by Bill Seals
Although he led the state of Iowa in passing yards as a high school junior, it has taken a little bit more for a Class 1A quarterback in northwest Iowa to start getting the attention he coveted.
Based on what’s transpired over the past couple months, West Sioux rising senior Hunter Dekkers has done more than just a little bit to put himself on the radars of Division I programs. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound quarterback earned MVP honors at an Elite 11 Regional, thus earning a spot in the prestigious final round event to be held later this month.
Soon after, Power-5 offers started flowing in from the likes of Indiana, Kansas State and Purdue. But Dekkers said he still yearned for one from a P5 program within the state’s borders. Thanks to his performance at a Saturday Night Lights camp in Ames last week, he can put a checkmark in that box, too.
“My goal going into this year was to get an in-state offer from either Iowa State or Iowa,” said Dekkers. “I wasn’t really leaning towards either one, but just told myself I wanted to get a DI offer from one. At the camp, I loved the coaches and they were super cool and nice. They’re really cool people.
“I went to a game last year against West Virginia and that was a very cool atmosphere. I really liked how the game played out. I noticed how much love the team got from the fans. It was a cool feeling there.”
Dekkers, who led his West Sioux team to a 1A championship last fall, said he came to Ames without much pressure and didn’t hear much from coaches in the days leading up to the camp.
“They never said anything about what I needed to do,” he said. “The coaches told me I proved everything I needed to prove. It was right after we were working in the indoor and were walking to the stadium…Coach (Nate) Scheelhaase said that I had proved myself and had done everything they wanted me to do to get an offer.
“From that point on, I just told myself that I needed to keep up the same pace of throwing well. I think I did that. I tested alright, but in my opinion, I made huge jumps in how well I threw the ball. I put the ball in the right place at the right time.”
The offer he’d been shooting for since the start of the calendar year came during a meeting with head coach Matt Campbell following camp. That meeting would also include Campbell’s sales pitch to Dekkers on joining a 2020 class that already includes long-time commit Aidan Bouman.
“We had a nice talk about my recruitment,” Dekkers said. “He went over how they were standing in the quarterback room right now and who they have. He said they want some variety in their quarterbacks. He told me they weren’t going to talk to any other quarterback until they saw me at camp, and were glad they did that because I proved myself that night.
“(Having Bouman committed) does not affect my thoughts at all about Iowa State. I just take it as there’s another person to compete against at the school. Coach Campbell talked to me about it and said for a while they weren’t 100 percent sure (about taking two quarterbacks), but said they finalized it that they were going to be.”
Dekkers, who completed 208-of-341 passes for 3,641 yards and a 48:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, said he believes he’d be a good fit for the offensive system employed in Ames.
“I like everything,” he said. “We do a lot of similar stuff with our offense at my high school. I think my arm strength is strong and my accuracy is great. A lot of people get caught up in how much arm strength they have, but I can put the ball where I want it most of the time. I think I can run and throw the ball very well.”
With the Elite 11 Finals looming June 28-30 at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, Dekkers plans to fit at least three more visits into his schedule with a commitment planned for late this month or in early July.
He’ll take official visits to both Purdue and Indiana next weekend and will be back at Iowa State for a one-day unofficial on Saturday, June 22nd.
Dekkers said Kansas State and South Dakota State are also still in the running, along with the five he’s visiting in the next week and a half.
Although he led the state of Iowa in passing yards as a high school junior, it has taken a little bit more for a Class 1A quarterback in northwest Iowa to start getting the attention he coveted.
Based on what’s transpired over the past couple months, West Sioux rising senior Hunter Dekkers has done more than just a little bit to put himself on the radars of Division I programs. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound quarterback earned MVP honors at an Elite 11 Regional, thus earning a spot in the prestigious final round event to be held later this month.
Soon after, Power-5 offers started flowing in from the likes of Indiana, Kansas State and Purdue. But Dekkers said he still yearned for one from a P5 program within the state’s borders. Thanks to his performance at a Saturday Night Lights camp in Ames last week, he can put a checkmark in that box, too.
“My goal going into this year was to get an in-state offer from either Iowa State or Iowa,” said Dekkers. “I wasn’t really leaning towards either one, but just told myself I wanted to get a DI offer from one. At the camp, I loved the coaches and they were super cool and nice. They’re really cool people.
“I went to a game last year against West Virginia and that was a very cool atmosphere. I really liked how the game played out. I noticed how much love the team got from the fans. It was a cool feeling there.”
Dekkers, who led his West Sioux team to a 1A championship last fall, said he came to Ames without much pressure and didn’t hear much from coaches in the days leading up to the camp.
“They never said anything about what I needed to do,” he said. “The coaches told me I proved everything I needed to prove. It was right after we were working in the indoor and were walking to the stadium…Coach (Nate) Scheelhaase said that I had proved myself and had done everything they wanted me to do to get an offer.
“From that point on, I just told myself that I needed to keep up the same pace of throwing well. I think I did that. I tested alright, but in my opinion, I made huge jumps in how well I threw the ball. I put the ball in the right place at the right time.”
The offer he’d been shooting for since the start of the calendar year came during a meeting with head coach Matt Campbell following camp. That meeting would also include Campbell’s sales pitch to Dekkers on joining a 2020 class that already includes long-time commit Aidan Bouman.
“We had a nice talk about my recruitment,” Dekkers said. “He went over how they were standing in the quarterback room right now and who they have. He said they want some variety in their quarterbacks. He told me they weren’t going to talk to any other quarterback until they saw me at camp, and were glad they did that because I proved myself that night.
“(Having Bouman committed) does not affect my thoughts at all about Iowa State. I just take it as there’s another person to compete against at the school. Coach Campbell talked to me about it and said for a while they weren’t 100 percent sure (about taking two quarterbacks), but said they finalized it that they were going to be.”
Dekkers, who completed 208-of-341 passes for 3,641 yards and a 48:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio, said he believes he’d be a good fit for the offensive system employed in Ames.
“I like everything,” he said. “We do a lot of similar stuff with our offense at my high school. I think my arm strength is strong and my accuracy is great. A lot of people get caught up in how much arm strength they have, but I can put the ball where I want it most of the time. I think I can run and throw the ball very well.”
With the Elite 11 Finals looming June 28-30 at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, Dekkers plans to fit at least three more visits into his schedule with a commitment planned for late this month or in early July.
He’ll take official visits to both Purdue and Indiana next weekend and will be back at Iowa State for a one-day unofficial on Saturday, June 22nd.
Dekkers said Kansas State and South Dakota State are also still in the running, along with the five he’s visiting in the next week and a half.
