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Q & A WITH CALEB HULLOPETER

Last year, I think there was some expectations on you to have a big year, at least that’s what it felt like from the outside. Is that something you felt heading into your junior season last year?

“Yeah, for sure. I think before the first Mayo game (in Week 1) I could feel the pressure and I told myself I needed to show up. The team was expecting big things from me and I had a really good game against Mayo. I had confidence after that game, but then Jacob went down and it felt like everything was just thrown off — we couldn’t figure it out. But I still had a couple games where I thought I played well enough.”

You have really broken out this season and exploded onto the scene. It feels like you just started in Week 1 and just took off. How was that connection with Jacob built?

“I mean, he’s been my quarterback forever, basically. We did Park and Rec together. We went to the same school (St. Mary’s), so at recess we were out there playing and throwing it to each other. All the way through middle school he was my quarterback. We had that connection last year when he played — he just was in and out of the lineup and that threw the connection off a little. I had to get used to a another quarterback and how (Noah Truelson) throws the ball and stuff like that. But 7-on-7 this summer, the connection was there and we knew if we stayed healthy, it was going to be one of those (special) seasons.”

And, man, that spiral. It that something Jacob has always had?

“Haha, for sure — he throws a nice. ball. I would say going into ninth grade is when he got it figured out where he had that perfect spiral every time. I mean, it’s the prettiest thing in the world when it’s coming in.”

You have developed a lot physically over the years. When did you really start focusing on weight training and becoming a more well-rounded athlete?

“After my freshman year. I had a really good season that year, so I was thinking I needed to work as hard as I could to see how good I could get and maximize everything. I put on about 15 pounds my sophomore year and I got up to 160-something. Then my junior year I put on another 10 pounds and this past offseason I put on about another 15 pounds.”

This year, it seems like you have leveraged your specific skills to the max. You’re a great route-runner and you use hands well. What type of receiver would you say you are?

“I watch a lot of the NFL guys and how they work. Guys like (Justin) Jefferson and (Ja’Mar) Chase, those are probably my two favorite guys to watch. But then Keenan Allen and Da’Vante Adams — you can take a lot from from them as well. It’s about watching the little details and trying to be like them — how they run their routes — and that helps a lot when you’re trying to get open. It’s about doing those little things.”

Coach Williams told me that you guys would text each other this offseason with little highlights and good plays from receivers. Who started that, and what did you guys talk about back-and-forth?

“Well, he actually called me up to his office after the football season right after the banquet. He knew that we were going to have a pretty good passing attack moving forward with me, Beyer and Little Ginskey, and then we have a guy like Jacob throwing the ball. So he talked to me and said we need to work on our passing game — our routes need to get a little better — that type of thing. He told me, if you see anything on social media, send it to me and I was like ‘Alright, sounds good.’ I figured I’d find something because that’s what I normally look at anyways. And let’s just put it this way, he got sent a lot of Justin Jefferson and Ja’Mar Chase.”

I can remember talking to coach (Noate) Skala late this past offseason and he told me this was probably the deepest group of receivers he’s ever coached at Owatonna. And that’s probably accurate. What is it like having so many great pass-catchers around you?

“It’s one of those things where they can’t really double-team you because then you can just go to the other side. It helps a lot during games, but in practice too. I think having so many good pass-catchers makes everyone better internally. It forces you to do your best.”

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