The Spring Lake Park Panthers were one of the best success stories of 2025, and boy did they have a LOADED roster of prospects and athletes, of which the LBs and DBs, as well as superstar performance from 2027 veer-option QB Nolan Roach Nolan Roach 6'0" | 160 lbs | QB/ATH Spring Lake Park | 2027 State MN , stole the show late in the playoffs. However, the Panthers OL and RBs are what led the Panthers to playoff glory, and as more and more 2026 Panthers sign with college programs going into NSD, I really don’t want Lamari Brown Lamari Brown 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Spring Lake Park | 2026 State MN to fall under the radar. An MVP from a loaded PRZMN Showcase in the spring of 2025, Brown showed off his 4.6 speed and dazzling twitch/footwork combination both in padded and unpadded settings for PRZMN throughout his career, rushing for nearly 2,500 yards in two seasons as the Panthers leading rusher yet only seeing a St. John’s roster spot produce from his efforts. If SJU got this kid he’d be an All-MIAC tailback in a few years. Keep an eye on SLP as the rest of their 2026 state champions look to find new homes at the collegiate level.

PrepRedzoneMN has more than enough evidence to proclaim Spring Lake Park standout speedster and the state’s RB3 Lamari Brown Lamari Brown 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Spring Lake Park | 2026 State MN as one of Minnesota’s fastest players. Brown has multiple exposure points in our book, including a PrepRedzoneMN Showcase MVP performance in the winter of 2023 when Brown was an underclassman. That winter, the then-sophomore went 4.71 in the 40, along with eye-catching quickness in his 4.25 shuttle and 6.96 L-drill, as well as a 9’2 broad. Brown then showed that he wasn’t a slouch during the offseason, coming into the summer camp szn and improving his numbers to the tune of a 4.64 40, 4.26 shuttle, and 30″ vert. Not only have we seen Brown unpadded on the offseason camp trail, we’ve also seen the SLP Panther padded up during this past fall when the Panther’s hosted Monticello in an exciting 5A showdown. Brown was fantastic, putting that eye-popping quickness to good use on the gridiron and showing off some deadly twitch and impressive contact balance and lower body strength, both of which combined to break a ton of tackle attempts without any noticeable extra exertion from Brown. He was a game-changer for SLP, moving the chains, breaking tackle attempts, and gaining extra yardage post-contact, all while showing toughness, endurance, and of course, speed!

The 5’9, 180 lber. totaled 1,113 yards on a 6.5 YPC average and 10 TDs in 2024, and the production in the 5A ranks, tradition of polished college prospects coming out of SLP, and athleticism has the likes of NDSU and Upper Iowa involved, the former of which got Brown on campus for both a gameday experience during the fall and a junior day appearance this past weekend. The Bison are sure to like the footwork, vision, twitch, balance – which is aided by his low center of gravity – and of course, breakaway speed, which helped Brown create some exciting TD runs and/or big carries in 2024. Bouncing off, spinning through, and juking by tackle attempts, cutting back across the grain and producing sudden, jittery, and effective cuts out of nowhere, and bursting through the first and second level of a defense before defenses can seemingly react was a fun and productive combo for the 180 lber. last fall. Can’t wait to see what happens this offseason for another college-ready Spring Lake Park Panther prospect.

Always exciting to see another PrepRedzoneMN Showcase alum take off on the recruiting front, and Spring Lake Park’s Lamari Brown Lamari Brown 5'9" | 180 lbs | RB Spring Lake Park | 2026 State MN has the makings to potentially become a big-time RB prospect in the near future. I got to see Brown in October against Monticello, and boy oh boy is this kid fun to watch. About as twitched-up and sudden of a ball carrier as we have in Minnesota this year, Brown was giving the entire Magic defense fits in their 5A matchup, where the 5’9, 180 lber. broke or forced more than dozen missed tackles in only four quarters of action. At last December’s PrepRedzoneMN Showcase, as a sophomore, Brown went 4.71 in the 40, 4.25 and 4.47 in the shuttle, 9’2″ in the broad jump, and 6.96 in the L-drill, numbers I’m sure he can best now as a junior, so he can see why he’s so hard to tackle, and sometimes even touch, on the gridiron. College programs have taken notice as well, as NDSU has been all over this kid this fall, getting him up to Fargo for a gameday visit two weekends ago. Augustana has also sent a gameday invite over.

Brown has posted 150 rushes for 1,027 yards and 10 TDs for a 6.8 YPC and 114.1 YPG average in 2024, and he shows off a skillset of vision, power, and twitch that made defenders and defenses look silly in 2024. Brown doesn’t give away where he’s cutting to, displays good footwork and balance and sudden COD ability and cuts that leave defenders grasping at air and lunging the wrong direction in his wake. He demonstrates solid speed that can create big gains once he gets to the second and third level of a defense, great vision, and a strong lower body (355 x5 squat) helps him churn his legs through contact and break tackles. Plus, he’s a legit receiving target out of the backfield with some solid route running ability, a big catch radius, and soft hands that can catch the ball away from his body. And overall, Brown can consistently make that free defender miss in a variety of situations. Can’t find this kind of raw, untethered elusiveness and tackle breaking ability very often. I think it’s going to come down to that top end speed as to how high Brown’s stock can climb. Should be a fun offseason for the Spring Lake Park playmaker.