Back 2 Ballin: Final Gunslinger Standouts/RB Standouts

CEDAR FALLS, IA-- We finally hit an end point totalling 17 gunslingers that stood out from Back 2 Ballin including tonight's content. Next up? Running backs and athletes. The reason for the bunching of both is due to the light amount of two-way standouts that are hard to find during 7v7 tournament, yet I feel we have a great batch of them, packed in with some sound running back play from across Iowa and South Dakota. Let's get to it!   Quarterbacks:   [player_tooltip player_id='205260' first='Sam' last='Knuth'], QB, Sioux Falls Sharks/Harrisburg (SD) 2025 <a href="https://twitter.com/KnuthSam">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/01/Sam-Knuth-rotated-crop-456x300-1674919665.jpg?w=455" alt="" class="wp-image-621735" style="width:283px;height:auto" /></figure>   Sam was as close to perfect as you could be at Back 2 Ballin, by going for 15 touchdowns on the 16 drives he threw on for the Sioux Falls Sharks, who were runner ups in 18U at Back 2 Ballin going neck and neck with Rip City. Sam deliberately crushed intermediate and deep routes with the instinct he shows off with his reads, as I called it last weekend that the Harrisburg connection was alive and well for the bulk of those 15 touchdowns he threw for last weekend. I thought the poise for the Dakotas QB1 in the 2025 class has gotten even more balanced than I thought it could with his excellent development I have seen from my last live eval of Sam. He WILL be a hot commodity on the Division I camp circuit this summer, you can bet on that.   [player_tooltip player_id='800371' first='Boston' last='Katzer'], QB, Lennox (SD) 2025 <a href="https://twitter.com/boston_katzer">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0520-rotated-crop-480x316-1714005950.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1257317" style="width:341px;height:auto" /></figure>   One of a few South Dakota 2025 quarterbacks in attendance I was stoked to get a live-eval on was Lennox's [player_tooltip player_id='800371' first='Boston' last='Katzer']. Playing with his high school team at Back 2 Ballin, that unleashed the chemistry you are going to see come Friday nights this fall and he excelled with a few skillsets in my eyes. Boston showed off well-tuned mechanics and I thought his quick release was one of the more wiry releases I saw amongst quarterbacks on the weekend. His best throws were on intermediate routes in my honest opinion, as I liked the tone that Boston carried on the handful of drives I watched as he showed off plenty of quick routes early for quality yards and then excelled going deeper and deeper with his throws as the drives and the Orioles momentum progressed. Boston seems like a QB that could have a boom of a summer coming up on the camp circuit.   Running Backs & Athletes:   [player_tooltip player_id='1621099' first='Jarin' last='Hoffman'], RB/ATH, Carroll Chargers/Kuemper Catholic (IA) 2027 <a href="https://twitter.com/JarinHoffman">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Jarin-Hoffman-crop-1440x946-1714002308.jpeg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1257219" style="width:320px;height:auto" /></figure>   A 2027 tailback that certainly impressed me at Back 2 Ballin was Carroll Chargers [player_tooltip player_id='1621099' first='Jarin' last='Hoffman']. The elusiveness and excellent vision Jarin has in the open field will make you surprised when you take a peak at his measurables after getting that live evaluation. His lower body is quite long for 5'8 170 pounds and especially as a freshmen he will pass the early eye-test with his body type. He was productive with his hands in high-traffic areas taking the top of those in the secondary covering intermediate and deep routes. A big fall shows to be the expectation for Jarin at Kuemper Catholic as one that it seems could have a growth spurt brewing.   [player_tooltip player_id='1596610' first='Jayden' last='Stephens'], ATH, Savages/Waverly-Shell Rock (IA) 2028 <a href="https://twitter.com/_jstephens28">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0512-rotated-crop-480x316-1714005327.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1257298" style="width:303px;height:auto" /></figure>   You could see it quite quickly on both ends of the ball, that Savages 2028 athlete James Stephens showed off an early look at what will be a football IQ with high upside over the next several years of high school. James also shows off a great body type that will have some looking twice that he is just an incoming freshmen at the moment. His long strides caught wind with his on-ball physicality defensively as a potential fit at DB that should translate well over the coming years. That vertical James showed off though as a pass-catcher showed me what will be a likely swiss-army knife coming soon for just up the road from the UNI Dome at Waverly-Shell Rock.   [player_tooltip player_id='848928' first='Daevion' last='Simonsen'], RB, Sioux Falls Sharks/Sioux Falls Jefferson (SD) 2026 <a href="https://twitter.com/daevions1monsen">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0543-rotated-crop-480x316-1714005785.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1257301" style="width:309px;height:auto" /></figure>   Daevion was another live-eval I was waiting for from this group, as a 2026 RB prospect that I have been high on for a while, as a top 15 overall prospect in South Dakota out of Sioux Falls Jefferson. The 5'9 185 pounder is a tailback that brought the grit-factor from the get-go from first watching him as he showed off excellent hands I had hoped to see. Although 7v7 is touch football, Daevion showed plenty of power thru his frame when the ball was in his hands and he had to get thru high-contact areas where his durability took sound shape. A back that was highly proficient in the red zone, I will expect to get a huge amount of reps coming in his junior season for the Cavaliers.   [player_tooltip player_id='848984' first='Landyn' last='Reiser'], ATH, SD Elite/Tri Valley 2026 <a href="https://twitter.com/LandynReiser">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/IMG_0530-rotated-crop-480x316-1714005873.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1257308" style="width:317px;height:auto" /></figure>   Although it could have been a better weekend for SD Elite, the prospect I enjoyed watching the most from them was Tri Valley 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='848984' first='Landyn' last='Reiser']. The timing of getting the live-eval of Landyn is great, as he is one of our biggest stockrisers in our 2026 class, up 40+ spots in our most recent rankings update. Landyn impressed me most with his work ethic on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he showed off a prospect that was constantly around the ball and showed off his ball-tracking skills right in front of us which showed the high-effort this young man played with constantly all weekend. The 5'11 186 pounder showed off what was the pulse of SD Elite as I will give him my vote for MVP from them this weekend as I also believe we will see the dividends pay off for Landyn this upcoming fall.

CEDAR FALLS, IA-- We finally hit an end point totalling 17 gunslingers that stood out from Back 2 Ballin including tonight's content. Next up? Running backs and athletes. The reason for the bunching of both is due to the light amount of two-way standouts that are hard to find during 7v7 tournament, yet I feel we have a great batch of them, packed in with some sound running back play from across Iowa and South Dakota. Let's get to it!