Bold North Recruiting Report: Connor Twidwell/Breckenridge (2021)

<strong>BRECKENRIDGE-- </strong>Our next recruiting report comes from Cowboy Country, Breckenridge, Minnesota a town on the North Dakota border, home of the Cowboys. NFN caught up with 2021 linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18100" first="Connor" last="Twidwell"]</strong> about his most recent season, and much more. <strong>Get to Know [player_tooltip player_id="18100" first="Connor" last="Twidwell"]</strong> Twidwell is a three-sport athlete, playing football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. Twidwell has always been on the defensive side of the ball as he started as a defensive lineman and outside linebacker as a sophomore with the Cowboys. During his junior season, Twidwell had a position change to inside linebacker. After a few weeks of playing the position, he got comfortable where he was with his recent position change. Connor has a "team-first" mentality, as he told NFN he will do whatever it takes to make his team successful. "That may mean moving into a position I don’t know as well or telling my teammates to get into the weight room" as Twidwell would lead his Cowboy’s teammates to get better each offseason. The biggest strength Twidwell possesses is his "never back down" attitude, regardless of how big, tall, or stronger any of his opponents are. "I am willing to push through the pain and keep going no matter what the situation is, whether we may be winning by 30 or losing by 30 I refuse to give up," Twidwell told NFN about the way his football brain works on the field. Twidwell also is an agile player that has wheels, as he has zero problems dropping back into coverage of a wide receiver or getting in the backfield to get after the quarterback. <strong>Favorites About Linebacker</strong> The thing I’ve been told when interviewing linebackers is they have a "take charge" attitude about their defense, which in my opinion would be a true statement. Twidwell plays with that same take-charge attitude I just referenced on the defensive side of the ball. The importance of the linebacker position has taught Connor how crucial some of the plays he can make in the game are. <strong>College Interest/Elevator Pitch</strong> Twidwell says he plans on playing college football shortly and has already gotten some love from coaches for junior day invites. Twidwell started his recruiting last fall when he took a gameday invite to Grand Forks to check out North Dakota. As for his pitch to college coaches, Twidwell said: <strong>My pitch to a college coach is that I’m </strong><strong>a guy who is going to be a team player, I have a good work ethic, and am very versatile because of my size and athletic ability. I can be moved to multiple different positions and can learn very quickly. I am also good academically with a 3.72 GPA. 2019-2020 All-District academic team.</strong> <strong>Work Ons this Offseason </strong> The Cowboys coaching staff told Twidwell this offseason that strength and endurance had to be his bread and butter to work on this offseason. Last season, Twidwell had a hand injury but is now getting back in the weight room 5 days a week and running hard to help increase his endurance. <strong>Connor’s Mentor</strong> His mentors in football are his parents and Breckenridge head coach <strong>Chad Fredricksen</strong>. His parents have been key in his football life for keeping good track of his visits, junior day invites, and upcoming football camps he plans to attend. As for Cowboys head coach <strong>Chad Fredricksen</strong>, he’s been key to Twidwell in helping him get noticed by coaches in the college ranks by working with the contacts he has. "He is always willing to give up his time to help out with anything my teammates and I may need," Twidwell had to say about his coaching mentor on the football field. <strong>Learning About Yourself as Player from 2019</strong> In a world where we are told to believe, Twidwell took the ability to believe to heart when looking back on his 2019 season. Twidwell overcame the discomfort of his hand injury, and continued to believe and play hard. Twidwell had to play with a club after his hand injury, and still was an all-conference player and winner of the Jim Bock Award, for the best defensive player on the Cowboys. He learned about leadership and how important it is to stick together in tough times and to make sure every one of the Cowboy’s players understands the goal in mind. "Hard work pays off, but doesn’t come easy," Twidwell said in one of his final quotes to NFN about learning from his junior season. Endurance, speed, and strength are Twidwell’s work ons this offseason and if he can continue to perform at a high level, he can be a great college prospect out of the Breckenridge Cowboys football program. You can watch Twidwell make some tough guy tackles in his junior film which is <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2CL4qh"><strong>here</strong></a>.