Here's our Q&A with Mark Kallenberger
rvls.co/Kallenb
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Bettendorf offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger says that he has grown up dreaming of playing football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Now, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Kallenberger has that opportunity as the Iowa coaching staff extended a scholarship offer to the Class of 2017 prospect at their junior day today. Shortly afterwards, we caught up with Kallenberger to talk about the news, what it means to his recruiting, and much more.
Q: First, can you kind of take us through your day at Iowa today?
KALLENBERGER: Well, we showed up at the Hansen football facility and had lunch there, a barbeque. Then, one of the coaches told me that when they take everyone on the tour of the facilities to just stay there and wait because Coach Ferentz had to talk to me.
So when they took everyone on the tour, we waited and me, my mom, and my dad went into Coach Ferentz’s office. He ended up talking to us for about 30 minutes and at the end he offered me a scholarship. That was probably the most exciting part of the day.
Q: Stopping there for a moment, what was your reaction to hearing that news?
KALLENBERGER: I was pretty happy. It’s just one of those things where I’m an Iowa kid and I’ve always wanted to play for Iowa. I’ve always been a fan of Iowa. Just being given the opportunity to play there, it’s awesome. It’s just a great feeling.
I won’t make a decision yet though. I really want to wait and just check out more academic wise of the school and take another visit of the campus and go visit some other schools before I make my final decision.
Q: Then, going back to your visit, what was the rest of the day like?
KALLENBERGER: We went into their film room and one of the guys made a highlight. It had all of the best plays from the season, so it got us kind of pumped up. Then, after we watched that, we got a bus over to Carver-Hawkeye Arena and watched the basketball game. That was pretty much it.
Q: Going back to the fall, I know they had asked you to stay patient and wait for January. What was the feeling like today when you headed home knowing it all worked out like they said it would?
KALLENBERGER: It felt really good. The last Iowa visit I was on, both Coach Ferentz and Coach Morgan just kept repeating, “January, January, January.” Then today, when I talked to Coach Morgan before I got the offer, he goes, “Hey Mark, remember when we talked about January? Well, it’s January now.” Then, not long after that, I got the offer.
Q: What was it about January?
KALLENBERGER: Well, what they were telling me was they really wanted to focus on the end of their season and everything they were playing for. Also, Coach Ferentz said they like to take their time with things. They don’t just hand out offers. They like to do some research on the kids they offer, not only if they are good players, but good kids too and everything.
Q: What’s next for you recruiting wise? You said you want to get back to Iowa sometime and take some other visits too?
KALLENBERGER: Yeah, my mom really wants to go and take a trip up to Iowa City just to look at the campus and what all they have to offer there. I was going to go to Nebraska on January 23 for their junior day, but I have a basketball game at United Township, so I won’t be able to make it then. But on January 30, I’m going to visit Minnesota. That’s pretty much it for right now.
Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Iowa in 2017, Mark Kallenberger currently holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Eastern Michigan.
See the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Kallenberger in action his junior year in the video highlights below.
rvls.co/Kallenb
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Bettendorf offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger says that he has grown up dreaming of playing football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Now, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Kallenberger has that opportunity as the Iowa coaching staff extended a scholarship offer to the Class of 2017 prospect at their junior day today. Shortly afterwards, we caught up with Kallenberger to talk about the news, what it means to his recruiting, and much more.
Q: First, can you kind of take us through your day at Iowa today?
KALLENBERGER: Well, we showed up at the Hansen football facility and had lunch there, a barbeque. Then, one of the coaches told me that when they take everyone on the tour of the facilities to just stay there and wait because Coach Ferentz had to talk to me.
So when they took everyone on the tour, we waited and me, my mom, and my dad went into Coach Ferentz’s office. He ended up talking to us for about 30 minutes and at the end he offered me a scholarship. That was probably the most exciting part of the day.
Q: Stopping there for a moment, what was your reaction to hearing that news?
KALLENBERGER: I was pretty happy. It’s just one of those things where I’m an Iowa kid and I’ve always wanted to play for Iowa. I’ve always been a fan of Iowa. Just being given the opportunity to play there, it’s awesome. It’s just a great feeling.
I won’t make a decision yet though. I really want to wait and just check out more academic wise of the school and take another visit of the campus and go visit some other schools before I make my final decision.
Q: Then, going back to your visit, what was the rest of the day like?
KALLENBERGER: We went into their film room and one of the guys made a highlight. It had all of the best plays from the season, so it got us kind of pumped up. Then, after we watched that, we got a bus over to Carver-Hawkeye Arena and watched the basketball game. That was pretty much it.
Q: Going back to the fall, I know they had asked you to stay patient and wait for January. What was the feeling like today when you headed home knowing it all worked out like they said it would?
KALLENBERGER: It felt really good. The last Iowa visit I was on, both Coach Ferentz and Coach Morgan just kept repeating, “January, January, January.” Then today, when I talked to Coach Morgan before I got the offer, he goes, “Hey Mark, remember when we talked about January? Well, it’s January now.” Then, not long after that, I got the offer.
Q: What was it about January?
KALLENBERGER: Well, what they were telling me was they really wanted to focus on the end of their season and everything they were playing for. Also, Coach Ferentz said they like to take their time with things. They don’t just hand out offers. They like to do some research on the kids they offer, not only if they are good players, but good kids too and everything.
Q: What’s next for you recruiting wise? You said you want to get back to Iowa sometime and take some other visits too?
KALLENBERGER: Yeah, my mom really wants to go and take a trip up to Iowa City just to look at the campus and what all they have to offer there. I was going to go to Nebraska on January 23 for their junior day, but I have a basketball game at United Township, so I won’t be able to make it then. But on January 30, I’m going to visit Minnesota. That’s pretty much it for right now.
Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Iowa in 2017, Mark Kallenberger currently holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Eastern Michigan.
See the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Kallenberger in action his junior year in the video highlights below.
