Commitment Report: Nick Flaskamp – Minneapolis Southwest (2021)

If you were one of the reduced number of fans across the state who were able to take in a Minneapolis Southwest football game in 2020, it would have been impossible not to notice senior [player_tooltip player_id="18071" first="Nick" last="Flaskamp"]. The two-way player rarely came off the field. Next season, he will not be on the field nearly as much, but he will still be making plays in the Minneapolis area. As a team, the Lakers – who finished the season with a 7-3 record - played the season for the love of the game. "We weren’t sure we were going to get a season at all, so spirits were pretty low," Flaskamp said. "We got the go-ahead for the season, and that was a blessing. If they would have pushed it to the spring, I don’t think there would be any way we could have played with the weather and the fields. With nothing to lose and going to State wasn’t going to be a thing, we went out and had fun. That is what made this season so special. We were out there just doing what makes football so great – having fun with our guys. We ended up doing well. We had a couple of guys come out for the first time and became solid players for us." Flaskamp was the definition of a workhorse running back. "Every game, I would get anywhere from twenty-five to forty carries. That would open the deep ball for us. We had a first-year quarterback, and he could put the ball on the money when he needed to. We had a good offensive line, so we pounded it up the middle and then threw deep off play-action." Flaskamp made an impact on both sides of the ball. "Ever since I have been a freshman, we have been one of the top defenses in our section. We were good tacklers, and we didn’t have many weak spots or make many mistakes." In some ways, the senior had a season even better than he expected. "It was the best season I could have had. I knew I would have a big load on offense and was going to have to make a lot of plays on defense. I didn’t know if I was going to have the conditioning or the mental fortitude to carry that workload, but I trained hard, and every day I played my heart out and ended up being an impact player on offense and defense." Flaskamp is no scat-back. "I am not the type of guy who is going to make people miss. I am a one-cut, physical type of runner. I can break tackles and am hard to bring down. By the fourth quarter, people didn’t want to tackle me anymore." He not only led the team in rushing; he also led the team in tackles. "We switched our defense up a lot. I was always the strong-side middle linebacker. My job was to be the quarterback of the defense. I watched a lot of film." His senior year tested his conditioning. "I rarely came off the field. I think I came off the field on kick-off. It was tiring at times. Sometimes I couldn’t sprint 100 percent on defense because I just got done running the ball ten times on a drive. I ended up still making a lot of plays." He has been making plays on varsity for four years. "I didn’t start consistently my freshman year but have been starting since my freshman year. During my sophomore and junior year, I started every snap on defense, and I would play part-time at fullback. My senior year, I got pretty much every snap." Knowing football is his future, this offseason, he has focused on preparing for the next level. "Since fourth grade, I was a wrestler, but this year I have been lifting and going to a training center to work on my speed, cardio, and strength," Flaskamp said. "I am going to do track this spring. I have been running track since eighth grade. As a sophomore, I was on the 4X200 team that took 4th in State. This season, I plan on running sprints, the long jump, and maybe throwing the shot." In the fall, he will be playing linebacker for St. Thomas. "I need to work on my hands," Flaskamp admitted. "I have never really been involved in the passing game. My hands have come a long way. I also need to improve my flexibility." Recruiting started slowly for the small school star. "I think a lot of Minnesota guys get a bad rep – maybe not the 6A guys as much – but a lot of the lower-class guys who are talented but don’t end up with many offers," the 5’11" 210-pound linebacker said. "That was the case for me. I didn’t even have an offer until the end of my junior year. I got a couple of DIII offers. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play college football. Then I got an offer from Drake. I think that made some schools start looking at me. I think I was under-recruited – Power Five schools aren’t looking for a 5’11" linebacker. St. Thomas gave me a chance, and I knew that was going to be where I ended up once they offered me." Both coaching staff and athlete felt the Flaskamp/Tommies connection would be a nice fit. "I like the coaching staff, and they have a good business school," Flaskamp told prepredzonemn.com. "They liked me as a person – they didn’t just recruit me off my physical stature. They liked that I am a leader; they knew I would put the work in and was a good student. I think it was less about me physically and more about my heart and the off the field stuff." Give him a couple of years, and – like his senior season of high school football – Flaskamp will be hard to miss – on and off the field.