By Bill Seals
Already a frequent visitor to camps, and to games since his brother signed in the 2018 class, an in-state defensive lineman returned to Ames yesterday not quite expecting what would transpire after watching ISU topple Texas on a last-second field goal.
North Scott junior Joey Petersen, who was also in town for the Oklahoma State game, returned to watch his brother Zach and ISU get a victory over the Longhorns. He also left town with his first offer of the recruiting process.
“It was super-exciting getting it from Iowa State,” said Petersen. “I have known most of the coaching staff with Zach being there and whenever I went out to visit Zach, they’d always talk to us. It’s been fun getting to know them. They know Zach and know who I am, so they didn’t want anyone else hopping in and trying to offer me before them. They wanted to jump into the game early.”
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Petersen is a member of what’s setting up to be a star-studded class of 2021 recruits in the state of Iowa.
The second of three football-playing sons of former Cyclone defensive lineman Troy Petersen, Joey has put himself on the radar through his hard work at North Scott. It doesn’t get much more difficult than playing interior defensive line at the varsity level at 200 pounds.
“When Zach went to his camps, they’d see me go with him,” Petersen said. “They always liked how I was a lot like Zach. They said I had a good pass rush, so I knew that was pretty good and just needed to work on my other stuff like stopping the run to be an all-around good player.
“I’ve played nose guard in the middle this season, so that really helped me with my run blocking. Having those guys hit me and knowing I have to push them back and stand my ground…that will help me next season when I move back out to end.”
Petersen’s game day visit started just as many others have.
“First, we went into the Bergstrom building and registered,” he said. “We got some food and talked some of the coaches. They talked to all of the recruits. Afterwards, we went down onto to the field and that was cool. We watched all the players warm up, just seeing how it was going.
“We sat in the stands and watched an interesting game. It was cool seeing how they were up by a lot, Texas started coming back, Iowa State stuck with it throughout the whole game and came back to win it with that field goal. We got to celebrate in the end.
“After the win, one of the recruiters came and got us. We walked through the tunnel and into the locker room. We listened to Campbell talk. He gave a motivational speech about how they weren’t just going to lay down, they have to keep battling through everything and success is just part of it. All of the guys celebrated after that and it was exciting seeing what they do.
“Afterwards, I talked to Kyle Kempt and we went into the D-line meeting room and talked to him a little bit while Campbell was doing his press stuff. After that, he talked to us and gave me the offer.”
Petersen said ISU’s head coach covered a variety of subjects in his conversation.
“(Campbell) talked about how I was doing good things to help out my team and doing all the things I’ve done at North Scott,” he said. “He said they’re building up their program, how they want to be perceived in the future and how he thinks I’d be a good fit.”
The first place Petersen went after hearing the news of his first offer was back to the locker room.
“(Zach) actually knew before then,” Joey said. “I talked to him (beforehand) and he didn’t say anything. He was just excited and asked me if I’d talked to Campbell yet. I told him that I was going in to talk to him. Right after they told us, he was in the locker room changing and I walked in there. He had a big smile on his face and was excited. He gave me a big handshake.”
With offer in hand, Joey Petersen said he’ll still continue to be a frequent visitor to Ames. He said I-State coaches will be out to talk to him at school and see him at wrestling tournament in the next few months.
Already a frequent visitor to camps, and to games since his brother signed in the 2018 class, an in-state defensive lineman returned to Ames yesterday not quite expecting what would transpire after watching ISU topple Texas on a last-second field goal.
North Scott junior Joey Petersen, who was also in town for the Oklahoma State game, returned to watch his brother Zach and ISU get a victory over the Longhorns. He also left town with his first offer of the recruiting process.
“It was super-exciting getting it from Iowa State,” said Petersen. “I have known most of the coaching staff with Zach being there and whenever I went out to visit Zach, they’d always talk to us. It’s been fun getting to know them. They know Zach and know who I am, so they didn’t want anyone else hopping in and trying to offer me before them. They wanted to jump into the game early.”
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Petersen is a member of what’s setting up to be a star-studded class of 2021 recruits in the state of Iowa.
The second of three football-playing sons of former Cyclone defensive lineman Troy Petersen, Joey has put himself on the radar through his hard work at North Scott. It doesn’t get much more difficult than playing interior defensive line at the varsity level at 200 pounds.
“When Zach went to his camps, they’d see me go with him,” Petersen said. “They always liked how I was a lot like Zach. They said I had a good pass rush, so I knew that was pretty good and just needed to work on my other stuff like stopping the run to be an all-around good player.
“I’ve played nose guard in the middle this season, so that really helped me with my run blocking. Having those guys hit me and knowing I have to push them back and stand my ground…that will help me next season when I move back out to end.”
Petersen’s game day visit started just as many others have.
“First, we went into the Bergstrom building and registered,” he said. “We got some food and talked some of the coaches. They talked to all of the recruits. Afterwards, we went down onto to the field and that was cool. We watched all the players warm up, just seeing how it was going.
“We sat in the stands and watched an interesting game. It was cool seeing how they were up by a lot, Texas started coming back, Iowa State stuck with it throughout the whole game and came back to win it with that field goal. We got to celebrate in the end.
“After the win, one of the recruiters came and got us. We walked through the tunnel and into the locker room. We listened to Campbell talk. He gave a motivational speech about how they weren’t just going to lay down, they have to keep battling through everything and success is just part of it. All of the guys celebrated after that and it was exciting seeing what they do.
“Afterwards, I talked to Kyle Kempt and we went into the D-line meeting room and talked to him a little bit while Campbell was doing his press stuff. After that, he talked to us and gave me the offer.”
Petersen said ISU’s head coach covered a variety of subjects in his conversation.
“(Campbell) talked about how I was doing good things to help out my team and doing all the things I’ve done at North Scott,” he said. “He said they’re building up their program, how they want to be perceived in the future and how he thinks I’d be a good fit.”
The first place Petersen went after hearing the news of his first offer was back to the locker room.
“(Zach) actually knew before then,” Joey said. “I talked to him (beforehand) and he didn’t say anything. He was just excited and asked me if I’d talked to Campbell yet. I told him that I was going in to talk to him. Right after they told us, he was in the locker room changing and I walked in there. He had a big smile on his face and was excited. He gave me a big handshake.”
With offer in hand, Joey Petersen said he’ll still continue to be a frequent visitor to Ames. He said I-State coaches will be out to talk to him at school and see him at wrestling tournament in the next few months.
