If the number of returning players that have drawn interest from college programs is any indication, the Owatonna football team is in for a special season in 2024.
Bottom line, the Huskies have some studs.
In the relatively short timeframe since Owatonna last took the field in the state quarterfinals against St. Thomas on November 11, no fewer than six current juniors have drawn legitimate attention from football programs at every level of the college sport.
Of the bunch, Nolan Ginskey’s stock has risen the most.
In seven months since the start of his junior campaign, Ginskey has transformed from an undersized, albeit ultra-talented, athlete who hadn’t played a full season of football since he was 14 years old, into a bona-fide Division I prospect and record-setting two-way dynamo.
He was on the turf at Federated Field for the first snap of the season against Hastings on Sept. 1 and almost never left the field. As in, for the entire season.
On offense, he got off to a hot start and went on to shatter the program’s single-season record for receiving yards with 1,194 while adding 73 catches and eight touchdowns — half of which came in Owatonna’s three-game postseason run.
Defensively, Ginskey was equally as impactful and paced the Huskies with four interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown against Apple Valley in Week 8. He led the defensive secondary with 24 solo tackles and added a team-best eight pass breakups.
When the dust finally settled on the 2023 season, Ginskey had earned multiple all-state accolades and was quickly jettisoned to the top of the list of the state’s best two-way players for the Class of 2025.
As the offseason rolled ahead, Ginskey’s recruiting fuse had long-since been lit and continued to sizzle throughout a busy stretch between beginning in late January. In a little less than a month, he received five official invitations to various Junior Days events from Division I programs throughout the Midwest, including FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, University of North Dakota, Western Illinois and the University of St. Thomas.
Aside from his staggering on-field production and burgeoning physical frame, Ginskey’s blazing 40-yard dash time of 4.5 seconds has also helped move the needle within college recruiting circles. He first publicized his 40 time on Twitter this past December.
Though he might be the most coveted prospect of the bunch, Ginskey is far from the only returning OHS football player who could find himself playing on Saturdays someday. In total, five of his classmates are being pursued by multiple college football programs apiece and have the potential to land at the scholarship level (Division I and Division II). This list includes Jack Meneguzzo, Blake Fitcher, Blake Davison, Zach Dahnert and Luke Webber.
Since receiving his first Junior Day invite from D-II Minnesota State-Moorhead on Feb. 9, Meneguzzo, who earned all-district honors in his second season as the team’s full-time starting center last fall, has been contacted by three additional college programs regarding similar events . On Tuesday, he also posted that he had been invited to both the Minnesota Mega Camp and Blugold Big Man Camp in Eau Claire, Wis.
Fellow lineman, Dahnert, as seen his recruiting pick up steam over the last couple days and recently added Division II Southwest Minnesota state and D-III power UW- La Crosse to his growing list of interested programs.
Fitcher and Davison — who will represent one of the most formidable linebacker duos in the entire state next fall — have both been contacted by D-II Minnesota-Moorhead and neighboring D-III program Concordia-Moorhead (D-III).
On Wednesday evening, Webber posted three updates that included official Junior Day requests from two-time D-II national champion, Minnesota-Duluth, and, just like Davison and Fitcher, invitations to both the MSU-Moorhead and Concordia-Moorhead 2025 recruiting events.
CLASS OF 2025 PROSPECTS
NOLAN GINSKEY
POSITION: WR/DB
HEIGHT: 5-foot-11
WEIGHT: 170 LBS
MEASURABLES: 4.5 seconds in 40-yard dash; 3.97 GPA
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
JACK MENEGUZZO
POSITION: OL
HEIGHT: 6-foot
WEIGHT: 260 LBS
MEASURABLES: Bench – 275 LBS; Squat – 385 LBS
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
BLAKE DAVISON
POSITION: LB
HEIGHT: 6-foot
WEIGHT: 180 LBS
MEASURABLES: Squat – 335 LBS; 3.6 GPA
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
BLAKE FITCHER
POSITION: LB
HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
WEIGHT: 215 LBS
MEASURABLES: 3.6 GPA
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
ZACH DAHNERT
POSITION: OL/DL
HEIGHT: 6-foot-2
WEIGHT: 245 LBS
MEASURABLES: Bench – 315 LBS; Squat – 415 LBS; 3.71 GPA
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
LUKE WEBBER
POSITION: DB
HEIGHT: 6-foot
WEIGHT: 175 LBS
MEASURABLES: 4.6 seconds in 40-yard dash; Bench – 250 LBS; Squat – 385 LBS
RECRUITING INTEREST
I
CLASS OF 2026 PROSPECTS
RYAN MCINTOSH
POSITION: LB
HEIGHT: 6-foot-1
WEIGHT: 205 LBS
MEASURABLES: 3.58 GPA
AS A PROSPECT: No. 1-ranked linebacker in the Northstar District for the Class of 2026; Invited to participate in annual “Stock Up Showcase Tour” the past two years; Attending multiple invite-only recruiting showcases last summer
TRISTAN GRAHAM
POSITION: RB
HEIGHT: 5-foot-7
WEIGHT: 155 LBS
AS A PROSPECT: Listed as one of the state’s top prospects to watch for the Class of 2026; Attended two prosect evaluation camps last summer
THE HUSKY BULLETIN 
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