Coach Blazek had an outrageously loaded OL group to work with during the camp, and one of those special bright spots in the group was ’26 OL Sam Simpson from River Falls, WI. The incoming junior already looks the part of a Power 4 IOL. He checks in at around 6’4″ and a clean 285 lbs, telling me that there is more than enough room to continue to be in the weight room and the kitchen adding size and strength to his frame.

When the rain subsided we were able to get out onto the Barry Alvarez Field and that is where Simpson showed why the Badgers had already extended him an offer weeks ago. So many of the things that you look for in a high end OL prospect are starting to show up in Sam’s game. He is developing a powerful base and leg drive to stuff bull rushers and reset the line of scrimmage downfield in the run game. His ankle and knee flexibility let him get underneath the DL in the one on one battles and show that he knew how to get the leverage advantage. Where I am very excited to see him continue to develop, and the coaches were keying on it, is with his hands. They were powerful, but as he learns to continually be looking to reset them with better and better positioning he is going to become even more dominant. The big man put together a great day and is well on his way towards being in the running for one of the best OL in the Midwest.

Big-time P4 programs are following up on what PrepRedzoneWI and Lead Scout Mark Johnson saw in his early evaluation of Simpson, who is one of the big winners of the spring contact period after earning his first P4 offer from Kansas before his junior year kicking off off. River Falls, also home to 2025 Iowa Hawkeyes TE commit Eli Johnson, is going to be busy fielding meetings, workings, and offers for Simpson this fall, as he’s a bull of a right tackle with an emphatic, high-motor, powerful, and at times dominant play and blocking style with strength and quickness as a 6’4, 285 lb. 15/16 year old.

Displays a little bit of bend, explodes out of his stance, has great leg drive, and can send opponents flying when he locks out his arms, I like the way Simpson bursts and fires out of his cuts and into contact pops on tape. He’s a powerful kid who can generate force behind his movements and is going to be especially forceful with a couple more offseasons of weight room work behind him. Brings his hips into contact, is aggressive and physical at the point of attack, looks to dominate in 1-on-1 blocks, climbs to the second level quickly and smoothly, and can maneuver and break down in space well enough to eliminate LBs and DBs effectively and consistently. Has a great rep of him firing off the ball so low and getting up and under the DL chest pads so well that he lifts the kid off his feet and then fires him back into the ground in a punishing fashion. Solid pass set with a good base and an effective puller as well. Comes out of a state known for producing high-quality OL, good size, good tape, and really thrives in the physical contact parts of the game. The instate Badgers are watching closely and his recruitment could get really big if the junior tape is a notch above his sophomores and he continues to improve. Very excited future for the young man from the Badger State.