Hovey attended the Gophers/Western Illinois game last Saturday.
Zach Hovey, a 6-5, 230-pound senior tight end from Eden Prairie (MN) High, has helped lead the Eagles to Prep Bowl title the past two seasons and a #1 ranking this year. The two-sport athlete also helped Eden Prairie to a fourth place finish in March’s Class AAAA boys’ basketball tournament. Hovey attended the Minnesota-Western Illinois game and talked to Gopher Hole about the latest on his recruitment and his senior season.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment right now?
Zach Hovey: Right now, I have five offers from Bucknell, Wyoming, Florida Atlantic, Penn and Cornell. I have been in contact with obviously Minnesota, Wisconsin and some other Big Ten schools.
Gopher Hole: Have you had a chance to go to any other college games so far this year?
Zach Hovey: I went to Wisconsin versus UMass.
Gopher Hole: What do you think that you need to show some of those bigger schools, like sending out tape, to get an offer from a bigger school?
Zach Hovey: Just being able to get up the field, being relentless, dropping my guy to the ground, catching the ball and running some guys over. Stuff like that.
Gopher Hole: Eden Prairie is such a strong running team, but you have been successful when you have gotten the opportunity to catch the ball.
Zach Hovey: We don’t really need to pass a lot. We just kind of run over teams, but once and awhile, we will. I have only one catch this season, but other than that, we haven’t thrown a whole lot. We do have some big plays. We have got some good receivers.
Gopher Hole: I know that you take a lot of pride in your blocking and if you play tight end at Eden Prairie, you have to block, right?
Zach Hovey: Yes, absolutely.
Gopher Hole: What plans do you have for the rest of the year to maybe go out to some other games?
Zach Hovey: I’m not 100% sure yet. I don’t really have a schedule set in stone or anything like that. We are just going to play it by ear. If something comes up, we’ll be there.
Gopher Hole: You are off to a great start and maybe even better than people expected. You have been pretty dominant so far beating some pretty good teams. How pleased are you with how well the season has gone so far?
Zach Hovey: The team is looking pretty good right now. Obviously, we have room to continue to improve. Every play, there are things that could be done better. Things could be done easier. We are just continuing to practice hard and get ready for the big matchups like Wayzata and Minnetonka.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers? What are they saying to you?
Zach Hovey: They invited me to the games and stuff. Try to see me here. They just want to see a little bit of film, a little bit of senior film. Everything is on Hudl these days, so they can log on and everything is there.