It isn’t a Lakeville North defense without a D1 linebacker. The Panthers, who, well I was coming up in the MN high school football scene in the early 2010s, was arguably the most fertile recruiting ground for LBs of anywhere in the state. And not just for a single recruiting cycle, I’m talking a half decade to decade of consistency of producing top-tier college LB products. The 2026 re-installment of this trend is Jack Juffer Jack Juffer 6'0" | 230 lbs | LB Lakeville North | 2027 State MN , who will be playing alongside fellow 2027 LB Tyler Ruff Tyler Ruff 6'1" | 205 lbs | LB Lakeville North | 2027 State MN , who has D2 and D3 offers himself, not to mention a 3rd place finish at 189AAA in last year’s state wrestling championships. Juffer, however, is the D1 offeree and commit of the bunch, an accomplishment aided significantly by Juffer’s performance on the summer camp trail. Juffer kicked off his 2026 Summer Camp SZN at the Gophers’ prospect camp, coming in at 5’11+, 221 lbs. and popping off a 4.82 40 and 9′ broad jump. Juffer then went to Des Moines to camp with Drake’s new staff, walking away from the camp with his first D1 offer from the Bulldogs, but the Lakeville product wasn’t done yet. Juffer went 4.71 at 222 pounds at the UWRF Mega Camp, not to mention showed an eye-catching coverage skillset and ability from his LB spot. Juffer then went to St. Thomas, earned the FCS Pioneer League opportunity from the hosting Tommies, and committed 10 days later.

In 2025, as a junior with the 6A Panthers, Juffer displayed the quickness to easily beat climbing blockers and bigger OL/TE at the second level and in space, as well as a strong, powerful base and lower body that helped him withstand and eat contact and multiple blocking attempts around the box. Juffer can play standup EDGE as well as off-ball ILB, speed to play OLB at his size as well. He sniffs the ball out quickly and instinctively, can read, process, and beat blocking schemes as they develop in real time, made a ton of plays behind the LOS of opponents, and caused multiple forced fumbles off his sheer initial contact and pop alone. Juffer is a big-time thumper at the contact point and one of the harder hitters in MN going into the season and is especially good at tackling in space. Tommies got a good one!

A Minnesota 2027 LB on an absolute tear this current Summer Camp SZN, Lakeville North’s Jack Juffer Jack Juffer 6'0" | 230 lbs | LB Lakeville North | 2027 State MN has done a great job of working hard this offseason and developing/strengthening his trade as an off-ball linebacker. Measuring in at 6′, 222 lbs., Juffer manufactured a 4.71 40, 4.66 shuttle, 9’2 broad, and 32’4″ vert to really showcase some exciting athleticism at his size. During drill work, the Lakeville product’s ability to start/stop, mirror RBs breaks and paths smoothly, and burst out of his breaks with explosiveness all caught our eye without knowing who was who at the time. Additionally, during 1v1s, Juffer was dynamic, and his ability to anticipate, change direction and get in and out of breaks with no wasted movement, and show off his straightaway speed on RBs and SBs working vertically all looked impressive. According to his Instagram, Juffer committed to the University of St. Thomas earlier today! Big summer and upcoming fall for this Lakeville North Panther.

6′, 225 lbs., and growing, Lakeville North’s Jack Juffer Jack Juffer 6'0" | 230 lbs | LB Lakeville North | 2027 State MN was a standout during drill work and indy during the PJ Fleck RTB Prospect Camp. Testing better than we expected at his size, Juffer is a dynamic LB with three-down potential at the collegiate level. He was coming alive during competition, squeezing space, closing, and getting into the grill of RBs before they could fully cut and react. Responded well to coaching and played with a fired-up attitude as well. Stock riser out of Dinkytown’s LB group!

Jack might have been outside of his main position at Lakeville North, but I was impressed with how natural he looked as an EDGE rusher in the reps I got to watch in Eagan on Saturday at the LOS Big Dogs Camp. The 6’0 230 pound had not only a fluid get off for his size but also I was intrigued with how agile Jack was getting off blocks at the point of attack. Jack was also relatively balanced when it came to his pad-level despite being lightly out of position at Big Dogs Camp which is another skillset that popped out in the live eval. Good vision and gap intregrity was shown as well in the bulk of the reps I watched for the Lakeville North product.

Last but far from least, we have a future Lakeville North football captain on our hands for this first-time evaluation. 6′, 230 lb. LB Jack Juffer Jack Juffer 6'0" | 230 lbs | LB Lakeville North | 2027 State MN will make his debut on the Ranking’s Big Board in the next couple of days thanks to his size, varsity production, positional versatility as an ILB and DE, and physical style of play we’re so used to with LN defenders. Juffer posted 24 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 sack in 2025, as reported by MNFootballHub, and the 6′, 230 lber. was named captain for 2026 to follow a prestigious line of captains before him, has a 3.6 GPA, and also competes in track & field for the Panthers.

Juffer shows some thump as a tackler, and he’s assignment-sound and does a good job of staying home and reading his threats as a backside defender. Juffer can overwhelm at the contact point and has a good FF on his junior highlights from finding and ripping the rock out, and he can can stick and stonewall RBs right in the gap and at the contact point between the tackles for some man-on-man 1v1 tackles. Juffer is also a high-effort presence, producing a sack against Eagan thanks to his motor, and he can sniff and snuff out ball carriers in run defense around the box. DIIIs, JUCOs, and NAIAs, add the name to your boards now! And Jack: come ball out in Plymouth at the PRZMN Spring Showcase stop! See you soon.