Prep Redzone MN Showcase: Nate's DB Standouts

Last but not least, we lock in with what was one of the more loaded defensive back groups we have ever had at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. I was almost dumbfounded not only by the number of defensive backs in attendance, but also the consistency that was shown across the board as surely one of the best defensive groups in attendance in our eyes. It took me nearly 1500 words to rattle thru my live evals, that's how good this group was in Plymouth.    Cole was a new name at defensive back out of this 2029 class that was one a small few that caught my attention in that DB group out of Holy Family. He might play on both sides for the ball for the Fire, but I saw the early translation to the defensive back position when I get to see the athleticism he boosted with his vertical during Indy drills a couple Saturdays ago in Plymouth. He's tested in the mid-tier with the group in the second session, but his ball skills intrigued me heading into his sophomore year at the spring Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. Good size for the position for his age, and plenty of upside left to show in my eyes.     Lamon was a 2028 defensive back out of Robbinsdale Armstrong that was another new name that got on my radar deeper into session 2 at the Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. As most defensive backs know, you need to possess a short memory and where Lamon caught my attention was with his coachability rep after rep, as you could see the growth he was making in his reps thru coaching from the college coaches. The eye test showed a defensive back that had good range with his arm length in the reps I was able to watch, as Lamon was able to close quickly around the ball. Surely has some work to do when it comes to getting his testing numbers down, but the live reps he made count on Saturday.     By far my favorite 2029 defensive back in the group at the Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase in session 2, was Brooklyn Park's [player_tooltip player_id='2078929' first='Arman' last='Rice-El']. This young man was paired with one of the best defensive backs in attendance and took plenty of knowledge from what I grasped from start to finish, which shows to me that Arman has a quickly growing football IQ. There's no doubt that you could gauge the change of direction this young man has early in his Indy reps, as Arman ran a 4.13 pro agility to start the day which has to be towards the top-tier amongst defensive backs and surely in his class. Arman showed off quick vision during the 1v1s I got to watch and closed downhill quickly from what he picked up on during Indy. A 2029 for the Centaurs that I can't wait to watch how he develops over the coming years.     Surely up there amongst my favorite 2028 defensive backs a couple Saturdays ago was Wayzata's [player_tooltip player_id='2173382' first='Max' last='Dahlman'], who hit into my notebook on numerous occasions. He took the cake in the L-drill, running for first in the showcase in session 2 with whopping a 6.73 in which having my live view, I loved how persistently tight he was around the cones and finished his reps with a competitive edge you want to see out of the defensive back group. In the handful of reps I got to watch, Max shut down his routes early and often as you could gauge the sound instincts he showed off especially on routes early and quick on the first level. He was one that I felt got better in his reps over time, which you surely want to see when evaluating defensive backs. A 2028 to surely watch for out of the West Metro.     Another defensive back that brought the twitch I wanted to see not only from testing but persistently showed off the athletic traits he has during Indy and 1v1s, was [player_tooltip player_id='2137717' first='Nick' last='Rosga'] of Cretin-Derham Hall. He finished 5th in the second session at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase during the L-drill in which he ran a 6.84 and had another top-tier time in the pro agility, in which he ran a 4.43. Butt the skillsets that impressed me the most about Nick was his live reps, as the cuts I saw he put together during Indy drills were pretty much on a dime and as tight as the cones would allow. During 1v1s, Nick showed off open hips, that allowed him to track the ball on muliple levels as one of my only 2027s I had on my list from a couple Saturdays ago.     One of a couple Brooklyn Center athletes that cracked my defensive back standouts list is one I surely believe I have had on my radar at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase before, as [player_tooltip player_id='1658006' first='Rodney' last='Pierce-Tyler Jr.'] is one that has surely grown his stock since last showcase in my eyes. The 5'11 160 pounder, was one of the longer defensive backs in the group and is figuring out out how to use that length to his advantage in the reps I watched. He was poised in the reps I watched attacking the hip early as another one out of Brooklyn Center that intrigues me with his football IQ and where it can take him over the next coming years.     Another 2028 defensive back that came out as one of my favorite amongst the top-tier was White Bear Lake's [player_tooltip player_id='2152168' first='Robert' last='Stuckey']. The 5'11 155 pounder was instant with his release of his hips on every rep I was able to watch and you could tell quickly, really relished the attention to detail the college coaches were looking to see during the event. He showed off the explosiveness often with his short-area quickness and during 1v1 reps, was no pun intended, stuck like glue with his ball-tracking ability. Similar to what our Midwest Scouting Director saw, I too did not see Robert lose a rep during any of his reps I got to see on the afternoon. Bright future coming for this young man for the Bears and surely looked like one of the proven Saturday prospects in the DB group in my eyes.     Moving on to another top-tier defensive back, who sits inside our top 10 and is DB2 in the 2028 class, is [player_tooltip player_id='607918' first='Knox' last='Andrus'] out of Cambridge-Isanti who is another that you could argue was in the running for DB MVP a couple Saturdays ago. Knox tied for third in the 40-yard dash with a 4.61 in the second session, top in the pro agility at 4.32 and the most eye-catching number in testing, was his broad jump which was second in the session with a 9'7. The biggest skillset that needs to be pointed out from Knox in the live eval, is not just how coachable is he is, but how he helps out the guys he was going up against. There were underclassmen that I witnessed Knox taking under his wing and surely from what I saw bettered their skillsets, more than you commonly see at an event like ours. As a two-way athlete, you can't not love watching Knox's football IQ at work as he was one of the most well-rounded defensive backs in all faucets with his skillsets. The 5'10 183 pounder has much more range with that size than you would expect as an athlete that was extremely fluid from start to finish. Surely a 2028 prospect I would expect college coaches to want to jump on early with all of the athletic traits he has at his disposal.     Xavier is another one that finished in our overall top-tier for defensive backs at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase and is a defensive back that got better and better the more reps I watched. He passed the eye test right away at a verified 6'0 186 pounds, that ran a 4.67 40 yard dash on the lasers which is eye-catching by itself. You want to talk about length, Xavier stretched to a 75' wingspan which by far was the longest out of the defensive back group and also recorded inside the top 5 with a 9'5 broad jump. A skillset that really jumped out at me with Xavier was how poised he was against any route against any defender, as he sloweed routes down early with his overwhelming length and yet had the change of direction for any route scenario that came his way. Surely one on the riser over at Hopkins with still a handful of years to go!

Last but not least, we lock in with what was one of the more loaded defensive back groups we have ever had at our Prep Redzone Minnesota Showcase. I was almost dumbfounded not only by the number of defensive backs in attendance, but also the consistency that was shown across the board as surely one of the best defensive groups in attendance in our eyes. It took me nearly 1500 words to rattle thru my live evals, that's how good this group was in Plymouth.