North Dakota 2026 Undercovered Gems

With our undercovered gems, we take a look at a batch of 2026 prospects from our coverage counter of athletes that we feel have the talent, but haven't been covered as much as they should be at this point heading into their senior season in a couple months. All of these surely look like they have a good shot too play at the next-level as well in our eyes as the upside could tell a lot over the coming months as a handful show me as "senior bloomers" in this 2026 class.   [player_tooltip player_id='1113082' first='Kane' last='Mathiason'], DB/ATH, Fargo Davies 2026 <a href="https://x.com/Kanemathiason03">Twitter</a>   Kane shows off a well-versed ball tracking ability that can cover the short thru deep routes as a cornerback out of Fargo Davies that has upside to grow with his footwork and possesses the physicality you want in pass coverage. The 5'10 170 pounder, at times overstrides with his back-pedal and can show off more balance with his overall strides but I am intrigued by the lower body length he has with his measurables as he is quick to get back on line with the ball carrier. I put him down as an undercovered gem as I feel if Kane puts a highlight tape together vs. tons of game tape, he will get outside that mold of a hidden gem as I surely think this young man could play on Saturdays.   [player_tooltip player_id='674782' first='Kruze' last='LaFountain'], QB, Turtle Mountain 2026 <a href="https://x.com/KruzeLaf2">Twitter</a>   The talent that is cooking in the Turtle Mountain Braves 2026 class, is some of their best I have seen in years as [player_tooltip player_id='674782' first='Kruze' last='LaFountain'] is one of the peices I like offensively for the Braves. He shows off intriguing timing on intermediate routes and puts the ball right in the bread basket for his top wide receiver to get upfield. The tight window throws have seen vast improvement significantly from last year to this year for Kruze, as his ball fits in even smaller than before which is intriguing along with adding to his 6'0 frame which has plenty even more wiggle room to grow in the weight room. Quite impressed how much Kruze's mechanics have improved as well since last update as I'll be intrigued to see where he camps this summer as he looks like a good NAIA or D3 fit.   [player_tooltip player_id='1222778' first='Miles' last='Stroh'], LB, Kindred 2026 <a href="https://x.com/StrohMiles54">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/04/miles-crop-321x211-1745961356.jpg?w=320" alt="" class="wp-image-1665070" style="width:271px;height:auto" /></figure>   It doesn't take long to see two things, 1) that Miles plays with great vision and football IQ and 2) surely is due for a rise into our top 100 within our 2026 North Dakota rankings. The 5'11 185 pounder, also relishes his skills well in pass coverage as Miles shows off as a linebacker that impressed me with his longevity he had in press coverage not giving the pass-catcher even a look at the ball incoming which possibly shows off some translation for positon flexibility at safety at the next-level. He shows off the growth when it comes to his motor and fluidity when he gets downhill into the backfield as yet another 2026 athlete out of the powerhouse Kindred Vikings you need to know in this 2026 class that I surely believe can play on Saturdays.   [player_tooltip player_id='1227003' first='Jack' last='Skalsky'], ATH, Beulah 2026   Jack is a running back we are just starting to unpeel the light tape from, but despite that being said he possesses the solid vision in the open field that you can gauge has the upside to get even better with reps and time. Another interesting bright spot on tape for Jack comes down to the quck twitch you see from becoming a blocker to pass-catcher downfield as I was quite impressed with the release of his hands he showed off and how much seperation and instinct he showed off with that creative play call and route by Jack. Jack's tape is rather raw from mostly having highlights (not much game tape) but man I would be remissed to say that this young man surely has the athleticism that is surely a hidden gem out of Beulah.   [player_tooltip player_id='1226692' first='Noah' last='Brandvold'], RB, Grand Forks Red River 2026   Even though there was plenty of glare from the sun on tape, I could still see what I needed to see from Grand Forks Red River running back [player_tooltip player_id='1226692' first='Noah' last='Brandvold']. This young man you can tell is a gamer when it comes to his game-speed as I thought Noah's route-running had some authoritive movement put on display and what make it more intriguing, was how eruptive he was with it around the sidelines. His senior season will need to be the year that Noah puts a highlight tape together if he wants to take his game to the next-level, as a senior bloomer you will want to know out of Grand Forks especially those new North Dakota members of the Frontier Conference.

With our undercovered gems, we take a look at a batch of 2026 prospects from our coverage counter of athletes that we feel have the talent, but haven't been covered as much as they should be at this point heading into their senior season in a couple months. All of these surely look like they have a good shot too play at the next-level as well in our eyes as the upside could tell a lot over the coming months as a handful show me as "senior bloomers" in this 2026 class.