Kadyn Proctor is a special talent
Southeast Polk offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor has proven to be one of the top players in the country within the Class of 2023 and has the recruiting to back it up. We caught up with his high school coach, Brad Zelenovich, and talked to him about this Hawkeye target.
Q: How would you describe him overall as a football player?
ZELENOVICH: He is a 6-8, 300-pound 15-year-old kid. That is where you start. He is extremely long and is just such a gifted athlete. He bends well and runs extremely well for his size. He is a multi-sport athlete. He plays basketball and we got him out for track before the pandemic hit. He is just fluid and maturing every day. He is getting stronger and more explosive. With the abnormal off-season, we were shut down from March until July. They missed four or five months in the weight room and doing speed work. He is working and has spent a lot of time perfecting his craft. He has such a huge ceiling. He is a great kid who is learning how to work. He has really improved as a football player over the course of this season.
Q: What do you feel are his main strengths at this point?
ZELENOVICH: Just his athleticism and the way he moves and changes directions. He is extremely athletic and like I said, he really played at a high level as a tenth grader playing in one of the biggest spots against really good competition. You were able to see him grow as a player over those eleven games. He has good feet and moves well.
Q: What areas is he going to continue working on heading into the off-season?
ZELENOVICH:I think with him being a year younger than the other guys, he is going to continue taking a purposeful approach to what he does. It is not the physical part for him. All of the guys are learning that the details matter every day. He can get into the weight room, do speed sessions, and go to class. He has to get the job done in all of those. We are continuing to make sure that all of these guys are making good decisions and taking advantage of the opportunities we provide for them. We feel good about our off-season program and that it will develop them physically. We will take that step and attack every day.
Q: What separates him from his peers to get the type of attention and honors that he has received?
ZELENOVICH: Obviously when you look at his size, he is an elite athlete for a 6-8, 300-pound kid. He runs well. He is long and has good feet. I’m really proud of all the progression he has made as a football player. He is physical at the point of attack. He has really taken pride in perfecting his craft as an offensive lineman who is so young.
Q: How would you describe him as a leader?
ZELENOVICH: He got better. He improved tremendously and was very mature as a sophomore playing varsity. That doesn’t happen a lot at this level. You have to have the physical attributes, but in addition you have to understand what it takes to play at that level. He caught on to that really well. He understands what we are trying to do, understands how to practice, and how to take reps. For a young kid, that is pretty impressive. We will be looking to build on it heading into his junior year.
Q: Were you surprised with how quickly his recruiting heated up?
ZELENOVICH: He was a two-way player for us on the sophomore team as a freshman. We were proactive with his family to educate them about how the process of recruiting has sped up in the last three to five years. We knew that he would get evaluated off of his film and have opportunities. We were preparing for a good off-season of training and getting to camps. Covid hit and none of that happened. His film is around and they liked what they saw, so they wanted to get into the game.
Q: How unique is it to have so many recruited players on your team?
ZELENOVICH: We haven’t seen it around our place. It is exciting for these guys, and exciting for the kids in our program. We are just taking it day by day and making sure they are doing the things they need to in all facets of their lives to set themselves up for success. That is our job to improve, nurture, and guide them to be the best they can be. The rest of the stuff will take care of itself.
A Class of 2023 prospect, Kadyn Proctor currently holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Arizona State.