Being the son of the head coach, Rusty VanWetzinga was always going to have expectations cast upon him on the football field.

Thus far the 2023 linebacker/running back has more than met then on the gridiron, earning all-district honors in his sophomore season with 56 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss.

The next step for VanWetzinga is to hit the camp circuit to earn scholarship offers and that process begins on June 1st when the Covid restrictions on college campus visits and camps will be lifted.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “I need the opportunity to show college coaches what I can do. I feel like I have worked very hard in the off-season and I’m now a better athlete than I was in the fall.”

Part of his tour during the month of June will include trips to Iowa City and Ames, as both the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones have shown early interest in VanWetzinga.

“It’s been pretty cool to get some interest from both schools, but I still need to go out and earn the offer from them,” he said.

Thus far most of the communication from Iowa and Iowa State has been via his father, Rusty, who is the head coach at Pleasant Valley High School.

VanWetzinga said because he has had family that has attended Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa, so he roots for all three schools when possible and enjoyed watching Josey Jewell when he played for the Hawkeyes and Mike Rose, who is currently a standout for the Cyclones.

In addition to the trips to the two in-state powers, VanWetzinga will also camp at Northern Iowa and Kansas State. He is also considering camps at Minnesota, Missouri, or Wisconsin, but that will depend on his high school baseball schedule.