Although Ezekiel “Zeke” Gueths will be a Hawk for another season, he also will be a Husky in waiting.
The Shawano Community High School 6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive tackle this week verbally committed to play football for Northern Illinois University on a full-ride scholarship.
According to Shawano Community High School football coach Alan Tomow, Gueths’ stock rose during the basketball season when his solid frame piqued the interest of college recruits visiting the school.
Northern Illinois was also impressed with his performance in the classroom, where he has a 4.0 GPA, Tomow said.
“They saw great footwork and great potential athletic ability, and was a good college prospect given his size,” Tomow said. “He won them over with this character and his grades.”
Gueths weighed around 250 pounds during basketball season, but Tomow believes a visit from a University of North Dakota recruiter pushed him to work harder.
“He started to realize he could be a legitimate prospect and worked harder in the weight room and lifted more,” Tomow said, noting Gueths has added 15 pounds since.
Gueths said he knew in elementary school he wanted to play basketball for a Division 1 school.
“I told my parents I wanted to play Division 1 sports. I always thought it would be basketball, but God gave me the body of a football player, so I went with what I had,” Gueths said. “My parents (Jon and Wendy Gueths) spent countless hours running me places to work with coaches and trainers.”
Gueths attended several football camps, with stops at the University of Wisconsin, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Northwestern University from January through March. He came away with offers from Eastern Michigan, North Dakota and Northern Illinois.
Gueths felt an immediate connection to the Northern Illinois campus in DeKalb after discussing the program with Huskies’ head coach Rod Carey and offensive line coach Joe Tripodi.
“The biggest thing about NIU was that it just felt right,” Gueths said. “When I left campus after attending the camp, I just knew I belonged there. They have amazing coaches and great facilities as well as good academics.”
While he still has one year remaining at SCHS, he was not concerned about being distracted by offers from other schools during his senior season.
“I knew that if I waited longer or went to more camps, I could have earned a few more scholarships,” he said. “But I knew that NIU was the place, and I am happy with my decision.”
Gueths said he will continue to play basketball and participate in track and field for the Hawks.
“You only get to be a senior in high school once, so I’m just going to make the most of it.” Gueths said. “I’ll still be doing basketball and track. In fact, all the years of basketball are what has helped me with all the footwork in football.”
Gueths said Hawks basketball coach Chris Kellett assisted him and Tomow during the recruitment process.
“Neither of us knew much about the recruiting process, so we learned as we went with help from coach Kellett,” Gueths said.
Kellett noted Gueths exhibits tremendous lateral ability on the basketball court for a person of his size.
“Most people that size are not as quick as he is, and it helps laterally on the football field,” Kellett said. “He is generally one of the best I have ever coached. He works hard, on and off the court.”
