan is a offensive linemen that my gut tells me could be another upwards trender out of this group in our 2027 South Dakota rankings. The 6'2 215 pounder has good footwork that shows off good fluidity and balance when he gets downhill as a pull-blocker. He is not one you will want to meet in the A-gap when he's pulling, as he shows very quickly he can drive you deep into the second level if you are off-balanced. I have him graded as an offensive linemen, but I love this kid's position flexibility as a defensive end, as he shows off well-versed pass-rush moves that truly show off the athleticism that is at Evan's disposal. Pumped to see what Evan can show us off at college camps this summer.       Lake Preston Pop. 589   Rowdy won't be the biggest linebacker you see amongst our small town sleepers, but there is no doubt about when you roll the tape, this kid is a thumper when he makes contact with the ball carrier. He's also more instinctive in pass coverage than I feel he might get credit for and you can gauge pretty quickly, he's a high motored linebacker anywhere on the field. Would be good to surely get more tape, as the light tape that is there intrigues me from the Sharks.

We just started our Small Town Sleepers series in North Dakota yesterday with Session 1 and now it's time to cross the border over to the Mount Rushmore State to do the same. We'll keep saying it, we love finding small town sleepers in the Dakotas as we feel there is no better region to really find true small town athletes that have a chance to play at the next-level, no matter where that is. The largest towns in session one? 3485 the smallest is 586. The consideration of what defines a "small town" is 5000 people, but man is there some talented kids from populations much smaller than that in South Dakota.