Twedt is a dynamic playmaker

Roland-Story linebacker Zach Twedt continues to remain one of the top targets for the Iowa coaches in the Class of 2021. We caught up with his head coach, Aaron Stensland, to talk about him as a player, get the latest on his recruiting, and much more.

Q: How would you describe him as a player?

STENSLAND: Right now, he is pretty dynamic. He played fullback, tailback, and will be making the move to his more natural position of tight end. Defensively, he has been all over us with a little bit at safety, insider backer, and outside backer. His future will be a bit more narrowed down into outside backer or tight end, but we are trying to use him where we can.

Q: How unique is that flexibility from what you have seen?

STENSLAND: He is probably one of the most unique players I’ve had. I’ve had players that could physically do it, but it is the mental side of learning three or four different positions and knowing what he is doing is pretty complex. A lot of what we can do with him is based on how intelligent of a kid he is.

Q: What are his main strengths at this point?

STENSLAND: He has a lot. He has good ball skills. He is big at 6-3 and just under 220 pounds. He moves well on the football field for that size, both offensively and defensively. We are just trying to get him to where he is most comfortable. We started him at tailback because he is one of the faster kids, but then it became too easy for people to load the box because they know he is in the middle of the field and can set their game plan. We are trying to move him around. He has the skills to run, catch, block, and tackle. There are not many places he can’t play.

Q: What areas of his game is he continuing to work on?

STENSLAND: For him when he takes the next step it’ll be a speed and footwork thing, whether it as a tight end of linebacker. He is one of those kids that grew fast and he hasn’t gotten fully accustomed to his own body. There are times he looks a little out of place because he has so much body. He is still learning with what he has. Strength wise, he is ready for college, but his agility and speed are what he knows he needs to work on.

Q: How does he project out as a tight end in college?

STENSLAND: With the way schools are using hybrid tight ends, that is exactly what he can do. He can catch, has speed, and can put his hand down. It is really for those people to decide but schools like Notre Dame, Kansas State, and Nebraska have shown him interest there.

Q: How is he as a leader?

STENSLAND: He is probably one of the best leaders I’ve ever had and might be one of the best to go through Roland-Story. He is a leader in his church, and not just for youth. It is in the entire church. He is on the county board, which makes decision for the two cities and a school representative. As a junior, he is leader of the team in baseball, basketball, track, and football. He just does it in a humble way. He is not outspoken; he just is a great leader by example.

Q: What has been the level of attention from Iowa?

STENSLAND: It just increased after the offer in June. I know they are contacting him weekly with Coach Wallace and Coach Niemann. They are in contact sending lot of letters. They are building a great relationship over there.

Q: What prompted the offer from the Iowa coaches?

STENSLAND: They swung through in the spring and met him to take a look. During the summer, they drove over for a baseball game and watched him pitch. Then they sent the invite to camp. I wasn’t with him at camp, but it sounded like he performed well. Later that next week, they offered. It was a combination of all those things. They were also at stat track and watched him place there. They saw him playing three-sports and they like those multi-sport guys.

Q: Where are they looking at him position wise?

STENSLAND: I think the only thing they have expressed to us is outside linebacker. Coach Niemann is the lead recruiter and Coach Wallace is the position coach. But knowing Iowa, you never know. They turn them into all kinds of things. It wouldn’t surprise me, but right now he is on their radar as an outside linebacker.

Q: What is the current situation with Iowa State?

STENSLAND: He is still verbally committed.

Q: Outside of Iowa and Iowa State, what other schools are showing attention?

STENSLAND: For him, the schools that he could really consider in the picture or consider to visit would be the regional schools like K-State, Nebraska, and maybe Wisconsin. I don’t think he would look much further regionally than that.