5 QUICK QUESTIONS

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR NUMBER (No. 64)? IS THERE A STORT BEHIND IT?

“Not really a story. Sixty-four is just a good o-line number. You can wear it at pretty much every position and I just picked it. I saw (Eli) Spurgeon wearing it when I was a freshman and I kind of got it from that. It looked good, so I just took it.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE UNIFORM COMBINATION?

“Ooh boy. My pick would have to be the white on white. It looks clean, and especially when you go with white accessories — it looks even better.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMILY CONNECTION TO OWATONNA SPORTS?

“My brother played (football) until 10th grade and decided he didn’t want to play after that. And then my parents aren’t from Owatonna, so no real connection there.“

WHAT OTHER SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

“I play baseball during the spring and summer. And then in the winter, just working on speed and strength and staying active in the weight room.“

IS THERE A MEMORABLE PHRASE THAT YOU REMEMBER FROM A COACH OR AN ASSISTANT?

“Simple — coach Williams, ‘The sooner we go, the sooner we go.’“

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Q & A WITH JACK MENEGUZZO

YOUR STORY IS QUITE UNIQUE…YOU’RE ONE OF THE FEW PLAYERS WHO CAN SAY THEY’VE STARTED FOR OWATONNA FOR THREE SEASONS. WHAT IS YOUR TIMELINE AS A VARSITY PLAYER?

“So, I was practicing with the varsity for the first week of two-a-days (as a sophomore). I would do offense for both B-Squad and varsity during practice just to get the most reps at center. And then the Thursday before (Rochester Mayo in Week 1) coach Wanous talked to me and said he was going to pull me up to varsity. And then I played a little bit against Century (in Week 2) and then it was against Mankato West (in Week 3) when he told me that I was going to be starting. I was ready to step into the role, basically.“

WHAT WAS IT LIKE STARTING AS AN UNDERCLASSMAN AT ARGUABLY THE MOST PIVOTAL POSITION ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE?

“It was definitely a big task. I can even remember the first snap — everything was just flying on by. But after you get that first snap down and get hit, you get used to it a little and you can start to settle in. And I had some upperclassmen who were guards — Micah (Elstad) and Ethan Anderson — and they really helped me out. They talked me through everything and if I didn’t know something, they were there to help.“

NOW YOU FIND YOURSELF ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN. YOU’RE NOT ONLY A SENIOR, BUT A CAPTAIN AND A RETURNING ALL-DISTRICT PERFORMER. TALK ABOUT YOUR EVOLUTION AS A LEADER ON THIS TEAM. WHAT TYPE OF LEADER ARE YOU?

“I would definitely say I’m a vocal leader. I am always trying to make sure all the guys are working hard — not taking plays off. But I also think it’s important to lead by example. Because if my teammates — especially the younger ones — see me going hard in practice and not taking a rep off, they’re probably going to go that much harder to keep up.”

SPECIFICALLY AS A CENTER, WHAT IS IT LIKE SHOULDERING THAT POSITION IN A SYSTEM THAT USES BOTH ZONE AND MAN BLOCKING SCHEMES. IT’S A LOT MORE COMPLICATED THAN PEOPLE SEE ON THE SURFACE.

“The first thing is identifying fronts before the snap and communicating to the ‘backs on who to block (and) who to pick up on a blitz. And then it’s about just talking to the entire o-line, because I’ll make the first call on the line and then everyone echoes off me, so you have to be loud. You have to be confident.”

WHEN DID YOU START LEARNING THE TEMINOLOGY AND BEGIN REFINING THE NUANCES OF THE POSITION?

“I can remember it was going into my sophomore year during the team camp. Coach Wanous just kept pushing it through and you sort of gradually pick it up from there. I would say by the middle of my sophomore year I had most of it down.”

YOU HAD MENTIONED GETTING INTO THE WEIGHT ROOM IN THE OFFSEASON AND YOU’RE ONE OF THE NAMES THAT I KEPT HEARING FROM COACHES ABOUT HOW DEDICATED YOU WHERE TO GETTING STRONGER THIS SUMMER. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT EXTRA WORK IS GOING TO TRANSLATE ON THE FIELD?

“I can tell it’s already helping a lot, especially mentally. When you’re up in the morning working hard in the weight room, you know that there’s probably guys (on other teams) that are sleeping and not putting in the work. Then you just have to power through it — you just have to get it done. And it definitely shows if you put in the time.”

THIS YEAR IS A BIT OF A RARITY SINCE YOU GUYS BRING BACK THREE REGULAR STARTERS ON THE O-LINE. HOW IS THATGOING TO HELP YOU THIS SEASON?

“Well, a lot of the new guys are stepping up and taking a bunch of reps, and that’s helping us as well. I feel like we are blending really well so far and we have a lot of options to fill the spots we need, and they’re all legitimate options. I think the returners are blending really well with the new guys and we have all stepped up into leadership roles — they know they can rely on us.”

AND, FINALLY, WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING AN OWATONNA FOOTBALL CAPTAIN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

“It means a lot, especially since you’re selected by your teammates — they picked me to be their leader. It feels good that they trust me to be a leader and set a good example.”