Recruiting Report: Nyle Dickel – Mpls Washburn (2021)
The Minneapolis Washburn Millers had their best regular season since the team won seven regular-season games in 2013. With the talent they have coming back, the Millers should be looking – not only for another good regular season – but…
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Continue ReadingThe Minneapolis Washburn Millers had their best regular season since the team won seven regular-season games in 2013. With the talent they have coming back, the Millers should be looking – not only for another good regular season – but a run in the post-season. One of those many starters coming back for one more run at it is Nyle Dickel Nyle Dickel LB Minneapolis Washburn | 2021 State MN .
“We had a pretty good year (in 2019),” Dickel said. “My class is strong, and last year was the first year we started to grow up and started to play together. I saw huge improvements. We had a 6-2 season and got a first-round bye in the playoffs. I am looking forward to this year because last year we only had four seniors and we will have over twenty this year. We should improve again, going into this year.”
The Millers’ success could be traced back to their defense, which pitched three shutouts.
“It all started on defense this year,” Dickel told prepredzone.com. “Teams didn’t score much against us. We held teams to under 100 yards rushing almost every game. On offense, we throw the ball a lot more than most teams in our conference, so a lot of teams aren’t used to playing against that. We have a good quarterback and some good receivers. We had a balanced offense that was hard to stop.”
Dickel was no stranger to the pressures of varsity football.
“This was my third year starting on varsity. I saw huge improvements from my sophomore year. It started in the offseason and the weight room. I started to take the offseason more seriously. I watched a lot of film. The biggest difference between my sophomore and junior years was I played the same position for two years. I knew the defense a lot better; I knew where my eyes should be. I didn’t have to think as much and could be more instinctual.”
Although he has a ton of experience, his role expanded in the fall and made him one of the most inexperienced members of the offense.
“It was my first year playing tight end,” the 6’3″ 215-pound athlete said. “I played a lot better than I thought I would with it being my first year. Some colleges I have been talking to talk about tight end even though I only did that for a year.”
Middle linebacker is Dickel’s primary position.
“I have played inside linebacker since sophomore year. I started at outside linebacker as a freshman. I think my strength is my drive. I play fast; I play hard the entire game. My defensive coordinator says you have to have controlled energy but still go one-hundred percent, that is the best thing you can do.”
He surprised himself and his coaches with how well he played at tight end.
“I excelled at outside zone blocking – we do a ton of that,” Dickel explained. “As the season wore on, my coach got more confidence in me at tight end and got me into the passing game too. I think my receptions will go up a ton next year.”
This offseason – the two-way player is focused on a specific area of his game.
“I have been doing a ton of hip mobility stuff. I haven’t always had the most fluent hips, so to be able to flip my hips has been super beneficial. I have been doing a bunch of stretches and working with my neighbor, a physical therapist, who has given me stuff to do for that. I have also been watching a ton of film.”
This winter, Dickel continued to work on his football skills, but his focus switched to basketball.
“I have been on the varsity basketball team for the last two years. We didn’t have basketball practice until later, so I could lift with the football team after school and go to basketball practice after that. I started most of the season at either shooting guard or small forward. I am a defensive guy. I usually play AAU, but with the virus, I decided to focus on football.”
While in the weight room, his workouts were like many high school football players.
“We focused on bench, clean and squat and being explosive with those lifts. We also focused on being explosive with plyometrics while focusing on the core.”
Once the virus changed everything, Dickel was able to keep some sort of workout routine going.
“I did some at-home – bodyweight workouts. I found an outdoor weight room that no one knew about, so I would go there with some guys and go over to an open field to do some footwork and conditioning.”
Although everyone is in a scheduled recruiting dead period right now, Dickel has and will continue to have plenty of college interest.
“I have a few DII offers. I have been talking to a ton of DII schools. I am expecting to get a few more offers this summer. I have six or seven camps I am going to try to make it out to. A few DI schools have started talking to me.”
He has offers from Southwest Minnesota State, Bemidji State, and the University of Mary. Sioux Falls, Central Missouri, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Northern State, Minnesota-Duluth, Holy Cross, and South Dakota State have also talked to the junior.
“Some schools see me as a tight end,” Dickel explained. “Some schools see me as a linebacker. Bemidji and Southwest Minnesota State have both said they would want me to try both positions and see where I fit in best.”
Before he makes those decisions, Dickel has one more run in him with a class of guys who seemed primed to make a run not seen at Washburn in nearly ten years.