Recruiting Report: Blake Walthall (Moorhead-2021)
Dating back to the days of Chase Morlock in the early 2010’s, the Moorhead Spuds have produced some of Northern Minnesota’s most hard-nosed football recruits of the past decade, and this upcoming c/o ’21 senior class is shaping up to be the…
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Continue ReadingDating back to the days of Chase Morlock in the early 2010’s, the Moorhead Spuds have produced some of Northern Minnesota’s most hard-nosed football recruits of the past decade, and this upcoming c/o ’21 senior class is shaping up to be the deepest Spud recruiting year of the past decade. One of the stats of this rising señor grade is wide receiver Blake Walthall, who along with his brother Brady, put up monster numbers for a Moorhead passing attack that took the Spuds into the state playoffs and will be one of the best in MN in 2020. The 6’1, 165 lber. caught 85 balls for 1,241 yards and 12 TDs and is poised to up those stats as a next fall.
Walthall.With his recruitment process taking a little to warm up, I would be amped if I was a coach that go to speak with Blake with where he is at currently in his recruiting. Walthall was kind enough to give Northstar Football News some of his time to speak about turning a Moorhead program around from a 2-8 year in 2018, his productivity last fall, what it’s like playing for Moorhead, and how his recruitment process is going. I hope you enjoy! Junior SZN Hudl
NFN: Hello and thank you for your time, Blake! Please start by telling us a little bit about yourself, some fun facts, what you like about playing football, and your stats/measurables.
Walthall: “I’m a junior I go to Moorhead High School. I’m from Moorhead, MN. I started playing football in 4th grade when I started flag football. Some fun facts about me is that I like hangin out with friends and goin to the lake in the summer. What I like about playing football is playing under the lights on Friday’s and to see a bunch of people to come out and support us. I’m 6’1, 165 lbs., 4.63 40-yard dash, bench 175, squat 255, and clean 170. Last season I had 85 catches for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns.”
NFN: Nice. Now get into Moorhead’s 2018 season for the team as well as yourself personally.
Walthall: “Our 2018 season was not obviously the way we wanted it we went 2-8 and had high expectations that year but unfortunately didn’t go they way we wanted it to. Some highlights of that season was the turn around in the playoffs we won our first round game and almost beat the best team in our section but fell short. But know one expected us to be past the first round. That season I learned you can’t take any games for granted. Personally I didn’t play much a couple snaps a game but just kind of got a feel of how it felt to be playing varsity football.”
NFN: How did that motivate you guys going into 2019? Also, how was your offseason and what do you love about playing in the Moorhead program?
Walthall: “Going into the 2019 football season I was expecting our team to be motivated and hungry due to last years season. The expectations for myself was to be one of the best receivers in the state. I wouldn’t say we have built of last season we were kinda going towards just a fresh start and to not even think about last season at all. My off season was a huge thing for me this summer. This summer my off season was planned on just going to the weight room everyday and improve on strength and speed. Sophomore year I wasn’t he biggest guy but heading into my junior year I gained 18 pounds and grew 2 inches which was a very good improvement for my body. What I did to better my game was in the off season I would go to our field and work on running routes with Trey and just get better at exploding off the line. What I love about the Moorhead program is that they will do what’s best for u and make you the best possible player that you can be and get to the highest level possible.”
NFN: No doubt. What are some things that you think make you a good WR and and one of the top recruits in the state for the class of 2021?
Walthall: “Some things that make me a good WR is that I am a good route runner and good at creating space in my routes. What makes me a top recruit in 2021 is that I believe I’m the best route runner in the state and at creating space and i have quick feet. I believed it showed this year and I’ve got much more to prove next fall.”
NFN: Awesome. Now give us some details about the 2019 season. Who’d you play? What were some big games?
Walthall: “Our first game at Rogers and was a big game; I was excited and nervous at the same time. This game I thought was the turing point for our team and to let everyone know that we’re back. Rogers was one my biggest games I had 185yards, 8 Receptions and 2 touchdowns we ended up winning that game 36 to 28. My second career game we played Alexandria we knew they were good coming in and they had a lot of players that came back from last year our team did not play well both sides of the ball. I had 6 for 86 and 1 touchdown lost 35-13. Our 3rd game we played Delano they were a good and it ended up to be a good game we took the lead with a touchdown with like 1min left and they ended up having a huge play and beat us by 7. I had 6 for 76 and 1 touchdown. Our 4th the game of the season we played at Brainerd.
Walthall with the Tuddy.We haven’t beat Brainerd In 27 years at their place. So we were super excited to play this game. This was one of my fav. games of the year by far. I had 8 for 117 It was a back and forth game and we played really well in the 2nd half we were down 12-0 in the first half and came back and won. Our 5th game of the season we played Sartell we ended up winning 21-14. That was a grind out game thru out. I had 10 for 121. Our 6th the game of the season we played Sauk and they beat us last year so we knew they were coming in ready. But we destroyed them throughout the game and won 34-0 I had 6 for 83 and a touchdown. Our 7th game of the season we played St. Cloud Tech. We went up 17-0 in the first half but then fell apart in the second half and lost 24-17 I had 4 for 53. And our final game of the regular season we played Bemidji a super huge road game and came out with a win it was a defensive battle and we won 17-6. I had 4 for 72 and a touchdown.”
NFN: Thank you! How about the playoffs?
Walthall: “Our first game of the playoffs we played Apollo and we got the 3 seed and they were the 6. This was a game that we were defiantly ready for and we came to play both sides of the ball. We won 49-6 and I had 3 for 49 and a touchdown(Didn’t play the second half) and our 2nd playoff game was my favorite by far not even close. We played Alexandria and we knew coming in they were confident because they beat us 35-13 first game. But we knew we were a complete different team now and ready to go. This was a all offensive game. Winner plays in the section ‘ship. This game was electric on both offenses it was back and forth the whole game we would score then they would answer we would go up 2 touchdowns they would come back and score 2 of their own touchdowns. We were down 1 touchdown at half but game out fast and scored with in the first min of the 3 quarter. Then again back and forth. But we had the ball last and ended up winning the game. This was my best game statistically-wise I had 16 receptions for 256 yards and 4 touchdowns. Section championship we played Bemidji and they were hungry for us becasue we beat them the first meeting. This was a fun game That was in the snow and a tone of people. We scored first up 7-0 them before half scored again 14-0 they came out and scored right away 14-7 we knew they were not going away forth quarter starts and we got stopped on the 1-yard line and couldn’t punch it in on 4 and goal they got the ball back and scored 14-14 we came down with about 2min left and scored then got a game winning pick. First time we have won the section ‘ship since 2016. First round of State we played a really good Elk River team all they do is run and are the best in the state. This game was similar to the Alex game and both offenses were going at it. They got a good lead right away up by 2 touchdowns and they ended up being up by 11 at the end of half. Start of the 3rd quarter we scored and we’re only down 7 they came back again and scored. Then we drove 80 yards and scored got a turnover and tied it up. In the 4th quarter with like 2 min left we got the ball back with a chance to take the lead and drove 99 yards where I scored the go ahead touchdown with 12 seconds left. But then last play of the game they got a miracle last second score and we lost and our season was done. Our season was a lot better then people were expecting. Many had Alex or Bemidji to win the section so we felt proud of our season.”
NFN: That game as no doubts nuts. Where are you in your recruitment, Blake? Who are some teams/divisions you’re interested in?
Walthall: “Not sure what teams im interested in yet. I want and considering D1 football somewhere I have gotten contact by other schools. This summer I’m going to a lot of college camps this summer. What I’m looking for in a college is to make you the best college football player u can possibly be and be the best student athlete possible.”
Stay tuned to see where the ’21 wideout ends up on NFN’s upcoming class of 2021 rankings, and keep your eyes out for the rising seniors crazy stats in 2020!