Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase: LB Standouts

You want to know what I feel was the deepest position group at the Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase last Saturday? In my eyes, it surely was the linebacking core, as one indication that should tell our subscribers that, is the amount of words it takes me to create my standout list and thus far, the linebacker group is winning by several 100 words. Without further a do, the stacked group of LBs are below!    Parker was a new name to my 2029 South Dakota radar that left a valuable impression as a linebacker to know out of Dell Rapids. He's still developing from a size perspective, but the athletic traits we saw on Saturday were intrguing. He was in the top 15 overall in the entire showcase with his 40-yard dash, which was an impressive 4.95 on lasers, which is great for a young buck at the linebacker position. In the reps I was able to watch out of Parker, I saw a linebacker that was fluid in with his athletic movement and showed off on a few reps how sudden he can be getting to the point of attack in the LB reps I took in in Indy drills. Plenty of upside left to develop, and one we'll surely have to track out of this 2029 class.     Easily the most impressive 2029 linebacker in attendance, was Aberdeen Roncalli's [player_tooltip player_id='1745606' first='Brock' last='Bowman']. The Cavaliers have been no stranger at the linebacker position, especially for top performers at the last bulk of our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcases, and Brock appears to be the next one up in that regard. The 5'10 183 pounder, was eye-catching during testing with two testing categories finishing in our top 12 overall, with the pro-agility at 4.57, and 7.31 in the L-drill which was good for 8th overall at our showcase in Sioux Falls. There was solid translation for Brock of that change of direction in Indy drills, as the college coaches and I nominated Brock as one of the only five top performers and he was the only one in the 2029 class. In the reps I watched, I saw the motor I wanted to see out of a youngster at the linebacker position as Brock showed off one that finished well into the cusp of the RBs. Good football IQ for his age and plenty of growth surely coming over the next three years of HS football incoming. Surely need to get this young man higher on my 2029 SD radar.     Anders was a LB out of Sioux Falls Christian that I peaked at the tape recently and liked what I saw, and that was persistent with what I saw at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase on Saturday. He might not be the biggest linebacker we've ever seen, but it was hard to miss the motor this young man possessed in the live reps I watched in Sioux Falls. He was one that I felt showed off a higher game speed than what his testing numbers might show off. With a powerlifting background, I can bet the weight room is going to favor this young man as a linebacker that grows significantly from now into his junior season with the powerhouse Chargers. Surely a 2028 that will be stockriser in our rankings here soon!   <a href="https://x.com/AndersGreer" id="https://x.com/AndersGreer">TWITTER</a>     Kayden was another linebacker on this list also out of Sioux Falls Christian, that I felt the live reps told the story with his live eval I got from Saturday at our Prep Redzone Dakotas.. Undersized, but surely played with a chip on his shoulder at 5'7 165 pounds that played with a consistent presence to the ball in the reps I got to watch. His mix of change of direction and persistent ability to attack the hip in the LB Indy drills I watched, elevated Kayden's stock in my eyes due to his football IQ that surely is still growing as a 2028 prospect for the Chargers. They surely have some depth that we saw at linebacker, which tells me their defense is surely one to watch in 11A looking ahead at the 2026 season.   <a href="https://x.com/KaydenWurtz0519" id="https://x.com/KaydenWurtz0519">TWITTER</a>     It's been persistent lately that McCook Central-Montrose has had some impressive linebackers come thru in recent years, and the next one up in the 2028 class looks to me to be [player_tooltip player_id='2043591' first='Connor' last='Heiberger']. His fluidity for size was intriguing on the live eval I got on Connor in Sioux Falls, as his footwork translated to a linebacker that from the eye test plays bigger than his 5'10 180 pound will show you from my view. He persistently stopped running backs in their tracks with the use of sound pursuit angles which was persistent in all of Connor's reps I got to watch. He's got a well-versed football IQ for his age, and surely is another linebacker in this group I expect to grow in the weight room between now and the 2026 football season.     This 2028 linebacker group to me was one of the more stacked classes we had in a position group at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase last Saturday and yet another that I felt was a stockriser, was Florence-Henry's [player_tooltip player_id='2154576' first='Carson' last='Kelly']. The 5'10 172 pounder was undersized, but man he played with a presence you had to watch around the ball. You might not hear the term long very often with those measurables, but with a 74' wingspan (6'2) I felt in the reps I watched from Carson, that was an advantage he knew how to use. He was a linebacker that was quite coachable from my eyes, as you could catch that Carson was a quick learner from the first rep I watched to the last reps I got to watch in Sioux Falls. Surely one to get out to camp this summer in this 2028 class as another stockriser in this 2028 LB class in South Dakota.   <a href="https://x.com/Carsonkelly_28" id="https://x.com/Carsonkelly_28">TWITTER</a>     Easily one of the most well-rounded and I would say top testers in this 2028 group of linebackers we had in attendance at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase, was Mitchell linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='2154705' first='Lawson' last='LeBrun']. he had two categories where he tested in our top seven or better overall, as he jumped an explosive 9'2 in the broad jump (7th in showcase) and the 40-yard dash on lasers, was 5th overall with a great linebacker size profile at 5'11 191 pounds as an incoming junior for the Kernels. He also finished as top performer with Indy and 1v1s in the linebacker. Each rep I got to watch out of Lawson during that time, showed me the pure finish you want to see from linebackers at the point of attack as he also had well-versed pursuit angles as well. Lives evals always do the justice, and surely Lawson should be a stockriser by the next 2028 SD update! Also runs a 11.2 100-meter dash on the track which I love to see.   <a href="https://x.com/LawsonLeBrun28" id="https://x.com/LawsonLeBrun28">TWITTER</a>     We utilize the term "top-tier" quite frequently to tell you about which few prospects we liked in a class, but from what I got out of the live eval, there was not a 2028 linebacker in attendance I was impressed with more than Harrisburg's [player_tooltip player_id='1575903' first='Drew' last='Kleinsasser']. Harrisburg has another stud linebacker? It's no secret at this point that the Tigers are a hotbed for linebackers at the next-level and surely Drew looks like the next one. This young man's football IQ is excellent as every pursuit angle I watched Drew take was on point in the reps I watched. In pass coverage reps, it would have been hard as an evaluator to miss on the athleticism this kid's got, as he got in the air more like a DB than a LB with his vertical. The 5'11 202 pounder, jumped a whopping 9'8 in the broad jump and another factor that should encourage college coaches to get Drew at camp this summer, he's playing with about 25-30 pounds frame than we saw a year ago which that weight room translation would be what I am looking for at the next-level. Drew's surely a 2028 that is sure worth some early looks.     Brock is one that after getting the live eval on Saturday and going back to the tape, he's one that I wish I had a lot higher in the LB group in this South Dakota 2027 class as he was one of those prospects that I felt used the fuel of his rank in his reps on Saturday. This kid is a firecracker when he gets downhill on tape, and not much was different when I got the live eval. He finished in the top 14 or better in two testing categories, as he broad jump was an 8'10 (14th at showcase), and L-drill was a 7.4 (11th at showcase). He showed off a great first step and what showed as a rowdy motor that you always want in your linebacker core. I've been on record time and time again about Spearfish's 2027 class but man, I missed on Brock for sure.     A linebacker that I felt was in my "stockriser" category from the live eval on Saturday at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase, was [player_tooltip player_id='2103783' first='Owen' last='Shea'] of Castlewood. The 5'11 202 pounder, was one of the most explosive linebackers in the broad jump finishing in the top 10 at our showcase with an 8'11. Where I was most impressed with Owen in the live eval, was with his pass coverage reps as he showed he could bump and run with the bulk of the RBs in attendance and caused disruption in the middle of their route which all in all, was great to see as you don't see a ton of what he could do in PC on tape. I surely feel with the size profile that Owen surely moved into our top 10 in the 2027 class of linebackers from his live eval and is one of a couple LBs from Castlewood that can play scholarship football on Saturdays in my eyes.     -LB MVP   Last but not least, we feature our LB MVP from Saturday's Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase which like another position group on defense, featured another 11AA target that won an MVP, which belonged to Madden McQuade of Yankton in our 2027 LB group. Madden is a linebacker that would be hard to miss off the eye test alone and he surely proved as an MVP, it wasn't just the eye test where he stood out in the live eval either. The 5'10 217 pounder, jumped a 9'0 broad jump at that size which emphaized what we would see later in Indy/1v1 reps from Madden. He showed off the sound vision and thumper-like pursuit angles that college coaches and I wanted to see on Saturday as Madden although we were in a non-padded camp, was in my top-tier for one of the most physical linebackers in attendance. He's one if I were recruiting South Dakota, he'd be getting an offer from me this summer if I were a scholarship-school recruiting coordinator.

You want to know what I feel was the deepest position group at the Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase last Saturday? In my eyes, it surely was the linebacking core, as one indication that should tell our subscribers that, is the amount of words it takes me to create my standout list and thus far, the linebacker group is winning by several 100 words. Without further a do, the stacked group of LBs are below!