Twedt's work ethic sets him apart

Although his senior season ended early due to injuries, Roland-Story linebacker Zach Twedt was still able to prove why he was one of the best football players within state borders during the fall. We caught up with his head coach, Matt Finn, and talked to him about how this future Hawkeye stands out.

Q: How would you describe him overall as a football player?

FINN: I knew I was getting a special guy to work with the first time we did formation recognition on defense. Up until that point, we had done 7-on-7. When I heard Zach communicating and leading on defense, I knew he would be fun to coach. Obviously, he is an imposing kid, but when he called the strength and adjusted the alignment by himself, I knew we had something special with him.

Q: What do you feel are his main strengths at this point?

FINN: I’d say he is one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever been around. He is a farm boy that holds a lot of other jobs. He loves the weight room and is not afraid of challenges. That discipline piece will take him a long way.

Q: How is his shoulder rehab going?

FINN: He is actually a few weeks ahead of schedule as far as the rehab goes. He is still not loading up weights very heavy right now, but he is able to move a little weight. Things are going well in that regard.

Q: When is he expected to get to 100%?

FINN: I don’t want to misspeak but I believe January is when he will be a full go.

Q: Outside of the shoulder rehab, what areas is he going to continue working on?

FINN: I think he is going to keep working on that burst. He is really strong and has a great base layer of strength. He has that top end speed, but that initial quick step is something he will keep working on.

Q: What separates him from his peers to get the type of attention and honors that he has received?

FINN: I really think his mindset is a big part of that. It is one of those intangibles with the way he has conversations with adults and what he comprehends. He knows what it takes to be a great football player. You are able to give him a much bigger picture and he comprehends it at a much higher level. The Iowa coaches know he is a true leader. He cares about other people. He checks in with me and asks about how my family is doing. He has that family mentality where he is looking for his teammates and coaches.

Q: How did you use him on the field this season?

FINN: We had him primarily in the feature back role, but we also utilized him as tight end, and then obviously in the return game as well. Then of course we have him as an inside linebacker mostly due to a need there.

Q: How hard was it to shuffle things around once he was lost for the season?

FINN: That was pretty tricky. We had to really shuffle the deck in a lot of ways. You build things around a presence like that and the difference maker that he can be. We did have guys step up out of their positions and do a great job with that. It was tricky, but that left a couple of holes for us to fill.

Q: How was it working with the Iowa staff during the recruiting process?

FINN: Coach Niemann specifically is the exact type of human being you want to send your kids to play for. I really didn’t know him well before taking the Roland-Story job. We only talked a few times, but he cares about how Zach is doing as a human being and his general welfare. We had a tough year from a competition standpoint, and he was breathing a ton of confidence into us as a staff. They were awesome to work with. I can’t speak highly enough of the Iowa staff.