I’ve been dying to see VanMeveren and most of his Marshall teammates live this offseason, and the 2028 DT lived up to the hype after getting an up-close-and-personal glance at his game and skillset in Fargo. Although he’s a hard 5’11, VanMeveren displayed fantastic power that was so effective it helped him move up to the rising senior and Big Dog group with the best OL/DL in attendance at the first NDSU FBS Prospect Camp of the summer. The power crumpled a couple of opponents so well that it created an audible “wow” and gasp from the crowd of peers and competitors. Great base, lead in his hands, impressive strength and power, and flashed some twitch as well.

One of the most intriguing names in the defensive trenches at the SMSU Prosepct Camp was defensive tackle Braedyn VanMeveren Braedyn VanMeveren 6'1" | 255 lbs | DL Marshall | 2028 State MN in the 2028 class. Braedyn showed off the grinding hands you want to see go to work in the defensive trenches, as the now 6’2 280 pounder showed off plenty of promising reps in the live eval from my eyes. Braedyn showed off he could also recover on reps that didn’t start his way as this kid showed off his instinctiveness with his ability to readjust his hands, restore leverage while finishing and winning a handful of reps. Surely can see why we have him as our DL3 in the 2028 Minnesota class.

The Marshall Tigers are stacked with talent in their front-seven going into 2026, and your new #17 overall sophomore in Minnesota has the highest ceiling of the bunch. DT Braedyn VanMeveren Braedyn VanMeveren 6'1" | 255 lbs | DL Marshall | 2028 State MN started in the trenches for an 11-1 AAAA squad in 2025 that lost 15-14 in OT to Orono at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Prep Bowl semifinals, and he posted 1 sack in the state semifinals, as well as 33 tackles and 4 TFLs as a sophomore with the Tigers. No verified numbers on VanMeveren yet, but he’s resenting a premier position on the recruiting trail as a 3T who can also play as a true NG, with good size, and obvious athleticism with a big body. He’s also a good wrestler who qualified for state as a freshman in the winter of 2025 at 285AA but missed out on a state appearance this winter, despite being ranked in The Guillotine’s Top 10 during the regular season.

VanMeveren displays a good first step, impressive closing speed and start/stop acceleration, and is a good 1v1 tackler in space. The width from the first step helps him consistently play and work through half a man, after which he can easily shed and disengage from a would-be blocker to make a tackle at or behind the LOS, and he’s a crushing tackler who halts ball carriers at first contact and doesn’t allow extra yardage once he puts his pads on them. The heavyweight wrestler can shoot his hands, lock out and extend his arms, win at first contact, easily shed or keep OL at bay while he locates the ballcarrier, and I love how he can break down, drop his hips, and corral RBs in space as a tackler. He displays great pursuit speed and a noticeable motor at the position, and has a rep of him chasing down a tailback running a late out route from the backfield and nearly all the way out to the sideline in impressive fashion. VanMeveren has multiple reps of him running down loose ball carriers from their backside in an impressive display of speed and hustle from the interior of the DL.

The DT also demonstrates effective hand usage, cuts tight of OC and OGs hips, and can hold his gap and work through double teams in the heart of the trenches. The Marshall product is a stout run defender who does a good job of loading his hips up and working up and under OL chest plates in powerful and physical fashion, and also flashes impressive juice as a pass rusher from the interior. Get-off, twitch, and hand usage, not to mention hell-bent play style and on-field attitude, made for some serious pressure on QBs through Marshall’s state semifinal run, and he’s much stronger than your typical sophomore defensive lineman. Given the skillset, size, and positional value, a big Summer Camp SZN could get this recruiting steaming in no time.