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Castro has a nose for the ball

Safety Sebastian Castro has a nose for the ball and packs a punch when he gets there.
Safety Sebastian Castro has a nose for the ball and packs a punch when he gets there.

Illinois safety Sebastian Castro caught the eye of college coaches early on before finding a fit with the University of Iowa. We caught up with his coach at Richards, Tony Sheehan, and talked to him about Castro as he gets ready to sign with the Hawkeyes next week.

Q: What type of player has he been for you overall?

SHEEHAN: He is a fabulous player who is very hard working. He leads by example. He has shown that he can do a little bit of everything for us. He is a team guy who wants to win.

Q: What are his main strengths as a player?

SHEEHAN: He has a nose for the ball. He reads the offenses very well and studies them. He has speed and closes like no one else. He is powerful and packs a punch.

Q: What is he working on going forward?

SHEEHAN: I think he will continue to work on speed, technique, and getting stronger. It is just so his body can take the Big Ten pounding. No doubt in my mind that he’ll be an impact player at Iowa at some point. He is too good of a football player.

Q: Can you recap how the recruiting process went for him overall?

SHEEHAN: He had a very good sophomore year where he had six or seven picks. He has a nose for the ball and really played well. As a sophomore, he was about 6-foot and 185 pounds at that time. People came in regularly. Throughout the years, we have gotten to know the guys in Iowa City. They came back and wanted to get him on campus and get to know him. It took off from there. The Iowa guys are kind of some of us here. They are just no nonsense. They want to win and make you a better person and player. You gravitate towards that.

Q: What other schools did he consider?

SHEEHAN: His last three were down to Iowa, Minnesota, and Iowa State.

Q: What was his role for you this fall as a senior?

SHEEHAN: Last year, he never came off the field. He was our quarterback and our safety. In the late spring, we had a player transfer in who was also a quarterback. That allowed us to move him around and let him contribute more on defense. We still used him on offense to create mismatches. He is the total team player who just wants to win. We try to give him a few breaks on offense so that he was fresher for defense. He makes so many plays.

Q: Where does he project out at Iowa?

SHEEHAN: They have always said he is a safety. They see him playing safety.

Q: What type of leader has he been for you?

SHEEHAN: He has been great. We are trying to get him to be a little more vocal, which he has been doing. He is a quiet kid who works his butt off and leads by example. Guys feed off of that. He is that guy who does in and does his job. He works extremely hard and everyone sees that.

Q: How big is he now size wise?

SHEEHAN: He is 6-1 and probably 190-195. Somewhere in that range.

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