DII football in the Upper Midwest is better than its ever been, and these two schools are fairly representative of the quality of play that is emerging in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Mankato held on to the win, despite a furious 4th quarter comeback led by Winona QB Greg Preston. #2 Kelvin Rogers (sp?) was the player of the game for Makato, with a long KORTD and a pick-6 (that was called back), and several nice plays in pass defense late in the game. Winona State's short-yardage back, Andy Verboncouer had one of the most amazing stat lines I have ever seen: 6 carries for 31 yards with 4 TDs. No draft picks in this game, and just a couple kids with an outside shot at a camp invitation, but it was still worth the look see...

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

College: Minnesota St.-Mankato Conference: Division II Columnist: Steve Martin

Game Notes
Blake Freese 8 6' 2.2" 233 4.80 LB 2009: Solid tackler who diagnoses very well. Strong, productive and finds the ball. GRADE: Neutral

Chris Brunkhorst 67 6' 2.1" 284 5.00 DT 2009: Nice DII tackle who bulls his way through stuff. Drew lots of double teams but just didn't have any big plays today, though he was in on quite a few tackles. Lacks the explosion he'd need to get a look, but is a very solid DII football player. GRADE: Neutral



College: Winona State Conference: Division II Columnist: Steve Martin

Game Notes
Nick Urban 79 6' 4.2" 305 5.25 OT 2009: Perhaps the best pro prospect for this draft from either school. Runs people right out of the play. Locks and takes them for a ride. Pulls and nails the target. Nice guns. Looks pretty lost in open space at times though. Fairly nimble. I hate scouting DII O-tackles, but he's one of the better ones I have seen. GRADE: Positive

Brent Yule 25 6' 0.9" 230 4.70 LB 2009: Certainly one of the best LBs in the NSIC. Team leader, and defense's unquestioned best performer. Was all over the field. Reads the play well, and gets quickly to the right spot. Smart. Contains runs to the inside. Shuffles laterally well. Shows closing speed to a DII QB. Not sure what to make of his pro qualifications, but at this level, there is no question he can play. Plays SAM and projects to SAM. GRADE: Positive

OTHER NOTES:

Mankato: Eric Taylor is a decent safety who didn't start but did some very nice things in the second half. Has decent size (6'1", 192) and range.

Randy Earl, a junior DT (#96, 6'4", 280) drew some preseason AA notice, but didn't look like an AA candidate to me. Didn't make enough plays. May have been injured because I didn't see much of him late. Explosive for this level, but...

#2 Kelvin Rogers (#2) is electric at this level, and will definitely be a future PP.

#13 Fleury was the favord WR and he made some very nice plays, but looks limited to me.

Winona: #74 Ryan Rothwell is their best D-lineman by far, though a couple of seniors (Drew Waters and Taz Landry) get more pub. Waters didn't start and is a plugger who played well when the starter got tired. Landry is a DE (6'2", 250) who made one notable TFL early, and then basically disappeared. He has no change of direction, and is a bit of a pile inspector. Rothwell made a lot more plays, and is pretty relentless.

Sr. SS Craig Martindale (6'3", 210, #24) plays more like a free safety. Doesn't tackle anything with authority, probably not even the tackling dummies. He does roam well, and drags people down if they get near him.

Sr. CB Tony Hill (6'0", 190 #34) had a couple sacks on the blitz, and is a drag tackler too. But, he shows some promise as a pass defender, has nice size. He gives way too big a cushion though, so he must lack speed.

Sr. TE Todd Burkoth (6'4", 265, #86) had a couple catches and is a pretty fair blocker but he has absolutely no ups to his game.

Sr. FB Andy Verboncoeur had that amazing stat line, and really makes the most of his opportunities. He's built like a bowling ball (5'9.5", 240) and knocks people back at this level. No idea what he could play at the next level though. Very good red zone runner.

Sr. WR Tyree Burks (6'4", 215) is a glider who looks like a 4.80 guy to me. He had one really nice TD catch, and will lay out for the ball. Lost his mom in a car wreck last year, and you gotta root for him but...Had a HUGE dropped pass in the last-gasp comeback attempt by Winona.

So which of these kids has the best shot at sticking at the next level, and why?

Urban, and for the reasons stated, although Yule is a tough cuss, who would have to have everything break just right...Verboncouer would make a great story if he could get into a camp.