Big-bodied, long, and athletic linemen are always at a premium and are one of the most coveted types of prospect in all of college football recruiting. When you get a kid like that from Minnesota – a state with a rich and talented tradition of OL and TE – with a prolific hoops background, you have the makings of a must-know football recruit with the makings to blow up at a moment’s notice. Meet Stewartville’s 6’7, 225 lb. TE and future OT Caleb Bancroft, who sweetens his recruiting resume with the fact that last fall was Bancroft’s first year ever playing football. Now that will get a college recruiter’s attention, and Bancroft’s upside will get them to stay. The sell with the Stewartville Tigers blocker is high-potential, high-ceiling, high-upside, best-football-is-in-front-of-him, and he had a heckuva experience in his first year of football as he played a big role in the Tigers 14-0 undefeated 2023 season and Class AAA state championship while asserting himself among the heavyweight talent Stewie came into the year with.

Bancroft played TE and DL in 2023 but obviously could project to OT in college, and he lined up as an inline TE or flexed out, and off the jump, you have to notice his great length and the frame that could up into beastly proportions in a college S&C program. The 6’7 TE was an effective receiver who helped out in the passing game for Stewie and proved himself to be a reliable and effective red zone target with a big catch radius, soft hands, and the ability to break down and find soft spots in zone coverage. He can take on and win 1v1 battles with bigger DEs once he sets his base, keeps his feet churning, and extends those long arms, and he was counted on to win 1-on-1 blocking assignments against big-time defensive linemen late into the postseason. The 225 lber. shows the strength to run opponents out of the play once he gets his hands on, can set the edge for his offense and uses that basketball background to box out defenders and utilize effective body positioning, and can break down and corral second and third-level defenders in space as a blocker. Excitingly, the technique is there, especially for his first year of football, as is the physicality, toughness, and comfortability in getting dirty and battling in the trenches for his offense. Bancroft is still super raw, but physically and mentally, it looks like he has the makings to develop and explode at the next level. Senior year will be a big test though, and I guarantee some major programs are going to be keeping track of the 6’7, 225 lb. 2025er and eagerly anticipating some of that senior tape to come out. He’ll make his money this summer camp season or after senior film begins to update early in the fall. Big-time sleeper to know right here, right now.

Stewartville’s 6’7, 225 lb. TE/OL Caleb Bancroft debuts as the #61 junior and #4 TE in the MN 2025 class.