Five offenses to watch in 2020
With – hopefully – the official start of high school football season right around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to take a look around the state and try to identify some offenses to watch during…
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Continue ReadingWith – hopefully – the official start of high school football season right around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to take a look around the state and try to identify some offenses to watch during the 2020 season. To make my selections, I kept it to five offenses – some are obvious to people who watch Minnesota high school football closely – at least one – might not.
I picked the teams based on how effective their offense was last season and, even more importantly, looked at who is projected to come back and be a part of the offense again in 2020. With offensive linemen, it was a little tough to pinpoint all the potential returning starters. For this story, I considered the offensive linemen prepredzone.com have highlighted in our rankings.
Totino-Grace
Projected returning starters
Joe Alt
Joe
Alt
6'7" | OL
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
– OL
Kristoff Kowalkowski
Kristoff
Kowalkowski
6'2" | QB
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
– QB
Luke Rooker
Luke
Rooker
6'2" | 275 lbs | OL
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
– OL
Hunter Carlson – RB – JR
All successful offenses start with the offensive line and the quarterback. If an offense is lacking in either area, it is likely they will struggle or be inconsistent. The Eagles are in good shape on both accounts. They feature one of the top offensive linemen in the state with Notre Dame commit
Joe Alt
Joe
Alt
6'7" | OL
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
and can add to that another talented big man in
Luke Rooker
Luke
Rooker
6'2" | 275 lbs | OL
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
.
Kristoff Kowalkowski
Kristoff
Kowalkowski
6'2" | QB
Totino-Grace | 2021
State
MN
has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the state and will benefit from playing behind what should be a strong offensive line. Behind Kowalkowski, last season’s second-leading rusher, Hunter Carlson, returns to take some pressure off the passing game. After a slow start offensively last season, the Eagles found their stride down the stretch – scoring at least 24 points – in five of their final six games.
Annandale
Projected returning starters
Logan Purcell
Logan
Purcell
6'7" | OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
OL
Isaac Hagstrom
Isaac
Hagstrom
6'5" | OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
OL
Landon Jones
Landon
Jones
6'5" | QB
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
QB
Drew Conte
Drew
Conte
OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
OL
Riley Niedzielski – RB
While the Eagles are bringing back two potential star offensive linemen, the Cardinals are bringing back three. All three will likely be playing on Saturdays in 2021.
Logan Purcell
Logan
Purcell
6'7" | OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
has already committed to Minnesota, and his two classmates,
Isaac Hagstrom
Isaac
Hagstrom
6'5" | OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
and
Drew Conte
Drew
Conte
OL
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
, both have received interest from DI and DII schools. They also return their leading rusher from last season – Riley Niedzielski. Although Annandale relies on the ground game – it never hurts to return the starting quarterback from an 11-2, state semi-final team –
Landon Jones
Landon
Jones
6'5" | QB
Annandale | 2021
State
MN
. A year earlier, these athletes were part of an offense that scored 40 or more points six times.
Minneapolis North
Projected returning starters
Terrance Kamara
Terrance
Kamara
5'9" | RB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
RB
Dominic McMillian
Dominic
McMillian
6'3" | LB
Minneapolis North | 2021
MN
ATH
Zach Yeager
Zach
Yeager
6'2" | QB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
QB
John Collins Jr.
John
Collins Jr.
OL
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
OL
CJ Brown
CJ
Brown
6'1" | DB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
TE
Mario Sanders
Mario
Sanders
5'10" | 180 lbs | WR
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
WR
Jaheim Abdullah
Jaheim
Abdullah
DB
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
WR
Quiyon Jordan
Quiyon
Jordan
6'1" | 280 lbs | DL
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
OL
Chester Watley
Chester
Watley
6'4" | 300 lbs | OL
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
OL
The Polars look to be loaded on offense again this season. Last year they scored at least 48 points in half their regular-season games. The scariest thing about last year is this year they might be even better. I am always going to start with the offensive line, and the Polars return three outstanding starters in
John Collins Jr.
John
Collins Jr.
OL
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
,
Quiyon Jordan
Quiyon
Jordan
6'1" | 280 lbs | DL
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
, and
Chester Watley
Chester
Watley
6'4" | 300 lbs | OL
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
. They also return one of the best quarterbacks in Minnesota with
Zach Yeager
Zach
Yeager
6'2" | QB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
. Yeager should be protected by his offensive line, but he will also have an embarrassment of riches at the skill positions.
Terrance Kamara
Terrance
Kamara
5'9" | RB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
is one of the state’s most explosive backs and
Dominic McMillian
Dominic
McMillian
6'3" | LB
Minneapolis North | 2021
MN
– although primarily a defensive player – and
Mario Sanders
Mario
Sanders
5'10" | 180 lbs | WR
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
return as threats on the outside.
CJ Brown
CJ
Brown
6'1" | DB
Minneapolis North | 2021
State
MN
and
Jaheim Abdullah
Jaheim
Abdullah
DB
MPLS North | 2022
State
MN
will likely have more significant roles in the offense this year too.
Caledonia
Projected returning starters
Dalen Lemke
Dalen
Lemke
LB
Caledonia | 2021
State
MN
RB
Andrew Kunelius
Andrew
Kunelius
WR
Caledonia | 2021
State
MN
WR
Eli King
Eli
King
6'3" | 180 lbs | WR
Caledonia | 2022
State
MN
QB
Thane Meiners
Thane
Meiners
5'10" | 180 lbs | RB
Caledonia | 2022
State
MN
RB
Skye Welch OL
When you have not lost in your last 68 games – you are doing something right on the offensive side of the ball. The Warriors dominated on both sides of the ball – as usual. Last year the offense scored over 40 points six times during the regular season and three times in the playoffs. They return a ton of firepower – including one of the best multi-sport athletes in the state –
Eli King
Eli
King
6'3" | 180 lbs | WR
Caledonia | 2022
State
MN
. A wide receiver and defensive back, most expect the junior to make the switch to quarterback. Wherever he plays, he will be a handful. They also return two of their top guys in the backfield in
Dalen Lemke
Dalen
Lemke
LB
Caledonia | 2021
State
MN
and
Thane Meiners
Thane
Meiners
5'10" | 180 lbs | RB
Caledonia | 2022
State
MN
. If King moves to quarterback, the offense will still feature a solid receiver in
Andrew Kunelius
Andrew
Kunelius
WR
Caledonia | 2021
State
MN
. There will be some turnover on the offensive line, but Skye Welch returns to anchor the front five.
Farmington
Projected returning starters
Elijah Green
Elijah
Green
6'0" | WR
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
WR
Zac Janz
Zac
Janz
RB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
RB
Isaac Ask
Isaac
Ask
WR
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
WR
Alex Berreth
Alex
Berreth
QB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
QB
Quincy Mabin
Quincy
Mabin
OL
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
OL
Zach Cochnauer
Zach
Cochnauer
6'5" | 300 lbs | OL
Farmington | 2022
State
MN
OL
Jake Cochnauer
Jake
Cochnauer
6'0" | DB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
WR
The Tigers only won five games last season, but with their spread offense, and the talent they have coming back on the offensive side of the ball, Farmington will be an offense to watch in 2020. In their five wins, they scored at least 34 points – toping 40 points twice. If they can keep that offensive pace going against the top teams on their schedule, they could be tough to handle.
Elijah Green
Elijah
Green
6'0" | WR
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
,
Isaac Ask
Isaac
Ask
WR
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
, and
Jake Cochnauer
Jake
Cochnauer
6'0" | DB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
form one of the state’s deepest wide receiver cores. Quarterback
Alex Berreth
Alex
Berreth
QB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
is back to throw them the ball, and so is his backfield mate and leading rusher
Zac Janz
Zac
Janz
RB
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
. The Tigers will have to fill some possible holes on the offensive line but return two starters,
Zach Cochnauer
Zach
Cochnauer
6'5" | 300 lbs | OL
Farmington | 2022
State
MN
and
Quincy Mabin
Quincy
Mabin
OL
Farmington | 2021
State
MN
.