Arguably the biggest recruiting winner from the spring (I’m counting Pierce Petersohn Pierce Petersohn 6'5" | 195 lbs | ATH Triton | 2026 State MN and Roman Voss Roman Voss 6'4" | 230 lbs | ATH Jackson County Central | 2026 State MN ‘s success as the winter), Benilde-St. Margaret’s monstrous sophomore of an offensive tackle and projected iOL has blown up this spring. After P4 offers from Kansas State and Iowa State in January, things turned up a notch this spring on the recruiting trail. Sparked by a Boston College offer in late March, Yarborough added Kansas, Maryland, Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, Wisconsin, and last but not least, the home state Gophers, who offered on the 19th. Minnesota generally prefers their in-staters to camp with them in the summer, particularly the linemen, but their hand was forced due to the 330 lbers. growing popularity and attention. A factor in the Red Knights OT’s offer streak is also the fact that there is a big-time drop off in the 2027 Minnesota class and its OL and TE depth, a trend that is somewhat consistent through parts of the Midwest and particularly the Upper Midwest. With P4 and NY6 programs always keeping an eye or two on the upcoming recruiting cycles, especially in the trenches, Yarborough is reaping the rewards of both Minnesota’s tradition of OL quality as well as it being a potentially light year for big bodies in the Upper Midwest. Either way, Yarborough is deserving of the attention, as his brute strength, lateral agility, ability to climb and dominate at the second level, and general and overarching athleticism make him an obvious P4 talent with room and potential to add NFL and Sunday projection to his resume this coming offseason and fall.

One of only five Minnesota 2027s to hold a D1 offer and one of three to have received a P4 offer, Benilde-St. Margaret’s mammoth OT Dajohn Yarborough Dajohn Yarborough 6'5" | 330 lbs | OL Basha | 2027 State AZ had a great sophomore season with the Red Knights, so great that I caught wind that Yarborough was starting and mauling early in the season thanks to a buddy on one of BSM’s competitors in the first half of the season. Yarborough was very much on our radar last year when he was a freshman, just as any 6’5, 300+ lb. first-year would be, but freshmen of that size can either go one of two ways and are either freaky athletic or need years to develop their body and move well at their weight. With no film as a freshman either, Yarborough held down a spot on the Watchlist that we continued to check in on, and since we can now say he lends himself to the former camp of being top-tier athletic at his size, he climbed all the way to the #2 spot in the 2027 rankings. His ability to bend, work laterally, and overall mobility helped him earn P4 offers from Big12 heavyweights Iowa State and Kansas State in late January, cementing himself as one of the top 2027 OL in the Midwest and snowballing into upcoming unofficial visits with Nebraska, Michigan State, and Boston College.

Yarborough owns brute strength and knows how to use it, is a physical and impressive finisher, and is a bully at the second level. He manhandles and bullies defenders when he gets his paws on them. You can see them fighting and struggling to break loose but he continues to ragdoll them around and drive his legs until he hears the whistle. The 330 lber. displays good pop and can send smaller defenders to their butts when he gets a shot on them. Bit of a nasty streak too and will make sure to add an exclamation point and get an extra pop or leaping finish on a defender once he gets you on the turf. He also crushes LBs and DBs when he gets a chance to put the pads on them and is smooth and effective when he climbs and finds work at the second level of a defense. Yarborough’s strong, solid base can work laterally and change direction fluidly and effortlessly, and he looks good passing off and finding work in a zone-blocking scheme. He’s a strong finisher who knows how to use and exploit a DL or LB once they get out of position, demonstrates great effort and a noticeable motor between the whistles leads to him running defenders off screen or hard into the turf more often than not, and even has some good reps of him firing out of his stance and working flat down the LOS to crush RBs out on the perimeter as a DT. He needs to clean up the technique and footwork, but Yarborough but does good in pass protection and can stay square, work backwards, and find depth to handle speed rushers working his outside shoulder. Also an obviously powerful base that can handle power without issue. The combination of raw power, balance, finishing ability, and effectiveness at working upfield and into space really have me impressed by his athleticism and mobility as such a young age and at such a towering size. Obvious P4 talent at a premium position on the recruiting trail; I think the Gophers need to get involved sooner rather than later.

I’m sure a lot of our readers would agree with me, but I’m once again excited to see how another class of Minnesota linemen develop and pan out. The 2027 class in the Land of 10,000 Lakes still have a lot of time left in their careers, but with the accelerated timelines that is D1 recruiting nowadays, it’s never too early to start digging around for some talent. PRzMN had Benilde-St. Margaret’s massive OT on our inaugural rankings drop, holding down a spot in the WL due to a lack of film, but he has really burst onto the scene in 2024 as a sophomore. I heard from a couple of opposing coaches about the Red Knights massive sophomore LT, and the film is very promising and is already checking some big-time boxes. Yarborough is a massive and physical presence who can outright dominate opponents, both at the LOS and out in space. The 335ish lber. is heavy handed, strong like a bull, and aggressive, and can bully and overpower defenders around the LOS. He knows how to use his size to his advantage and can easily box out and out-maneuver defenders by using good angles and awareness, looks to finish and put more than his fair share of defenders on their backsides in 2024, and thunderous hitter when he gets a clean shot on an opponent or when he locks out and extends his arms. Yarborough also looks balanced and controlled in space and when changing direction. The 6’5, 335 lber. can lead block for his RBs effectively against first, second, and third level defenders and can breakdown, adjust, and accelerate like a player 50 pounds lighter. I am overall really impressed by the clips of Yarborough getting out into space. He even plays some DT and showed some closing speed, lateral agility, and production against the run. I’m already bullish on Yarborough’s future and think he’s got future D1 OL written all over him. Still under-the-radar, Yarborough’s only D1 coaching follow is Alabama’s assistant OL coach Kirk Barron. Can’t wait to get this kid on the rankings!