Bemidji State Big School Team Camp: Nate's QB, RB, FB Standouts

My first trip to Bemidji was well worth the four-hour trip, as it only took me about five minutes to text my wife that we need to add Bemidji to our list for family vacation here soon. But outside of that, there was some darn good football to watch at Chet Anderson Stadium as Bemidji State hosted their Big School Team Camp on the shores of Lake Bemidji. Which adds to my last point, their "War on the Shore" is their own and is one of the coolest concepts I have seen at the end of any camp I have been in attendance at, as those that know me that number is a lot. I start it off with the offensive side of the ball with the Gunslingers, running backs, and even one of my favorite fullbacks in Bemidji that caught my attention.   Quarterbacks    One of a couple athletes out of Fargo South that got on my radar last week at the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp was 2028 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1987316' first='Sylas' last='Johnson']. Sylas showed why he sits in our top five in the quarterback group in that North Dakota 2028 class as he made solid strides with his skillsets in my eyes in a couple different areas. The first area that pops out was his poise in the pocket as I thought that was the highest variable where Sylas has grown the most since my last eval. He showed during the scrimmages and mixers that I watched that he's also amped up his precision even on all three levels.     Making the transfer over from Richfield to BSM and was one of my favorite athletes from the Red Knights last week, was 2028 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2256711' first='Mason' last='Woods']. The athleticism did not take long to show during the mixer I watched in Bemidji on Wednesday evening as Mason escapability out of the pocket with his 6'1 185 pound size was surely intriguing to watch with his legs especially getting to the edges. As you would think, that athleticism peaked with his throws outside of the pocket too as Mason is still developing timing with a new group of receivers but you could see the route-timing being developed the more you watched. He is surely the name to watch for BSM in the 2028 class.   <a href="https://x.com/Masonwoods124" data-type="link" data-id="https://x.com/Masonwoods124">TWITTER</a>     My new neck of the woods just last week just before the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp is now the 55076 zip code which is Inver Grove Heights, so as you could imagine I had my eyes on a few prospects out of Simley, incluing 2027 gunslinger [player_tooltip player_id='1120523' first='Christian' last='Urbina']. Christian is one I recall from our PRZ Minnesota Showcases so I had a sample size of what I saw from a growth perspective from my last live eval, which he's gained some good ground on. Simley was the biggest surprise from War on the Shore as despite being 2-8 last year they were one the only 4A teams in the final four, as they gave the War on the Shore winners a run for their money. Christian had some good clutchness in his throws that I watched during War on the Shore     The new 2028 gunslinger on the block at Maple Grove that got my board towards the end of War on the Shore was our QB8 in the 2028 class [player_tooltip player_id='1654549' first='Graham' last='Greseth']. Just like any quarterback in a new system, there's going to be bumps in the road but I felt those bumps were getting much lighter for Graham during the night cap, which was Wednesday night's War on the Shore under the lights at "The Chet" at the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp. Graham's throw was right in front of me and the anticipation he finished that throw with was how you grow quick respect with your offensive guys, as the patience Graham showed out of the pocket surely caught my attention when I watched back the video clip of it.     QB MVP   The Bemidji State Big School Team Camp was a fun one to watch for me from a live eval perspective, as I have probably watch Graham and [player_tooltip player_id='1683410' first='Bo' last='Schwartz'] more live than anyone and I know the competition and respect between those two is surely there especially that they hold our QB7 and QB8 spots in the 2028 Minnesota rankings. In the end though, it was Shakopee's [player_tooltip player_id='1683410' first='Bo' last='Schwartz'] that got my nod for QB MVP as the tight windows that Bo was able to hit on a persistent basis during the reps I was able to watch gave him the nod as another newcomer gunslinger in the 6A ranks coming over from 5A Brainerd. Not only was Bo persistent in where I mentioned above, but I could see the quick turn over he's made from a chemistry perspective as I know he's gotten countless reps with [player_tooltip player_id='1246911' first='Jaxon' last='Brown'] plenty this offseason. Speaking of that QB/WR duo, Bo had the beset play I saw during War on the Shore, as he got out of a jam in the backfield and somehow found Jaxon in the end zone in what I recall was a must-stop third down play that Bo and the Sabers capitalized on a make or break play. I'll post it this week when I find it on my phone for sure.    Running Backs/Fullbacks    A new name alert for all of us at Prep Redzone Minnesota that made a bunch of splash plays for the Zimmerman Thunder at the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp was 2027 running back [player_tooltip player_id='2254397' first='Joe' last='Larson']. Joe was surely one that was running wild in the open field and put some linebackers on stilts with his ability to find the outside gap coming out of the Thunder's option offense that hit their stride with Joe's great vision he showed off. The 6'0 175 pounder is not one you might not find a ton of tape on, but the three-sport athlete is surely worth a look to play on Saturdays despite that with how many big hitters he went for on Wednesday.     Some of the best fullback reps I saw from the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp came from Maple Grove 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='1120564' first='Lucas' last='Bakker']. You want to talk about position flexibility offensively, this kid has it on both sides of the ball but what I saw out of him as a run-blocker on a handful of reps I watched during the mixers on Wednesday left me intrigued, as his pad-level and physical presence was tough to miss. To add to the skillsets, on a handful of reps where Lucas got the ball I like his short area vision within the inside box as he was one that could be a good short-yardage getter for the Crimson when they need on later downs this fall at a couple offensive spots that Lucas lines up at for Maple Grove.     Pound for pound, I thought the running back group might have been one of the more top-heavy positions offensively that I saw at the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp as [player_tooltip player_id='1289874' first='Mack' last='Jurkovich'] was easily in my top-tier in the running back especially watching him on War on the Shore on Wednesday night. You want to talk about being twitchy, Mack not only had defenders on skates but some of the folks in the back of the end zone I was standing with were also pretty shook at how elusive Mack was as he had several reps during War on the Shore where he just utilized that agility and punched in for what seemed to be an always quick first or second play for a Forest Lake touchdown. He has a plethora of offers to choose from at the D2 and D1 levels.     RB MVP   Golly, what a matchup the finale was at the War on the Shore at the Bemidji State Big School Team Camp and the one blasting forward in the Sabers backfield was led by Northwestern commit [player_tooltip player_id='1669604' first='Blake' last='Loughlin']. If you wanted to see gritty, powerful inside runs on Wednesday, you had to be in Bemidji to see them as Blake ran thru contact almost like a bulldozer at a job site. He finished off his workmen like effort showing off the twitch the 6'3 220 pound Big Ten linebacker commit showed the Cats before he committed, as I loved seeing my final camp eval of the summer come from a 2027 prospect that I remember very clearly on when he jumped on D1 radars, as I was there for it at the MFCA Training House Combine a couple years back already as Blake showed off the explosive that was there back then and has grown into joining the Big Ten next year.

My first trip to Bemidji was well worth the four-hour trip, as it only took me about five minutes to text my wife that we need to add Bemidji to our list for family vacation here soon. But outside of that, there was some darn good football to watch at Chet Anderson Stadium as Bemidji State hosted their Big School Team Camp on the shores of Lake Bemidji. Which adds to my last point, their "War on the Shore" is their own and is one of the coolest concepts I have seen at the end of any camp I have been in attendance at, as those that know me that number is a lot. I start it off with the offensive side of the ball with the Gunslingers, running backs, and even one of my favorite fullbacks in Bemidji that caught my attention.