2029 SD Rankings: The Small Town Sleepers Edition

Next up we get a look at our Small Town Sleepers from the Mount Rushmore State in this 2029 class with the recent release of our 2029 rankings. These young men come from towns or even counties of 5000 people or less and there's even a set of twins out of this list that I am really intrigued about over the coming years.    Centerville Pop. 918   Centerville might be one of the most known small towns for us at PRZ Dakotas, as we had our 2026 QB1 Alec Austin on our board since he was a freshmen for the Tornadoes, but now we enter more talented Tornaodes with the first of the Ruter twins, starting with [player_tooltip player_id='2326674' first='Logan' last='Ruter']. The 5'8 170 pounder I will say it from the jump, is a tough tackle to make when he's in the open field as his first look on tape not only shows off his durability, but also how solid his vision his for his age. The explosiveness Logan has also translates bouncing off tacklers as well. I can tell Logan has a solid football IQ for his age, and plenty more where that came from over these next coming years for Centerville in my eyes.   <a href="https://x.com/LRuter61295" data-type="link" data-id="https://x.com/LRuter61295">TWITTER</a>     Centerville Pop. 918   I haven't seen too many linebackers that are as gifted in pass coverage in this 2029 class more than Centerville's [player_tooltip player_id='1988477' first='Lane' last='Ruter'] as he shows off that for his size how highly rangy he can be and how well-versed his athletic movement really is. Another area you want to see out of Lane at linebacker is how quickly he shows off his knock back tackling ability as I don't think I have seen a 5'9 165 pounder tackle like that in a while coming out of this class especially. These twin brothers are surely going to give Centerville more of my attnetion over the next handful of years.     Harding County Pop. 1311   Harding County is the third smallest county as far as population in the state, but over the years the Ranchers have had handfuls of next-level talent and talented players on their roster as another one that is coming thru in their 2029 class is quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2326675' first='Ryder' last='Hunsucker']. The 6'2 170 pounder shows that can he can operate in a tight window with his first look finding his wide receiver in the back of the end zone while having to make a tip-toe catch which was also a red-zone touchdown. He has great arm strength and precison for his age that fires out quickly and shows his ability pre-snap to improvise on the fly. Surely a quarterback name to watch in this 2029 class.   <a href="https://x.com/RyderHunsucker2" data-type="link" data-id="https://x.com/RyderHunsucker2">TWITTER</a>     New Underwood Pop. 590   Our second West River 2029 that got added to our 2029 South Dakota rankings is wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='2231706' first='Jarren' last='Hanks'] of New Underwood, which is located halflway between Rapid City and Wall, the home of beloved Wall Drug on the Black Hills trips folks make. What should jump out right away to evaluators, is the sizable hands that Jarren has at his disposal. Another area that I picked up on on tape with Jarren, was his ability to improvise on his routes when the ball flight is off-line as for his age, he does a great job of adjusting to the ball. His quickest releases as a route-runner appear in red zone scenarios but the consistency of being a target you can hit over the middle is Jarren's sweet spot as an incoming sophomore to watch for New Underwood.     Salem Pop. 1325   Nestled on I-90 about halfway between Sioux Falls and the home of the iconic Corn Palace which is Mitchell, South Dakota you'll find McCook Central-Montrose 2029 defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='2203121' first='Easton' last='Meyer']. This young man came out of nowhere at our spring Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase and finished as one of my favorite underclassmen in attendance with no tape besides his clips at our showcase to evaluate ahead of time. The now 6'0 220 pounder has agile footwork that can win the 1v1 battles with his highly-physical hands and wirey movement that is balanced in whichever direction he wants to take the offensive linemen he goes up against. I clearly have a high bar for Easton just off the live eval I got in May as he sits as DL1 and inside our top 20 as a young man that's not only a small town sleeper but was a clear hidden gem up till about three months ago.     Groton Pop. 1380   Next we head 15 minutes east of Aberdeen to Groton, South Dakota which is a usual stop for me after our Dakotas Showcase to get gasoline and snacks for my long drives home. They've had some athletes in recent years out of Groton, and one my favorite in the 2029 class is our QB2 in the class which is [player_tooltip player_id='2044788' first='Asher' last='Johnson']. Asher was another that finished in my top tier at his position at May's Prep Redzone Dakotas Showcase and when you peak the tape you can see why. He has a well-placed deep ball that really passes the eye test for how well he can progress his wide receivers downfield. I've pointed it out before and I'll stand on this hill, there is not a more athletic quarterback in this class than Asher that I have seen progress outside of the pocket like he can thus far.

Next up we get a look at our Small Town Sleepers from the Mount Rushmore State in this 2029 class with the recent release of our 2029 rankings. These young men come from towns or even counties of 5000 people or less and there's even a set of twins out of this list that I am really intrigued about over the coming years.