Recruiting Report: Zach Yeager (2021)
Transferring to a new high school after your freshman year is not easy for anybody. Transferring from a 6A to a AA school where you are to play quarterback is no small task either. Add in an extra 15-mile drive…
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Continue ReadingTransferring to a new high school after your freshman year is not easy for anybody. Transferring from a 6A to a AA school where you are to play quarterback is no small task either. Add in an extra 15-mile drive down Highway 252 every morning and you would find yourself in the shoes of 2021 Minneapolis North quarterback Zach Yeager. The then sophomore did more than exceed expectations for a first-year transfer, much less an underclassman. Yeager led the Polars to an 11-1 record in his first year at the helm that took them deep into U.S. Bank Stadium and the MSHSL state football tournament. Although the highly touted Polars lost to Barnesville in the state semifinals, Yeager showed that he has more than enough talent to take over the reins for the perennial A/AA title contenders and arguably the best team in Minneapolis. The Champlain product also learned some unexpected yet beneficial life lessons that many Minnesotan’s can learn from as well. The future is looking bright for the 6’1 190 lb gunslinger, but as he told me in an interview a couple days ago, it wasn’t easy at first.
As previously mentioned, 2018 was Yeager’s “first year playing for the Polars, so the first 2-3 games of the season I was still learning the offense and was focusing on getting myself ready to lead the team.” Despite the learning curve, Coach Charles “OA” Adams’ already implemented culture set the precedent from day one of what the ultimate goal of the team is: “throughout the whole season we all know that our end goal was to win a State Championship” Yeager told me. Despite the adjustment both athletically and socially being a big one, Yeager stated that “it was an easy transition for me personally. North is a very welcoming community despite all of the negative stereotypes that are put on the area.” I find this statement to be accurate, North Minneapolis is no different than any other Minnesotan community, and just like other Minnesotan high school with surrounding neighborhoods, North want to win. As Yeager said himself, “what makes the Polars so successful is that we have people that want to win and we all want to bring home that state championship for our city and our community…I think even though we have a small school at North, we have one of the biggest support systems. When you get back to school on the Monday following a Friday night game, the whole school is talking about it and knows what happened in the game.” North hasn’t always had this type of success and support however. The foundation had been set before Yeager arrived at 1500 James Ave North by Charles Adams, who Yeager thinks “deserves a lot of credit for the team’s success, he is a great coach and he knows how to get the best out of each and every student-athlete. North Minneapolis has TONS of great athletes, and Coach Adams is really good at turning those athletes into great football players and great people. With this foundation in place, Yeager and the Polars have been dominating. With a 62.3% (129/207) completion percentage, while throwing for 2,007 yards and 24 TDs compared to just 3 interceptions, Yeager has been a commanding presence in the Twin City-Red subdistrict. With a great arm that is particularly accurate on the move, Yeager displays poise and confidence when throwing the football. When he steps up in the pocket, his arm strength and accuracy allow him to throw into just about any window he is going to see in high school. He also takes being a leader for the Polars very seriously. He told me that “being a leader at North is a big role. You have to constantly be on people about doing the right thing all the time and you also have to set a good example for everyone.” He went on to say that “I think a leader is someone who everyone on the team looks up to and is also very reliable.” Adding all of this to his natural athleticism that makes him hard to bring down in the pocket or on the run, and we have one of the most complete quarterbacks Minneapolis has seen since Division 3 All-Region selection for Augsburg University and Minneapolis Southwest graduate Ayrton Scott.
Credit: Zach Yeager Credit: Zach Yeager
With the necessary tools in place for the 6’1 gunslinger, this upcoming season will prove important for Yeager and his recruiting. He discussed with me how his offseason has been great and how working with Tyrone Carter at TC Elite has really “improved my game, especially with him playing DB in the NFL, it really helps me play quarterback from a DBs point of view.” Those workouts, plus daily two-hour sessions of routes and 1on1s keep “my arm in midseason shape and make(s) sure we’re ready on game day.” Additionally, Yeager shared some insightful information about the details of his offseason: “Other parts that I’m working on is stuff like being accurate and speed. I wasn’t a huge runner last year except for in a couple of games. I want to be able to outrun DBs in the open field this year so I’ve been focusing on getting quicker and faster. Another thing I’m working on is pocket presence and maneuvering within the pocket. Lots of teams have seen me throw on the run but I want to show that I can also throw from inside the pocket and be dangerous in many ways. When I watch film from last year I see that I need to work on getting the ball out faster and work on my anticipation.” If he improves in these areas, Yeager’s dream of playing in college, as well as his hope to get his first offer this season could come soon. Yeager declared to me that “what I’m looking for in a college is a place that feels like home to me and wants to help me get to the next level which would be the NFL. Colleges that I’ve been hearing from are the University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, and South Dakota” He’s been hearing a lot from Coach Brookins (former Tartan grad) at UNI as well as Coach Gordan at Iowa State, but “most of the schools asked me to come to their camp and they have told me that they’ll be back at North to talk to me when I’m officially a junior on September 1st.” So far, they’ve all been by North to talk to Coach Adams about him, and Yeager should be expecting a few more visits come September, especially after camp visits at Iowa State, UNI, and the Gophers mega camp. With how Yeager has exceeded expectations so far in his career, there’s no telling what he could do at the D1 level.