Class of 2017 defensive end Jacub Panasiuk watched his older brother, Mike, go through the recruiting process this past year and is now beginning it himself with lots of early interest. On Saturday, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Panasiuk had a chance to visit one of the schools in regular contact, the Iowa Hawkeyes. We caught up with the Illinois native to talk about the trip, the latest on his recruiting, and much more.
Q: Can you tell us about your visit to Iowa’s game on Saturday and what that experience was like?
PANASIUK: The game was amazing. I had a great experience and I really like the atmosphere there. They play tough football, old school football, and it’s hard hitting, so I liked it a lot.
Q: Had you been to Iowa before when your brother (Mike Panasiuk) was being recruited?
PANASIUK: Yeah, I went to Iowa once with my brother for a basketball game.
Q: Was this kind of the first recruiting visit there for you?
PANASIUK: Yeah, with Iowa, that was my first one.
Q: What did you take away from it? Did anything stand out?
PANASIUK: The facilities are just amazing there, which really stood out to me. Also, how they talk about the players there and how they build their teams, not just collect talent. They take walk-ons and turn them into starters. That made a big impression on me and made me realize how hard they’re working and how useful the facilities are there.
Q: How long has Iowa been showing you interest?
PANASIUK: It was right before the season they started sending me mail and sending me game invites.
Q: How did your junior season go this year?
PANASIUK: We didn’t make the playoffs, but personally for myself I think it went pretty well. I had a list of goals at the beginning of the season and I met most of them, so personally I think I did well. I got unanimous all-conference, which was one of my goals.
Q: Is it two offers you have right now?
PANASIUK: Yeah, Illinois and FAU.
Q: How big was the first offer for you?
PANASIUK: It was pretty big. It was during track season my sophomore year that I got my first offer from FAU. I just looked at it as being able to look at all the work I’ve put in the past four years and seeing it all pay off. It was good.
Q: Was the offer from Illinois more recently?
PANASIUK: Yeah, Illinois was about two or three weeks ago.
Q: Was that a big deal, getting your first Big Ten offer?
PANASIUK: Yeah, right now, the Big Ten is the powerhouse of college football, so it felt amazing getting a Big Ten offer.
Q: What is it like following your brother and getting to see him go through the recruiting process? What did you take away from his experiences?
PANASIUK: It helps me a lot since I’ve gone on visits with him beforehand. Also, playing with him, makes it even easier because he gets to teach me a lot of things. Like when he went to The Opening and came back, he brought back a lot of new moves and how to hand play better. It’s really good to have someone like that you can look up to and follow their footsteps.
Q: Has his school, Michigan State, shown you some interest I would imagine?
PANASIUK: Yeah, they’ve been contacting me. I think I’m going up there with him for the last game of the season.
Q: Who else is showing the most interest?
PANASIUK: The most interest would probably be Minnesota next. It’s most of the Big Ten really, but Minnesota has probably sent me the most.
Q: Are you pretty interesting in staying in the Big Ten area or not necessarily?
PANASIUK: I think, as of right now, it doesn’t matter. I just want to find the right coaching staff that I feel comfortable with, so it doesn’t really matter to me.
Q: If Michigan State ends up offering, would it be hard to say no? Or do you look at it like you have to find your own best fit?
PANASIUK: It would be a tough decision, but I think I’ll follow my own path and my own gut feeling and just go where I think is the best place for me.
See highlights from Panasiuk's junior year in the video below:
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2851579/highlights/285896397/v2
Q: Can you tell us about your visit to Iowa’s game on Saturday and what that experience was like?
PANASIUK: The game was amazing. I had a great experience and I really like the atmosphere there. They play tough football, old school football, and it’s hard hitting, so I liked it a lot.
Q: Had you been to Iowa before when your brother (Mike Panasiuk) was being recruited?
PANASIUK: Yeah, I went to Iowa once with my brother for a basketball game.
Q: Was this kind of the first recruiting visit there for you?
PANASIUK: Yeah, with Iowa, that was my first one.
Q: What did you take away from it? Did anything stand out?
PANASIUK: The facilities are just amazing there, which really stood out to me. Also, how they talk about the players there and how they build their teams, not just collect talent. They take walk-ons and turn them into starters. That made a big impression on me and made me realize how hard they’re working and how useful the facilities are there.
Q: How long has Iowa been showing you interest?
PANASIUK: It was right before the season they started sending me mail and sending me game invites.
Q: How did your junior season go this year?
PANASIUK: We didn’t make the playoffs, but personally for myself I think it went pretty well. I had a list of goals at the beginning of the season and I met most of them, so personally I think I did well. I got unanimous all-conference, which was one of my goals.
Q: Is it two offers you have right now?
PANASIUK: Yeah, Illinois and FAU.
Q: How big was the first offer for you?
PANASIUK: It was pretty big. It was during track season my sophomore year that I got my first offer from FAU. I just looked at it as being able to look at all the work I’ve put in the past four years and seeing it all pay off. It was good.
Q: Was the offer from Illinois more recently?
PANASIUK: Yeah, Illinois was about two or three weeks ago.
Q: Was that a big deal, getting your first Big Ten offer?
PANASIUK: Yeah, right now, the Big Ten is the powerhouse of college football, so it felt amazing getting a Big Ten offer.
Q: What is it like following your brother and getting to see him go through the recruiting process? What did you take away from his experiences?
PANASIUK: It helps me a lot since I’ve gone on visits with him beforehand. Also, playing with him, makes it even easier because he gets to teach me a lot of things. Like when he went to The Opening and came back, he brought back a lot of new moves and how to hand play better. It’s really good to have someone like that you can look up to and follow their footsteps.
Q: Has his school, Michigan State, shown you some interest I would imagine?
PANASIUK: Yeah, they’ve been contacting me. I think I’m going up there with him for the last game of the season.
Q: Who else is showing the most interest?
PANASIUK: The most interest would probably be Minnesota next. It’s most of the Big Ten really, but Minnesota has probably sent me the most.
Q: Are you pretty interesting in staying in the Big Ten area or not necessarily?
PANASIUK: I think, as of right now, it doesn’t matter. I just want to find the right coaching staff that I feel comfortable with, so it doesn’t really matter to me.
Q: If Michigan State ends up offering, would it be hard to say no? Or do you look at it like you have to find your own best fit?
PANASIUK: It would be a tough decision, but I think I’ll follow my own path and my own gut feeling and just go where I think is the best place for me.
See highlights from Panasiuk's junior year in the video below:
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2851579/highlights/285896397/v2
