2024 Rankings Update: The December Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"16px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:16px"><strong>DAKOTAS--</strong> As of before 5 PM Central time today, our Prep Redzone Dakotas 2024 rankings update has been released . It has been several months since our 2024 update, so as you can imagine, a ton has changed in the recruiting landscape. What does this preview cover? You will have to find out below!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>How do we rank prospects?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is just a friendly reminder that we rank every prospect on this list due to their <strong><em>college football potential</em></strong>, which is different from every other high school football site in America. Why? We look at your skillsets on the field and how they correlate to the next level, which is different from tabulating stats, team success, etc. Main. Are we perfect? No, but we sure as heck try to be as close as possible. We are also human and make mistakes just like in any other job in America. What do we look for? <strong>1) Your Tape</strong>- This is the most important asset for evaluation to college coaches and us. Not having your highlight tape updated week by week during the season and year after year hurts your chances of being "seen" at the next level. <strong>2) Live Evaluations</strong>- Although I don't live in the Dakotas, I watch tons of live streams throughout North Dakota and South Dakota during the season and get out to at least a week or two of games in each region every year. <strong>The biggest question I get is, do stats matter? </strong>We look at stats, of course, but the weight they carry is small. At the next level, college football programs could care less who had what awards in high school and how many yards, tackles, and touchdowns their player had in high school; they want to watch you work your tail off in every rep you get in practice and in the game! <strong>Rankings Change, right? </strong>They sure do, and usually do severely during every update. No one is ever locked in one spot for the duration of their high school football career. Potential is a loaded word; some prospects reach it by their junior season, and some rise up but not until their senior season. Don't like your ranking? Prove us wrong on the field and use it as fuel to get better in the offseason; we love that and will own it in future updates and on social media when you get offers and eventually commit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>What has changed since the last 2024 Rankings Update?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some short tidbits:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>*A Top 200 Ranking of the Best of the Best prospects throughout the Dakotas.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>*A New Top Five</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>*A 20-plus prospect 2024 watchlist</strong>. <strong>What does our Watch List indicate?</strong> It states that we see you and exactly what you are putting out there on tape and on the field, but we need more tape to give you a more detailed honest evaluation. If we had you ranked, and you fall to a watch list, that usually means you didn't do your due diligence by getting your tape up on a consistent basis which WILL hurt your recruitment in the long run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>We have a #1 Overall Prospect in the Dakotas</strong>:<strong> Kindred's [player_tooltip player_id='174168' first='Riley' last='Sunram']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That new #1 overall prospect in the Dakotas is Kindred (ND) defensive linemen <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='174168' first='Riley' last='Sunram']</strong> who has racked up nine Division I offers since our last update from the SEC, Big Ten, and plenty of others. The massive skillsets Riley brings to the table on both sides of the line and his versatility shows so much mass on both sides of the ball, which is why he made the jump to the #1 overall prospect in all of the Dakotas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>And a New Top Five</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Dakota just edged out South Dakota 3-2 when it came to the top five prospects in the Dakotas but it was neck and neck. The biggest recruiting trend we are seeing in this class of 2024 is that offers at the FCS and FBS level are flying out faster than in years past, which shows just how deep this Class of 2024 really is in North Dakota and South Dakota. Here are them in order:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1</strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='174168' first='Riley' last='Sunram'], DL/OL, Kindred (ND) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2</strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='77493' first='Navarro' last='Schunke'], OL, Brandon Valley (SD)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3</strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='447258' first='Coy' last='Okeson'], OL/DL, Minot Bishop Ryan (ND)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4</strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='289600' first='Thomas' last='Heiberger'], LB, Sioux Falls Jefferson (SD)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5</strong>- [player_tooltip player_id='434788' first='Nate' last='Tastad'], DL/OL, South Prairie (ND) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Which High Schools Dominate the Top 50?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have a tie in this category. To no one's surprise, the 2022 11AAA State Champions in Sioux Falls Jefferson and 2022 11AA (now 6-straight) State Champions both have <strong>four</strong> prospects in our top 50. Just behind them are Sioux Falls Lincoln and Sioux Falls O'Gorman, who each had <strong>three </strong>prospects inside the top 50. Sioux Falls Christian might be one of the surprises of this top 50 prospects, having <strong>two</strong> prospects inside the top 50, as I believe they should be a favorite in 11A in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>What is on the Horizon with our Upcoming Rankings Content?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After this preview, you can expect to see the following on the Prep Redzone Dakotas website over the coming days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stockrisers (multiple articles)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Additions (multiple articles)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Small Town Sleepers </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Probable Stockrsiers by Next Update, and more</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->