Petersen goes on the record about Iowa State commitment
The fastest-rising Class of 2018 recruit in the state of Iowa will be a Cyclone after making the announcement via social media tonight.
North Scott senior Zach Petersen made his decision after taking his third and final official visit of the recruiting process to Kansas State over the weekend. He had also visited Iowa State and Illinois earlier this month. In addition to his three officials, Petersen had taken unofficial visits to offer schools Iowa and Nebraska.
“My mom and I were on our way from the Kansas State official visit,” said Petersen, whose father Troy was a two-time All-Big 8 defensive lineman for the Cyclones between 1991 and 1994.
“We were talking about every school and looking more and more at each one. I thought more about it and Iowa State seemed more like a good fit. We were on I-35 going towards Des Moines and decided to go through Ames and drive around because we had some time. It hit me and felt right. My heart was there. It’s one of those good feelings you get. That’s when I decided that’s where I’d like to be.”
The high school senior called the coaching staff with the news earlier in the evening, prior to his announcement on Twitter.
“They were really happy that I was going to be signing to play for them,” Petersen said.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Petersen said a number of areas stood out when he evaluated the ISU program.
“It was just the overall feeling towards the coaches,” he said. “I loved their energy, how they coached and their passion. The other big thing was my comfort level with the players. I could see myself walking around that campus as a student. I felt I could be a part of that.”
Perhaps ISU’s final pitch to Petersen came last Friday, and it didn’t really involve much communication between he and the coaching staff. Head coach Matt Campbell and assistant Tyson Veidt watched Petersen compete on the wrestling mat in the Battle of Waterloo wrestling tournament.
“It means a lot when the coaches come out to see me wrestle,” he said. “It felt really good that they’re taking time out of their day to watch me in a wrestling match. I did really well the day they came to watch me wrestle and wasn’t out on the mat all that long, but it was still nice to know they were there.”
Petersen, a three-star recruit with a 5.5 Rivals rating, also delved into his late development into one of the state’s top football recruits for 2018.
“I think the biggest thing for me was getting a little bit bigger and faster, plus gaining more strength,” the state’s fourth-ranked recruit said. “I also gained some confidence to do what I was doing and knowing what I could do.”
With the Monday night commitment from Petersen, I-State is now up to 18 known verbals for the 2018 class.
