Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase: RB Standouts

In what was a well-versed group at the running back position at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Sioux Falls, we surely were impressed with all three teams that came out of this group on our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/prep-redzone-dakotas-showcase-all-camp-team-offense/" id="https://prepredzone.com/2026/05/prep-redzone-dakotas-showcase-all-camp-team-offense/">All-Camp Team</a> that was just posted last night. Out of this group we have handfuls of running backs that were improved since winter's showcase, stockrisers, and our RB MVP who is a 2029 prospect that I'll say it, had a come out of almost nowhere performance in Sioux Falls on Saturday. It took over 1500 words to knock out these nine RBs on what we saw out of them at Augustana!    Holden made the the around 4-hour trip to our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase from Hatton-Northwood, and ended up on my third team for the running back group, but surely is one that has the upside as an incoming junior to rise into a higher team as we look ahead. The 6'0 191 pounder shows off the sound RB measurables for his age and was that showed off the fluidity we wanted to see in the live eval especially with his first step upon getting the ball in his hands. Holden also showed off solid change of direction in the reps we we watched which also in testing placed inside our top 20 in the entire showcase with his L-drill number. He's grown with his hands since my last look within the last handful of months, which is another skillset that has attached growth heading into camp season in my eyes.     A 2028 that I didn't have on my board as of yet out of Sioux Falls Christian that in my eyes ended up on our third team for running backs and was right there for a second team nod was [player_tooltip player_id='2181971' first='Damon' last='Jasper'], in the 2028 class. Damon was easily the most persistent tester from this third team group, as all of his testing numbers floated around inside our top 15 in the entire showcase including a pro agility of 4.58 and explosiveness just under 9 foot at 8'10. Damon was a running back when it came into the live reps, showed off an even quicker game speed, especially with his first cut that we watched during Indy drills. He's surely a 2028 out of the powerhouse Chargers that we need to get on our board as there's plenty of growth incoming with this young man.   <a href="https://x.com/DamonJasper34" id="https://x.com/DamonJasper34">TWITTER</a>     Easily one of most improved running backs from our last Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in my eyes from Saturday in Sioux Falls, was Minot's [player_tooltip player_id='1614496' first='Cullen' last='Sisco']. He was given the nod as a top-performer by our college coaches in attendance and based on my live eval, I could surely see why. Moving over from wide receiver at previous showcases, Cullen was in our top-tier amongst pass-catching running backs and made splash plays during Indy that caught our attention after the catch. Without a doubt what you see in the live eval from a game-speed perspective may not reflect his testing numbers, but from what that tells me is Cullen still has great upside to untap, as there's been persistency that I have noted Dakotas showcase after showcase.   <a href="https://x.com/CullenSisco" id="https://x.com/CullenSisco">TWITTER</a>     We had our RB2 in the 2028 North Dakota class in attendance and based off the live eval, we feel pretty good about that tape eval with those 2028 rankings from Grand Forks Central running back [player_tooltip player_id='1987335' first='Carson' last='Kotrba']. The 5'10 180 pounder, was one of the early RBs that stood out from the early eye test in the group as a running back that was pretty well-rounded from the skillsets we gathered. We surely knew that Carson was one of the most durability RBs in the group, but where I came away even more impressed than what the tape showed, was with his change of direction, as he finished in the top 3 in our Dakotas Showcase in the pro agility 4.39, and 7.26 in the L-drill (4th overall) which are both areas that are must haves for the running back position at the next-level. Carson is surely one that if you are a Dakotas school, you will want to track his growth at camps this summer who surely should be a first teamer by next Dakotas Showcase.     If we are talking stockrisers we saw on Saturday at the running back position, I would surely put Rapid City Stevens [player_tooltip player_id='1617610' first='Jackson' last='Gaeta'] in that category based on the solid chunk of reps I watched in Sioux Falls at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase. Jackson was one of the best finishers I got to watch in the running back group, not only from a work-ethic perspective but I was intrigued how it felt like he got faster in all of his reps I watched from start to finish. Obviously an upside is improving his how he starts, but you could also put Jackson in the category of one of the most improved running backs from our last winter showcase, in which I beleive he went from a third teamer to a second teamer from winter to spring. Surely a next-level RB in this 2027 class in my eyes.   <a href="https://x.com/JacksonG78906" id="https://x.com/JacksonG78906">TWITTER</a>     Zach was one we talked about last week in our RB preview that we felt had a shot at one at the top-tier of running backs and that was the case, as Zach was one of my front runners in this group of second teamers in what was a deep running back group on Saturday at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase. He showed off his elusive change of direction running the 2nd fastest L-drill in the entire showcase at 7.09, which is a number that is improved since his outing at our winter Dakotas Showcase. Not only was the change of direction evident during testing, but Zach was by far the most shifty running back during the reps I watched during the Indy drills with the running back group. He's one that been on my radar since he was an 8th grader and surely is a scholarshp-level graded running back for the Dakotas schools that's even more explosive when he gets into the open field with his vision.     Another Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase veteran that continues to finish in our first team in the running back group is RB1 in the South Dakota 2027 class in Mobridge-Pollock's [player_tooltip player_id='1275173' first='Mack' last='Saxon']. He's one of the most durable runners you'll see regardless of class in the Dakotas and seeing Mack during the live evals in Sioux Falls was no different. The 5'10 223 pounder I thought has elevated his game with his pass-catching ability in the reps I got to watch showing off more sure hands and control when utilzing that change of direction he has. Mack should surely be a hot commodity for those D2 schools once he gets to camp this summer as Mack in my eyes is one of the most blue-collar running backs in the Dakotas that gives you all he's got in every rep.   <a href="https://x.com/Mack_Saxon" id="https://x.com/Mack_Saxon">TWITTER</a>     Another stockriser from the running back group on Saturday at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase on Saturday in Sioux Falls, making the 7-hour drive one-way from Minot was Minot North's [player_tooltip player_id='1893242' first='Cooper' last='Chick']. The Sentinels are loaded at the running back group looking ahead at the upcoming 2026 season and the frame that has grown in the weight room from Cooper even since last winter's showcase is evident. The 5'7 181 pounder, was second in our entire showcase with a 4.69 40-yard dash on lasers which has grown since last showcase, and another testing area of development for Cooper aligns with his broad jump which he showed off his explosiveness with a 8'11 broad jump on Saturday. Cooper already has shown he has intriguing vision but based on what I saw on Saturday, he took a leap upwards based on the reps I got to watch. Surely a scholarship-level RB in my eyes out of Minot North that should be a good fit at the D2 level.     -RB MVP   A 2029 running back that we had logged to add to our 2029 South Dakota rankings, but yet had a come out of nowhere type performance at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase belonged to Rapid City St. Thomas More's [player_tooltip player_id='2162126' first='Zander' last='Zandstra']. He might have been a first-timer at a Prep Redzone Showcase, but he sure didn't seem like it as Zander rattled off in testing, three categories that placed him in the top six in the entire showcase, and two of those as well placed him in the top three. In the pro agility, he was #2nd overall with a 4.33, 3rd overall in the 40-yard dash (lasered) with a 4.73 which is flying for just a freshmen. and a 7.27 in the L-drill (6th overall). Zander was another running back in this group that I said to watch for on Saturday from a route-running perspective, and surely that came alive in the live eval as I thought he was one of the best route-runner in this group regardless of class. His change of direction on every rep I watched was hard to miss, as coming away with an MVP at an offensive skill position this early is surely something to track over the coming years if I were a college running backs coach.   <a href="https://x.com/zander_zandstra" id="https://x.com/zander_zandstra">TWITTER</a>

In what was a well-versed group at the running back position at our Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase in Sioux Falls, we surely were impressed with all three teams that came out of this group on our All-Camp Team that was just posted last night. Out of this group we have handfuls of running backs that were improved since winter's showcase, stockrisers, and our RB MVP who is a 2029 prospect that I'll say it, had a come out of almost nowhere performance in Sioux Falls on Saturday. It took over 1500 words to knock out these nine RBs on what we saw out of them at Augustana!