His overall dominance in multiple sports is something that has allowed Ankeny wide receiver Brody Brecht to stand out among his peers. We caught up with his head football coach, Rick Nelson, and talked to him about this soon to be Iowa signee.
Q: What type of season did he have this fall?
NELSON: We probably didn’t get the ball to him as much as we would have liked. Sometimes they doubled him, and we just had a lot of weapons. He ended up playing on defense and did an awesome job for us. He is such an unselfish kid. He never said two words about it. He was just a big impact because of who he is. Teams would game plan for him and that helped us a lot.
Q: How would you describe him overall as a football player?
NELSON: He started for us a freshman, so he is a four-year starter. That is pretty unusual. He is just a very gifted athlete. He works extremely hard. He is a pleasure to be around as he is always smiling. He has great ball skills. He has size, can run, and is just an outstanding young man.
Q: What areas is he going to continue working on as he prepares for the rest of this season and beyond?
NELSON: I think probably his flexibility. He is a strong kid, but I think flexibility is important for him. He is doing some yoga and will continue to do that. He will run track and is an unbelievable baseball player. I am excited to see how he will do this spring in track. He will have an outstanding year in the 200 and possibly the 100. He has such long legs that I could see him doing really well in the 200.
Q: Do you know where he sits with the MLB draft and the potential of that?
NELSON: He really loves football. I can’t speak for him, but his parents have said that they want him to go to college. If someone dangles a bunch of money in front of you, what do you do? That is a question to answer when it happens.
Q: How unique of an athlete is he at the high school level?
NELSON: When I grew up, there was a kid at Cedar Falls named (Mike) Flagg. He was all state in four sports and that sticks out. He was great at everything and played tight end at Iowa. That is the last kid I can remember. The last four years with him have gone by so fast. He is going to be fun to watch in the next few years.
Q: What separates him from his peers to get the type of attention and honors that he has received?
NELSON: I think with him, it is ball skills and athletic ability. He also can run.
Q: What type of season did he have this fall?
NELSON: We probably didn’t get the ball to him as much as we would have liked. Sometimes they doubled him, and we just had a lot of weapons. He ended up playing on defense and did an awesome job for us. He is such an unselfish kid. He never said two words about it. He was just a big impact because of who he is. Teams would game plan for him and that helped us a lot.
Q: How would you describe him overall as a football player?
NELSON: He started for us a freshman, so he is a four-year starter. That is pretty unusual. He is just a very gifted athlete. He works extremely hard. He is a pleasure to be around as he is always smiling. He has great ball skills. He has size, can run, and is just an outstanding young man.
Q: What areas is he going to continue working on as he prepares for the rest of this season and beyond?
NELSON: I think probably his flexibility. He is a strong kid, but I think flexibility is important for him. He is doing some yoga and will continue to do that. He will run track and is an unbelievable baseball player. I am excited to see how he will do this spring in track. He will have an outstanding year in the 200 and possibly the 100. He has such long legs that I could see him doing really well in the 200.
Q: Do you know where he sits with the MLB draft and the potential of that?
NELSON: He really loves football. I can’t speak for him, but his parents have said that they want him to go to college. If someone dangles a bunch of money in front of you, what do you do? That is a question to answer when it happens.
Q: How unique of an athlete is he at the high school level?
NELSON: When I grew up, there was a kid at Cedar Falls named (Mike) Flagg. He was all state in four sports and that sticks out. He was great at everything and played tight end at Iowa. That is the last kid I can remember. The last four years with him have gone by so fast. He is going to be fun to watch in the next few years.
Q: What separates him from his peers to get the type of attention and honors that he has received?
NELSON: I think with him, it is ball skills and athletic ability. He also can run.
