The 5-foot-9, 173-pound Spielman, who gave an early commitment to Ohio State for lacrosse, now has football offers from Iowa and Michigan. He is the son of Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman and the nephew of former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman.
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Q: What all did you get to do at Iowa yesterday?
SPIELMAN: Well, me and my dad drove down there after getting recruited by Coach Wallace for a while now. When we got there, we checked in and then they took us on a little personal facility tour before they took everyone else. They have some amazing facilities. The weight room is amazing and all of the brand new stuff they just built is amazing. It's the best I've ever seen. It's better than the Vikings' and I thought the Vikings' was pretty impressive. After that, we watched a little pump up video and that was really cool. It gave me chills. Then we met with Coach Ferentz and that's when he offered.
Q: What were your thoughts on getting that offer?
SPIELMAN: It's big because Iowa is a great program. They've been good for a long time and have only had two head coaches in so many years, which means a lot. It means that the coaches are doing something right obviously. It's a big deal because I have a lot of friends that have gone to Iowa and I still have friends that are at Iowa right now just a couple years older than me like my neighbors go there and I know a couple other people that go there. In my city, there's a pretty big population of Hawkeye fans, so it means a lot. It's just exciting.
Q: Was that your first visit to Iowa?
SPIELMAN: Well, I've been there before, but it's my first time seeing the actual football facilities since they redid them. I just thought they were amazing. It almost blew me away. You always hear about all of these new facilities getting built and see pictures of them, but it really doesn't compare to seeing it in person.
Q: Position wise, they are offering you as just an athlete right? What position do you see yourself playing in college?
SPIELMAN: It depends. Some of the schools want me for offense as a slot receiver, but Iowa seemed to be more as a corner but they're not 100% sure yet. A lot of schools that I've been talking to also see me playing on punt and kick return on special teams.
Q: Now that you have football offers from Iowa and Michigan, what are your thoughts right now on football and lacrosse and your future?
SPIELMAN: My thoughts are pretty high with football right now. It's good to be getting offers from great academic schools. In case football doesn't work out, I'm set with a job that I can get coming out of college with a good degree. It's good to be getting offers from the Big Ten because the Big Ten has some of the best academic schools in the country.
Q: After Iowa and Michigan, what other schools are showing the most interest for football right now?
SPIELMAN: I'm headed to Nebraska next weekend. After that, I'm going to settle down for lacrosse season, but once that is over I'm going to pick it back up. I'll probably go and visit Penn State, but I still have to talk to my dad and arrange flights and stuff. Then since Minnesota is in-state, I was going to visit one of their spring practices and sit in the meetings and everything. Then in the summer, I'll probably hit a couple camps, visit some more colleges and hopefully pick up some more offers.
Q: Right now, you remain committed to Ohio State for lacrosse right?
SPIELMAN: Yeah.
Q: When will you kind of make a final decision on which sport to pursue?
SPIELMAN: Hopefully I can choose which sport I officially want to play in college by my football season in the fall. That way I have the whole summer to get as many options for football as I can. Then, if I like my options, I will stick with football in the fall and hopefully sign on signing day.
Q: You have a lot of ties to Ohio State obviously, but did you have any favorite football teams growing up?
SPIELMAN: I followed the Florida Gators growing up because I lived in Florida when I was younger. I'm actually a pretty big Gator fan, but from a Big Ten standpoint, I like a lot of the schools. My uncle's side all grew up with Ohio State, so they have some influence on my college preferences, but I like watching Nebraska, Iowa, and Louisville, Those are some of my favorite colleges to watch on TV.
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Video: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1462973/highlights/214436383/v2
Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/iowa/football/recruiting/player-JD-Spielman-171150
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Q: What all did you get to do at Iowa yesterday?
SPIELMAN: Well, me and my dad drove down there after getting recruited by Coach Wallace for a while now. When we got there, we checked in and then they took us on a little personal facility tour before they took everyone else. They have some amazing facilities. The weight room is amazing and all of the brand new stuff they just built is amazing. It's the best I've ever seen. It's better than the Vikings' and I thought the Vikings' was pretty impressive. After that, we watched a little pump up video and that was really cool. It gave me chills. Then we met with Coach Ferentz and that's when he offered.
Q: What were your thoughts on getting that offer?
SPIELMAN: It's big because Iowa is a great program. They've been good for a long time and have only had two head coaches in so many years, which means a lot. It means that the coaches are doing something right obviously. It's a big deal because I have a lot of friends that have gone to Iowa and I still have friends that are at Iowa right now just a couple years older than me like my neighbors go there and I know a couple other people that go there. In my city, there's a pretty big population of Hawkeye fans, so it means a lot. It's just exciting.
Q: Was that your first visit to Iowa?
SPIELMAN: Well, I've been there before, but it's my first time seeing the actual football facilities since they redid them. I just thought they were amazing. It almost blew me away. You always hear about all of these new facilities getting built and see pictures of them, but it really doesn't compare to seeing it in person.
Q: Position wise, they are offering you as just an athlete right? What position do you see yourself playing in college?
SPIELMAN: It depends. Some of the schools want me for offense as a slot receiver, but Iowa seemed to be more as a corner but they're not 100% sure yet. A lot of schools that I've been talking to also see me playing on punt and kick return on special teams.
Q: Now that you have football offers from Iowa and Michigan, what are your thoughts right now on football and lacrosse and your future?
SPIELMAN: My thoughts are pretty high with football right now. It's good to be getting offers from great academic schools. In case football doesn't work out, I'm set with a job that I can get coming out of college with a good degree. It's good to be getting offers from the Big Ten because the Big Ten has some of the best academic schools in the country.
Q: After Iowa and Michigan, what other schools are showing the most interest for football right now?
SPIELMAN: I'm headed to Nebraska next weekend. After that, I'm going to settle down for lacrosse season, but once that is over I'm going to pick it back up. I'll probably go and visit Penn State, but I still have to talk to my dad and arrange flights and stuff. Then since Minnesota is in-state, I was going to visit one of their spring practices and sit in the meetings and everything. Then in the summer, I'll probably hit a couple camps, visit some more colleges and hopefully pick up some more offers.
Q: Right now, you remain committed to Ohio State for lacrosse right?
SPIELMAN: Yeah.
Q: When will you kind of make a final decision on which sport to pursue?
SPIELMAN: Hopefully I can choose which sport I officially want to play in college by my football season in the fall. That way I have the whole summer to get as many options for football as I can. Then, if I like my options, I will stick with football in the fall and hopefully sign on signing day.
Q: You have a lot of ties to Ohio State obviously, but did you have any favorite football teams growing up?
SPIELMAN: I followed the Florida Gators growing up because I lived in Florida when I was younger. I'm actually a pretty big Gator fan, but from a Big Ten standpoint, I like a lot of the schools. My uncle's side all grew up with Ohio State, so they have some influence on my college preferences, but I like watching Nebraska, Iowa, and Louisville, Those are some of my favorite colleges to watch on TV.
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Video: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1462973/highlights/214436383/v2
Profile: http://sports.yahoo.com/iowa/football/recruiting/player-JD-Spielman-171150
