When Iola lineman Nic Zimmerman waded into his first practice for the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at South Grand Prairie High School in a suburb of Dallas, something dawned on him.
The Mustang senior looked out at his fellow high school seniors participating in the game around him from across the country many three- and four-star rated recruits and saw, maybe for the first time ever, a group of football players taking every step seriously.
You dont get that at the high school level, Zimmerman said. Sure, you have some guys that take it seriously but not like that. It was nice. And it was easy to tell that everyone was there for a reason, including me.
After a stellar, four-year career at Iola, Zimmerman was one of just six players from the state of Kansas selected to compete in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl over the summer.
After his final high school season came to a close at the end of October, Zimmerman waited several months and then made the trip down to Dallas at the end of January for the four-day event that culminated in a game played at AT&T Stadium the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
When I first set foot on the field, the bigness of the stadium really started to sink in, Zimmerman said. But eventually the nerves went away and it was back to playing football again.
Zimmermans team, the East, lost to the West 26-7 but he said the feeling of going out there and laying into other big guys felt good.
I always love the chance to get up into a fat kids chest, Zimmerman said with glee. Its what Im good at.
In addition to coaches saying he was the strongest player there, they also complemented Zimmerman on his footwork and speed.
They really liked my abilities as a pulling guard, Zimmerman said. But they also said that my hand placement needed work. Other kids come up in a spread system and work on that more than I did with the system that we ran.
Zimmerman is about done with the recruiting process. He holds offers from Ottawa, Bethany and NAIA national runner-up Benedictine. If another program wants him to come on a visit hell consider it but hes done contacting schools himself to make that happen.
Im content with the list of schools that want me so far, Zimmerman said. Benedictine is probably the favorite and theyve offered the best scholarship so far but Im looking to make my final decision in mid-May.
Zimmerman also said the Benedictine coaches are looking at him for the defensive side of the ball, which isnt his preference but hes happy to do whatever he can in order to play at the next level.
