Recruiting Report: Bill Ketola (Mounds View-2021)

Finding 6'4, 300+ pounders to play high school football is by no means easy. Finding 6'4 300+ pounders who are athletic enough to play on the Oline for a high school football team is even harder. But finding 6'4, 320 lb. lineman who can move like a linebacker - and can hit you like one to boot - are something you really don't come across very often. However, I was fortunate enough this season to get to see Mounds View 2021 grad, captain, and mauler William (Bill) Ketola in action in the 6A state quarterfinals against Lakeville South at Eden Prairie high school this past fall. Big #70 is something to see, as the versatile and athletic lineman can make any block asked of him, and lays people into the ground so often you would think he's a gravedigger. If you don't believe me, peep his <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Cufhg">2019 playoff Hudl.</a> [caption id="attachment_17581" align="aligncenter" width="300"] #70[/caption] With his size, quickness, tenacity, team competitiveness, and grades all looking more than impressive, I'm surprised Ketola hasn't earned himself a scholarship offer going into his senior season next fall. I was lucky enough however to talk to the current junior about Mounds View's playoff run in 2019, blocking for recent South Dakota QB commit </a>, what he could offer to a college program, and more here at Northstar Football News. I hope you enjoy! <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CuYgH">2019 junior regular season</a> NFN: Hello and thank you for your time, Bill. Please begin by telling us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, what you love about football, and any relevant measurables! Ketola: “I'm from New Brighton, and I started playing football in third grade when we went undefeated and won the championship. I'm a Boy Scout, and I did my eagle project over the summer, and I just filed my application for eagle. I play three different concert band instruments as well as piano. My favorite part of football is the team environment, which you can't really get with any other sport. There's just something about being on the same team with people that binds you together like nothing else and I love that. I'm 6'4” 320 lbs, 5.9 40, 315 bench, 250 power clean, 455X5 reps squat.” NFN: Love it. Now tell us a little bit about your sophomore season in 2018. What were some highlights and lowlights and how was your year personally? Ketola: “2018 was my sophomore year, and I started with the sophomore team but suited up for all the varsity games. My personal highlight would be our game against Stillwater which was the first varsity game I played in. Our lowlight for varsity would be our game against Cretin, where we got blown out by 30+ at home. I played in three games before I tore a ligament in my hand and had to have surgery. The biggest thing I took away from that year was the work ethic that the seniors had, which inspired me to work even harder during the off-season.” NFN: Nice. So how was Mounds View's offseason? And what were expectations like coming into the season? Ketola: “This season our big goal was to play in US Bank, but our other goals were to do community service and just to be great people. In the off-season the work everybody put in was crazy. We also did a bunch off team activities that involved both juniors and seniors in order to get to know each other and get a team environment before the season. The weight room was completely packed everyday, and the energy we had leading up to the season was crazy. We set a record for the number of guys in both our 225 and 250 lb clean clubs, and I made our 1,000 lb club right before the season which had been my goal all offseason.” NFN: What was it like qualifying for state playoffs and blocking for one of the Metro's top gunslingers in </a>? Ketola: “It was crazy making it to state because I started to realize the way our team worked together. It wasn't any one player who got us there, it was our whole family working together to accomplish our goals, and it was almost surreal to experience. Every player on both sides of the ball was amazing at what they do, and Cole fit right into that. You could always trust the guys around you to pick you up, which made it easier to just go out and play instead of overthinking everything. At the end of the season we started to mesh so well, especially on the OLine. It was great!” NFN: Sounds great. Now get into the ‘19 regular season a bit. Who'd y'all play? What did your record come out to? And what were some big games? Ketola: “The first eight games we went 6-2. We beat Burnsville, White Bear, Woodbury, Minnetonka, Cretin, and Roseville. We lost to Stillwater and East Ridge, both by one point. Our biggest game from an emotional standpoint would be Minnetonka. We got the ball on our own 2 yard line with 1:56 to go down by two points with no timeouts. We drove 96 yards to kick the game winner, and it was amazing. The game against Cretin was also big, because we were coming off our first loss against Stillwater and they had just lost their first, so it essentially sensed like the conference championship. We won a close game the was super physical all night, so it was a great feeling to win. Our lowlight for the season would be halftime of the White Bear game and the Stillwater game. The first half of White Bear our entire offense really struggled as a unit, and we went into halftime 0-0. We were very grateful that the defense kept it close, and it was very quiet. We talked about a lot of changes and stuff to do, and a couple of the captains said some stuff to get us going, we ended up scoring 24 in the second half to win. Stillwater was tough because we had two field goals blocked and we ended up in overtime, where we lost by one point. It was a slap in the face, because we were 4-0 at that point and they were 0-4. It was our homecoming game and we were all way to overconfident and never really even considered that fact we might lose. It was definitely a wake up call and I think it helped us later in the year.” NFN: Nice. Now how about sections? How did you guys play and do you think that affected the state quarterfinal vs. Lakeville South? Ketola: “We won the two section games in huge blowouts, and it felt great, but we didn't get super overconfident like we had been earlier, everybody stayed grounded and took both games seriously. State was an amazing experience, and the score doesn't represent the game very well. We were in that game until the end, and everybody stayed engaged, no one gave up. It was great, but the end of the season was very emotional and hard to deal with. It was hard to realize that I would never get to play with that group of guys again, because the bond we all had with each other as brothers was special.” NFN: I agree, you guys really were in that game. So how about recruiting? Who are some teams you're interested in? And whose been in contact? Also, what are you looking for in a college? Ketola: “The two schools at the top of my list are Madison, and NDSU, but those are ideal scenarios, I'm definitely open to playing anywhere that wants me, I know they're super selective. My focus would be D1 or D2, but anywhere with a good culture that wants me is fine by me. So far I was contacted by Bethel and Concordia and I filled out questionnaires for both of them. I made highlights on Hudl, and I made my twitter account recently after talking to </a> about his recruiting process and he told me it was pretty important. The things I want in a college are a school with a strong academic program in addition to their athletics, I know that there is a whole lot of my life after football ends and I want to make sure I'm prepared for it. For football, I want a school that has a good culture and team mentality that works hard, I've been on teams before that didn't have it and it's not fun.” NFN: Perfect. What do you think you can add to a college program as a player? Ketola: “Any program that gets me will get a dedicated guy who works hard every rep every day. I give it everything I got because it's a team sports and I can't let my teammates down. As a player I bring size and physicality, and the mindset of doing my job every play until the whistle. You never know which play could be the one where holding your block a half second longer springs touch down.” Ketola is one of my sleepers on the oline for the c/o 2021, and I'm excited to see his dominance in 2020. Stay posted and thanks for reading!