Sudfeld ready to focus on recruitment
For Arizona quarterback commit Nathan Sudfeld, his final high school season at Modesto (Calif.) Modesto Christian didn't have the ending he would have hoped for. The three-star prospect had to watch his team's final game of the season from the sidelines after being taken out for precautionary reasons after sustaining a knee injury.
Even though Sudfeld didn't go out on the high note that he wanted, it doesn't diminish the impressive season the 6-foot-5 recruit had for the Crusaders this year.
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Sudfeld finished his senior year just shy of 2,400 yards passing and he tossed 29 touchdowns. He said that while he's disappointed his team didn't accomplish all of its goals, he is happy with the season he was able to have - and more importantly that he was healthy enough to get through it.
"I didn't get the championships that I wanted," Sudfeld said. "But going into the season - I was injured most of my junior year - I was really glad to show that I was more than just a workout guy, I was more than just a 7-on-7 guy. I was proud and glad to prove that I could play with the pads on and in game situations.
"I'm very happy with how my hard work paid off this season individually. And, again, I'm glad that I did make it through the whole season healthy for the most part. So I am happy with the stats that I put up, but you're never fully satisfied unless you win the final game of your senior year."
But even with the solid passing numbers, Sudfeld even impressed himself with something he did last week.
"The last game before I hyperextended my knee, I'm a pocket quarterback but I was actually able to get a 40-yard touchdown run," he joked. "So that was kind of nice to see that I could run not too slow."
Sudfeld said that being able to post those kinds of stats while playing for a small school - the Crusaders sometimes played opponents with double the roster size - will only help him when he gets a chance to be surrounded by other Division I athletes.
"I feel like, especially putting up some good numbers, my confidence just got raised every week," Sudfeld said. "Now I feel pretty confident in my own game, and I think mainly confidence is going to help me going into college. I now have a lot of in-game experience with just little minute details. Just little things in the back of my mind that will help me to not make mistakes."
Now that Sudfeld's season is over, the three-star prospect can once again get focused on his recruitment - which he had been letting his head coach deal with during the season.
"I've kept a really good relationship with the quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo," Sudfeld said. "We've had a really good relationship, so he's kind of walked me through the process. I've gotten a few calls from the other coaches and the athletic director and he told me they were going to honor my scholarship no matter what. So that was comforting to hear.
"I'm still committed to Arizona, but I'm letting my coach put my film out there a little bit just because I've got to cover all my bases as well."
Sudfeld didn't want to be distracted with his recruitment during the season, so he referred programs that were calling to his high school coach. Because of that, the quarterback prospect said he is unsure of what the level of interest is from certain schools, but he said there have been numerous programs from across the country inquiring about his services next fall.
The schools that have called about Sudfeld have been wide-ranging, he said. Vanderbilt, Stanford and Brown are just a sampling of some teams he's heard from thus far. Right now, Sudfeld said the only official visit that he knows he's taking for sure is to Tucson, but he anticipates more will be planned in the near future.
At this point, Sudfeld's plan continues to be to enroll somewhere by January, and he said that is where his focus will be over the next couple of months as he continues to work on sharpening his skills as a quarterback.
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor