Bronson Bruneau, a long snapper/tight end from Lakeville North, helped lead the Panthers to the state Class 6A Prep Bowl, where they lost to Eden Prairie. He is also the starting center on the basketball team, which advanced to the Class AAAA state tournament.
Gopher Hole caught up with the standout student athlete to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What camps did you have a chance to attend this summer?
Bronson Bruneau: I went out to Minnesota, Stanford, Duke, North Carolina State and Western Michigan. I went to a Rubio Long Snapping Elite Camp in Los Angeles and I went to the Kohl’s national event in Wisconsin.
Gopher Hole: Do you know what your ranking is?
Bronson Bruneau: Yes. I am ranked 13th by Rubio and 16th or 17th by Kohl’s.
Gopher Hole: That has to make you feel awfully proud?
Bronson Bruneau: Yes, it does.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Bronson Bruneau: Right now, they are kind of waiting to see what they have right now. They said that they are going to wait until the middle of the season and they are going to keep moving forward. I have been out to their spring practice. I have talked to Coach (Jay) Nunez quite a bit. I talked to him quite often, actually. I have been keeping in touch and they said that we will talk more throughout the season.
Gopher Hole: Long snapping is a very specialized thing where you typically start out as a walk-on or a preferred walk-on and then if you become a starter, you would earn a scholarship. Is that the way that most colleges are telling you that is how it would work?
Bronson Bruneau: Yes. That is pretty much what all of them say.
Gopher Hole: Have you made any plans to go to any college games?
Bronson Bruneau: I have not really set up anything yet. I am definitely going to go to some Minnesota games. I will continue to talk to schools and go out to some games.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are an excellent student and rank number one in the class. Obviously, that is a great honor.
Bronson Bruneau: Yes, thanks. I am very happy. I am looking for a school that fits me academically as well.
Gopher Hole: Is that something that you have always taken great pride in, not only through high school, but also your elementary and junior high days?
Bronson Bruneau: Yes, it definitely is.
Gopher Hole: What is your GPA?
Bronson Bruneau: It is a 4.3 weighed. I only had one A-. All the rest are A’s
Gopher Hole: What class was that in?
Bronson Bruneau: AP language. The rest of my AP classes were Math and Science.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought much about what you would like to major in at college?
Bronson Bruneau: I think Engineering, Right now, I am leaning toward Chemical Engineering and I would like to go into Grad school after that and get my MBA. That is what I am thinking right now, but I don’t know.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, several of those schools that you have mentioned have strong Engineering programs.
Bronson Bruneau: Yes, they definitely do.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main thing that is going to make you pick School A over School B or C?
Bronson Bruneau: Just if I feel that it is a fit for me to go to school there. I want to feel at home there. It fits me academically. A fun school environment. Big fan base. Those are the main things.
Gopher Hole: You had one sister who played volleyball at Virginia and you had another sister who also went to an ACC school, right?
Bronson Bruneau: Yes. University of Clemson down in South Carolina. I really like going out East. I love the thought of being able to go away from home, but I also love to be able to play for the Gophers and Minnesota and be able to play close to home. My family has had season tickets for the Gophers ever since they got the new stadium. It would be a dream to play for the Gophers.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to play for the hometown team?
Bronson Bruneau: It would be great. I would love that. My dad. My whole family loves the Gophers.
Gopher Hole: Would that make it special since your sister, Marlow, played volleyball at Virginia, but it was tough to see her play often?
Bronson Bruneau: It would mean a lot for my parents to be able to come to every game. My other sister is living in Minnesota. She works for 3M. My whole family is in Minnesota except for Marlow, who lives in California near Stanford. Her husband (guard Mark Phillips) played football at Stanford
Gopher Hole: When I talked to you at the Gopher football camp back in June, you were heading to Washington, DC for a big honor. Tell me a little bit about that experience and what that meant to you?
Bronson Bruneau: It was called the Congressional Globe Award. I have been working on it since ninth grade. You have to have a certain number of hours in volunteering, personal development, which I choose as the piano, which I have played since the third grade, so I had to get a certain number of hours. There is a physical fitness part of it. I did that for basketball, so I had to put in a certain numbers of hours for basketball and that last one was exploration and I lead a trip to the Boundary Waters with a bunch of my friends and their dads for a week. It was a culmination of things and I was happy to see the work pay off. It was a great honor.
Gopher Hole: How many people across the country received a similar honor?
Bronson Bruneau: I would say that there were probably 200. A lot of them were in college already, so I was definitely one of the youngest kids. You can earn it all the way up to the age of 27, I think it is. I earned it at the youngest age possible. I was happy for that for me.
Gopher Hole: You had a great season last year, making to the Prep Bowl championship game losing to Eden Prairie. You lost a couple of key players including your quarterback and some other good players on defense. What are the expectations for Lakeville North this upcoming season?
Bronson Bruneau: I think that we are going to be a very tough team to beat. We definitely all have strong work ethics. We are going to try to make it back to state again. That is the goal.
Gopher Hole: How about basketball? I know that you played that you made it to the Target Center and made a great comeback against Park Center, but came up just a little bit short. You lost a couple of key guards in Zach Creighton and Al Erickson, but what are the thought about basketball for the upcoming year?
Bronson Bruneau: I think that we are going to be every bit as good as last year. We have J.P. (Macura) coming back, me and Connor Flack. We have some young kids like (sophomore) Drew Stewart, who should be able to play well. I think our goal is to make it back to the state tournament again.
Gopher Hole: What positions are you playing besides long snapper this season?
Bronson Bruneau: I am playing tight end and a little spread wide receiver.
Gopher Hole: Would you play a position in college or would you just long snap?
Bronson Bruneau: I have had interest from Division II and Division III schools at tight end and some Division I-AA schools would want me to long snap and try to develop me as a tight end possibly. At top tier Division I schools, I would probably just long snap.
Gopher Hole: Would you want to try to play at the Division I level or would look at playing at a lower level?
Bronson Bruneau: I would definitely want to play at the Division I level. I like Division I-AA also. My dad played at Montana State. He played defensive end and played for the Chiefs a little bit and the Oklahoma Outlaws in the USFL. I definitely want to play at the highest level I can, but we’ll see how my season goes and see where it goes from there.