Schmidt has great speed. His first step allows him to get more separation than most guys on short routes. His ability to locate and adjust to deep balls makes him a big play waiting to happen. His 20 yards per catch average was in the top five in the state – regardless of class – for receivers with at least thirty catches. That quickness allows him to beat most press coverage. While straight speed is what separates him – literally – he has good feet and is very creative in the open field. He is effective without the ball too. He is a solid blocker on the outside.

Schmidt has the speed to separate from defenders on deep routes and gets in and out of his breaks effectively to give him separation on shorter routes. What most impresses me with the Ponies’ wideout is his ability to adjust to the ball in the air. He has good body control – both when running at full speed and when he is in the air. His junior season was littered with contested catches. He doesn’t need much space to make plays on the ball. He comes out of tight coverage with the ball more often than he should.

Tanner showed off plenty of athleticism from his Indy and 1v1 reps at the St. Thomas Camp last Friday night. He showed off a route-runner that shows off a high level with his efficiency of his  football IQ with the angling and precison he shows off within his routes, as Tanner made some highly quick adjustments with superb instincts when utilizing his vertical in the air. He might be 5’11 180 pounds, but the reach he showed going for the ball in 1v1s showed off a much longer reach high and wide with what  you will see in that 5’11 size you see. He also has swift agility and can turn on a dime which got a handful of separation at the Tommies prospect camp. He also fielded the high-traffic catches extremely well. I love how much route creativity he puts on tape, as he has a strong mix of intermediate that show off the agility and a fluidly long burst that can stretch the field. With four offers on the table from the FCS and D2 levels, Tanner is picking up steam this summer with his recruiting and he’s not done yet in my eyes.

The proverbial lightning to previously mentioned Hoheisel’s thunder, fellow Stillwater Ponies WR Tanner Schmidt was another All-Conference wideout in 2022 and was a 5’11, 175 lb. big play machine that averaged 20 yards a catch and finished the fall with 39 receptions for 779 yards and 9 TDs. The speedster can take the top off the defense, is quick and balanced after the catch, and shows off impressive body control that allowed him to perfectly play the ball in the air and come down with some highlight-reel catches where he perfectly floats through the air, snags the ball out of the air, and tip-toes inbounds, sometimes through contact. Schmidt, along with his standout physical tools, shows off tremendous concentration and focus, along with soft hands, that help catch anything that comes in his vicinity. Some of his releases at the LOS are eye-catching as well. Schmidt is fresh off his first college offer from MSU-Mankato on the 20th and has also visited SDSU and Winona State this offseason.