University of Minnesota Prospect Camp: Standouts, Part III

<strong>DINKYTOWN-- </strong>The in-person evaluations from the biggest prospect camp in Minnesota may never end, and for our Prep Redzone Minnesota subscribers I am sure they are just fine with that! But really, we will wrap our in-person evaluations at some point, but until then we will keep her moving from what we got to watch at the University of Minnesota. This list of standouts really focuses a lot on the linebacker position from the Twin Cities Metro along with some WRs, and defensive backs. A handful of these young men are under-the-radar seniors still looking for that first offer, up-and-coming juniors, and prospects that have at least one offer on their recruiting trail but are well deserving of more this summer. Find out which eight standouts cracked Part III of our standouts list from the Gopher’s second prospect camp of the summer! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112091" first="Charlie" last="Fragassi"] | LB/TE | St. Paul Highland Park (MN) | 2023</strong></span> Getting to watch Charlie in the early going of the Gophers prospect camp, I saw the hyped-up athletic ability this young man possesses. With his tape, Charlie unloads high-level physicality when he’s pressing the gas into the opponent’s backfield. He also is an athletic tight end that you can throw out wide or keep him on the line and either way, he will get his touches and have solid success as he has great hands-on with a multitude of routes short to long. When Charlie unlatches from his defender, he can be described as a storm coming thru as his eruptive hands show a good get-off as well. He shows that he can work with little space was his pass-catching ability, as Charlie has solid balance around the sidelines and can make a play with his developed footwork. No offers yet for this young man, but it seems like a handful of programs from the East Coast are showing a lot of interest similar to former Highland Park teammate Andrew Ali over a year ago. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13087458/6183121f041dbb0c2c18834c" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Liam Frommelt | DB | Woodbury (M</strong></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>N) | 2024</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Liam had me sold with the athletic traits he brought to the table in 1v1s at the Gophers Camp. He also showed a quick change of direction which was beneficial to his early success in Dinkytown. There is not a lot of tape out regarding this young man as of yet for the Royals, but from passing my eye test a few weeks back, Liam is certainly a junior to watch coming out of the East Metro.</span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112055" first="Joey" last="Krouse"] | WR | Prior Lake (MN) | 2023</strong></span> I have gotten to evaluate Joey in person a few times at our Prep Redzone Showcase as he was a consistent All-Camp Team performer in the past, but Joey showed off a unique skillset at the Gophers Camp I had yet seen out of this young man. He measures in at 5’10 180 pounds, but I was darn impressed with Joey’s length of his catch radius when I got the chance to scout him in 1v1s in Dinkytown. There is no doubt that Joey has a fantastic burst off the snap and is as agile as they come with his change of direction, but his athletic form of Joey still stands outs as positionless. Personally, if I was a college coach at the next level, I would love this kid in the slot-back position, as he would have the ability to be a swiss army knife with short routes around the first down markers as well as running the ole end around with the finished speed he possesses from start to finish. Love the way Joey gets his separation on any route he runs. One D2 offer on the books for this young man, and I am sure it won’t be long until the rest of the NSIC starts calling too. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12864772/61806a07578d72063ca91bb1" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Toby Frost | LB/RB | Eden Prairie (MN) | 2023</strong></span> Toby impressed me during Indy Drills with the feist he showed in those hands of his in Dinkytown. The consistent physicality in his upper body showed out on numerous reps I got to watch. Toby’s tape shows most of his reps at tailback and shows off one that has some driving force in that lower body of his as this kid is a tough tackle no matter where he lines up in that Eagles offense. Toby shows solid instincts and has a lot of finesse in his big 6’2 205-pound frame to power up his speed up the middle, around the edges, and in the passing game where he can be used as a stretched pass-catcher on the perimeter on short passes in the red zone and on intermediate routes too. Would love to see more reps his senior season on tape at linebacker as when I watched some of his game tapes last year, there’s no doubt Toby has the physicality to leave a heavy impact with the Eagles based on his punching ability. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/11837289/619ac7ae4debab06ac2474c3" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="241910" first="Demitris" last="Walker"] | LB | Park Center (MN) | 2024</strong></span> Demitris was a first-look linebacker prospect on our list of standouts from the Gophers Camp a few weeks back. He impressed me with his physique and the way he showed instinctive steps with his quick trigger in 1v1s I got to watch. He has a significant vision on tape to identify the play early and make his reads to the football. He also shows some swift hands getting off his blocks. His 6’0 195-pound frame shows strong physicality, as he gets to the ball very quickly with that advanced play-making ability. He had limited tape last season, but man the upside on this young man from what he shows from his sophomore season makes me expect much bigger gains from him in his junior season with a splendid defense coming back for the Park Center Pirates. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16811194/619e79639680fb0ac0a9c404" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Corey Bartholomew | LB | Bloomington Kennedy (MN) | 2023</strong></span> We found out today we watched a ton of Twin Cities metro linebackers, and on that list of standouts included Corey Bartholomew from Bloomington Kennedy in the 2023 Class. I liked watching Corey’s eruptive speed in Indy Drills, as he possessed finished speed to get to the ball even thru some heavier contact. This young man shows off some reactive steps on tape as although he’s got some development coming with his change of direction, he does a nice job of centering on where the ball is going both in the air and on the ground. He too has strong positioning and you can tell he watches his film, making quick adjustments on the fly to drill himself into the contact areas of the ball carrier. He shows good physicality as well from the looks of his tackling ability. He has the ability to get outside the inside box too, as he can with his 6’1 215-pound frame to the outside of the football field in a quick matter of time. I am quite surprised Corey doesn’t have an offer yet, as he’s bulked up 15 pounds since the end of the season, and passes my eye test as far as playing at the next level. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12935592/6196d7acd45e080a50bc3404" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sam Ballot | LB | St. Anthony Village (MN) | 2023</span></strong> Sam was a high stamina linebacker prospect as another I got to watch for the first time in a live evaluation setting at the Gophers Camp. He showed off a consistent shedding ability that finished his reps with good finesse around the ball carrier. The biggest growth in development I saw from Sam was his balance, as when he would press the gas to get to the ball carrier and sometimes showed awkward footing or slight irritation when he would outrun the ball carrier in his wheelhouse. Sam’s tape identifies him as a sideline-to-sideline linebacker that packs a physical punch when he gets into the ball carrier. As I said, he’ll be able to get to the ball quicker by growing his reactive steps to the ball. He still shows a bruising, snap-back tackling ability that provides assurance from the middle linebacker spot for the Huskies. His 6’1 225-pound frame has been working his tail off this offseason, adding 10 pounds from his junior season. Has shown solid interest in the NSIC and the NAIA level and a booming senior season will certainly help this kid’s recruiting trail. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13246612/61849e76dfd7f80af890f319" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112158" first="Peter" last="Schmitz"] | LB/WR | Chaska (MN) | 2023</strong></span> Peter certainly impressed me with his bursty speed throughout the duration of his reps from the Gophers Camp. Peter just made the move from Waconia to Chaska this offseason as the Hawks add a two-way prospect to their roster this summer. I have watched Peter in some 7v7 action with Potenza Sports and from the linebacker spot, he looked solid rolling into deep pass coverage and providing sizeable physicality on shorter routes to break up his fair share of passes which were finished at an accelerated rate with his 6’1 210-pound frame. Peter will have to depend on a booming senior season for the Hawks, as I think this kid is more under the radar than he probably should be from the multiple in-person evaluations I have watched from him. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15680922/6237db47d21c4b056c4cd8b8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> &nbsp;