Football is a big person’s game. Michels is not a big person. Sometimes, the mold is broken. Michels consistently stands out as one of the best players on the field despite is diminutive stature. He maximizes his physical limitations relative to the sport by packing power and oozing toughness. While Michels holds up well as a defender in Iowa Class A football, that would be a tougher path on the next level. I think Michels would be best utilized as a running back and a returner. He provided evidence for the latter assignment with a 78-yard kick return touchdown in the state championship game. As a back, Michels does well of getting lost in the traffic, picking his way through it with good vision, sharp cuts and a burst. He does well at following blocks and finishing runs, and is a threat as a receiver.

Undefeated with a 7-0 record to start the year, Korben Michels Korben Michels 5'4" | 160 lbs | RB/LB St. Ansgar | 2026 State IA and St. Ansgar have been ripping through their Class A schedule so far this season, winning by an average margin of 44 points.

Michels — who has had to carry the ball much less often than his counterparts here — is a massive reason for that. Now a senior, Michels has taken just 55 carries for 940 yards and 20 touchdowns. With those numbers, he’s averaging a state-leading, gargantuan 17.1 yards per carry. At 5-foot-4 and 160 pounds, Michels isn’t a super intimidating physical size, but he should be intimidating to opposing defenses with those numbers.