Small School Sophomores to Put on Your Radar

*Use code Johnson30 for 30% off an annual PRZ WI subscription. Also, make sure to activate your 7 Day Free Trial by March 9*   It is never too early to become aware of the hidden gems and small school talent. The Class of 2028 features plenty of both and today's article is going to give a glimpse into that. Just in this article alone we have 2028s who already put up numbers in 2025 on varsity. We also have some athletes who put themselves on our PRZ WI radar during this research process. So let's dive into some of the D5-D7 schools across our great state and unveil the talent.    This is an intriguing athlete that will be fun to watch over the coming years. The sophomore WR is already 6'3" 195 lbs, so we will watch and see how he continues to grow and fill out his frame. That will tell us if his home is at WR or TE at the next level. Either way, Evan is a reliable target that QBs can go to with confidence. He uses that big frame to protect the ball during the catch and box out defenders. He is a smooth athlete who can get vertical downfield or win across the middle of the field. Also noteworthy is that the long athlete also impresses on defense as an edge. He flies off the ball, can bend around the edge, and closes quickly and violently. Harbort is becoming one of the more versatile recruits in the Class of 2028.      Finn is turning himself intro a real force in the trenches. The current left tackle for Dodgeville projects best as a guard at the next level. It is all I can think about when watching his tape. Finn is quick in tight quarters, gaining the body positioning advantage and then striking with impressively strong hands. Those hands flash on tape over and over. Both with his accurate strikes and how much force is behind them, usually sending DL or LBs quickly to the ground. The 2028 OL also has shown he can double team up to level two and effectively peel off to pick up the LB. Don't sleep on this OL.      Tayden is a fun watch. When watching film I look for consistencies to find a kid's strengths. With Tayden the consistency is that he is addict to making big plays. The tape starts with pick six, sack, forced fumble, one-handed INT, and then another INT. Not many sophomore CBs can put that out on tape. Find the football and you will find the 2028 DB quickly meeting it to pick it off or punch it out, or bring it to the ground. The rising '28 clearly has a high football IQ to aid in him being in the right place at the right time. He also has the speed and ball skills to actually make things happen once he reads what is unfolding in front of him. I'm very excited to watch the CB continue to develop.      It was a wildly impressive year from Darlington as they made a run to a State Championship. Even more impressive was how they did it with so many juniors and sophomores providing the key production. One of those sophomores was DL Sloan Glendenning. The '28 DL checks in at just 6'1" 210 lbs, but you won't see that hurt him on tape. Sloan fires out of his stance with explosive quickness. That first step and acceleration has piles of examples on his tape of getting him through gaps and around OL very early in the play so that he can then get in the backfield and create disruption and losses of yards. His range to chase down the ball outside the pocket flashes over and over too. It is clear the '28 has a strong base of athletic tools to lean on to win in the trenches. Get this kid on your radars and out to your camps this summer. His quickness is going to win him a lot of battles.      Max would end 2025 as Tomahawk's leading rusher on varsity. The sophomore RB checks in at 5'8" 155 lbs, but that lack of size didn't stop him from making plays on both sides of the ball for Tomahawk. Max is equipped with game changing speed and a second gear in space that ends a lot of his big plays in the endzone. I love how decisive he already is as a runner too. A lot of times these smaller, twitchier athletes try to make to miss but Max sees the hole, flashes his explosive acceleration and is gone. He is on the attack when he has the ball and is looking to gain yards at all times. The explosive playmaker is going to be one to watch over these next two seasons.      It isn't often that the first thing I think of when watching a 170 lbs RB is physicality, but Cameron Gruber is the exception. All this kid does is run through tackle attempts. Both arm tackles and attempted wrap up tackles. Cameron does a great job running his feet through contact and has developed an impressively low center of gravity in his 6' frame. Then in the same play he also has the agility to leave DBs diving at air where he used to be standing before his juke. Mondovi has an outstanding collection of 2028 talent on their roster and Cameron is a member of that group.      Beau is coming off a varsity season where he was the team's 2nd leading tackler with 68 tackles, 16 TFLs, and 4 sacks. While the sophomore LB is only 5'10" 190 lbs it didn't stop him from making big stops between the tackles. Beau's key to his success is his speed, quickness, and ability to quickly read and react to the flow of the play. As soon as the '28 LB reads where the play is going he is so good at quickly getting downhill and navigating through traffic untouched on his way to the football. Beau is a very reliable tackler too. Dive into his LB highlights.      Landon is another athlete who hit my radar during the deep dive for this article. Glad he did because he is a force in the trenches for Abbotsford. The 6' 275 lbs '28 OL brings overwhelming power to the trenches. His highlights are rep after rep of him running DL off the line and burying them 5+ yards downfield. That same power also shines at DT/NG where he is able to bull rush and create havoc early in the play and disrupt timing in the backfield. Landon is big, powerful, and has the quickness to win within the tackle box on either side of the ball. Keep an eye on the small school prospect.

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