Recruiting Report: Christian Koenig – Hill-Murray (2023)
When you play for a school in Class AAAA or higher, not many guys have the chance to play varsity football as a ninth-grader. Rarer still is a freshman playing in the trenches. That was precisely the opportunity Hill-Murray’s Christian…
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Continue ReadingWhen you play for a school in Class AAAA or higher, not many guys have the chance to play varsity football as a ninth-grader. Rarer still is a freshman playing in the trenches. That was precisely the opportunity Hill-Murray’s Christian Koenig Christian Koenig 6'5" | 230 lbs | DL East Ride | 2023 MN had when the 2019 season opened. Although his season was cut short by injury, the soon to be sophomore is ready to contribute in a big way on a team he feels can do big things in 2020.
“Last year’s Pioneer team was young and talented, but we had a few injuries,” Koenig said. “With several players playing both ways on our team, the larger schools in our conference could outlast us. We ultimately ended up with a 3-7 record with a few of the losses being close until the end.”
One of those injuries was to Koenig.
“I was overly excited when I made the varsity squad as a 9th grader to see what I could do,” Koenig said. “Unfortunately, I had an injury to my ACL incredibly early in the season.”
Koenig’s rehab started as soon as possible.
“I was able to focus on recovery, strength training, and getting myself set up for the best possible sophomore season.”
Now recovered from his injury, Koenig’s training has ramped up.
“I recently started working out three times per week with professional strongman, Ulice Payne lll, who recently competed in the Arnold Classic strongman event. We have been working on movements and lifts like deadlift, tire flips, heavy squats, log presses, reverse hypers, power cleans, grip training, that will correlate very well to the gridiron.”
The sophomore hopes to play both ways in the fall.
“My main position is defensive end,” the 6’4″ 230-pound athlete said. “My explosiveness out of my stance is quick. I find that I can dip around the edge, bull-rush, or take the outside route, and I always find myself in the backfield. I am an efficient pass rusher, and I continue to pick up moves that work for me based on the opposition.”
“On the offensive side of the ball, I am a strong run blocker, and I am working on perfecting my technique,” Koenig continued. “I was previously an average pass blocker and mostly relied on size and strength. I have been working on my pass set and punch. I believe I am now at approaching an elite level by taking full advantage of the weight room at my school to improve my strength. I believe I will have an advantage this year in the weight room and will be able to overpower many players. I know this season I will be able to contribute to my team and put opponents on the ground.”
Prepredzone.com’s 12th ranked player in the 2023 class feels he – and his team – will be ready once opening day hits.
“I expect the opportunity to play both ways this season. Even though we are a smaller school, we will be able to punch well above our weight against the much larger schools in our conference. This team is extremely motivated, and we are coming out on Friday nights to win. We are hungry, and I expect Coach (Rob) Reeves will lead us to a successful season. I feel that our offensive line will be solid and can support a team full of speedy skill position players.”
Obviously, with his age and lack of playing time, Koenig is not on many colleges’ radars – yet. To combat that, Koenig has taken to social media to show colleges where he is at with his training – with some impressive results. Supremely confident in his ability, if Koenig stays healthy, there is no telling what the ceiling is for this talented athlete.