J.J. Guedet, a 6-foot-7, 257-pound junior offensive tackle from Washington (IL) High, recently committed to Minnesota. Guedet is the fourth player from the Class of 2019 to verbal to the Gophers.
Guedet helped lead the Panthers to a 10-3 record last year, losing to Dunlap 21-0 in the Class 5A semifinals.
Gopher Hole caught up with Guedet to learn about his decision and upcoming senior season.
Gopher Hole: You committed to the Gophers. What was the main reason that you decided that Minnesota was where you want to be?
J. J. Guedet: It was all the talks that we had and how well my family just fits into that program. We decided that there was no real reason to wait any longer and decided it was for me.
Gopher Hole: Had you thought about doing it even before the visit or did it just happen?
J. J. Guedet: No. I had planned on doing it later, probably around the beginning of the season or in the summer sometime, but we had a good talk with Coach Fleck and Coach Callahan and it started rolling.
Gopher Hole: You attended the Minnesota-Illinois game this past fall and also this past weekend. What have your impressions of Minnesota been so far?
J. J. Guedet: I think it is great. We went up and talked to Coach Callahan quite a bit. He was kind of a dark horse since I had not talked to him a ton, especially since when I went up there Coach (Ed) Warriner was still there and he was the coach. After the season, Coach Callahan got moved, so I wanted to talk with him and get to know him better and that was really nice. Coach Fleck is great. He is young and enthusiastic. It was awesome.
Gopher Hole: Was that a little bit of a concern with a coaching change at your position?
J. J. Guedet: Yes, a little bit just because I didn’t really know Coach Callahan. I saw him up there and we talked for two or three minutes before, but I didn’t really know him that well. Yesterday, I got to talk to him a ton and see what he is all about.
Gopher Hole: You are the fourth player to commit to Minnesota from the Class of 2019. Have you gotten a chance to know any of the other kids like Cole Kramer or Jason Williamson?
J. J. Guedet: I don’t really know him, but Cole texted me. We texted a little bit.
Gopher Hole: Is that kind of nice that you have been able to reach out to those kids and make it a little comfortable now that you have started to build a relationship with some of the guys who are going to be your teammates?
J. J. Guedet: Yes. I think it is really special and a lot more important that he is a quarterback and not just like a receiver or DB. He is a guy that I am going to have to potentially protect for the rest of my career until I leave college, hopefully. I think that it is pretty cool and I am looking forward to meeting a few more guys up there.
Gopher Hole: I think you had 11 offers when you committed and were picking up more interest and going to Junior Days. Have you talked to any of the other schools yet and told them about your decision.
J. J. Guedet: I put it all on Twitter, so I am kind of assuming that most of them know by now or very soon they will. I have only talked to Coach Butkus from Illinois. Just reached out, congratulated me and just wanted to know what was the deciding factor for me. Other than that, just some smaller schools that I have been talking to a little bit, just congratulating me.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, Coach Fleck and his staff have only been here for a year, but they have started to create some excitement around the program and had a very good first recruiting class. What has been your impressions of Coach Fleck and the staff been so far?
J. J. Guedet: I love Coach Fleck. He is great. He is so different from everyone else, Very outgoing. Very energetic. When we had our talk, he actually had his wife in there and it was a tag team group. It wasn’t just the Coach’s wife talking. She joined in and gave some good stuff and he was happy about that. I think that was really cool. I had never seen or heard that before. I think that is definitely a big idea of how their relationship works together and how well they maintain it.
Gopher Hole: Your father was with you on the visit. Who else was there with your family?
J. J. Guedet: Everybody from my family was there except for my older sister. My younger brother and sister were there.
Gopher Hole: What were their impressions of Minnesota?
J. J. Guedet: The little two loved it. They had a blast. My Mom meet with Coach Fleck and the admissions and now she is 100% on board.
Gopher Hole: Does that make it a little bit easier for you knowing that they are liking it the way that you do? Obviously, you hear about certain situations where a parent maybe wants you to go some place else. Is that nice that they are seemingly 100% behind you?
J. J. Guedet: Yes and it is a big thing. I’m not going to say that I wouldn’t have gone there if my parents weren’t about it, but I do. I want them to like the coaches. It is just a relief to know that they enjoyed all the coaches and were excited for what is coming next.
Gopher Hole: What all have you gotten a chance to see and do besides the football stuff when you have been to Minnesota for the two visits?
J. J. Guedet: Not a ton, so when we went up there, I was up there a little bit earlier than most of the guys and they actually brought out the head trainer (Michael Sypniak) in to talk to me a little bit about how the academics would go, if I decided to go that route and what I could do. I went and talked to him about what I could do and the different paths that I could take, so that was pretty cool.
Gopher Hole: Had you ever been to Minnesota before that Illinois game like a vacation or anything?
J.J. Guedet: No. I don’t think that I have ever been through the state driving.
Gopher Hole: When did Minnesota first start reaching out to you?
J. J. Guedet: I think that they were one of the first schools to reach out to me. Them and Iowa State. I’m not really sure which was first, but at the beginning of football season last year.
Gopher Hole: You have a good frame and it looks you can continue to fill out. What would you like to get up to for your senior year?
J. J. Guedet: I am graduating mid term, so I still have that whole half year to get 15 pounds or so on me, if that’s what they want me to do. I am trying to get up to about 280. Being out of basketball has helped me maintain my weight.
Gopher Hole: With you graduating early, you wouldn’t be playing basketball next year. Will that be tough since you are not only a good football player, but also a good basketball player?
J. J. Guedet: I think it will be different, but there is not really a break from football, going forward from high school to my college. We are looking to go to the Rose Bowl as a commitment and we think that we have a chance, hopefully and we want to train as hard as we can.
Gopher Hole: How much do you think that it is going to help you as a player to graduate early and being able to participate in spring practice?
J. J. Guedet: I talked to a player who played at my school who was close to my dad because my dad had coached him and he told me that he wished that he did it. He went to every spring practice, based on location. He just hadn’t graduated or completed all his credits like he should have. Instead, he sat and watched practices and learned, but he could have practiced and gotten those lifting hours and gotten bigger with them, so I think it is going to be good for me. I do need to gain a lot of weight and I think that learning a lot of the stuff before the rest of my class gets here. I think it will help a lot.
Gopher Hole: Your team made it to the Class 5A state semifinals and lost to Dunlap (21-0). How much is that a motivating factor of getting that close last year going into your senior year?
J. J. Guedet: I know the feeling. Eighth grade, my basketball team ended up winning it, so that group knows the feeling and we want to get it back and get it with our other guys, so they have all got it, too. I think that motivation factor definitely, we want to try to clean sweep our conference. I think we can do that. I think that is a realistic goal that we have with most of our guys returning. We have to replace a few seniors who graduated. I think we have a good shot.
Gopher Hole: For Minnesota fans who haven’t seen you play in person, how would you describe yourself as a player?
J. J. Guedet: I enjoy pulling, but if need be, I can go straight forward and open up a hole with my buddies, both with the guys I’ll be playing with next year. One of the seniors who is going to graduate, Aaron Boley, is a short little guy (5-9), but he can get his ass moving and get guys out of the way. Another guy who is thinking about moving over is Nolan Puent, about 6-3, 230. Really enjoy playing with those guys. At the end of the year, going into a cold front, we were running the ball a lot more, just because with the realtionship with the line and we were able to open up some big holes for our backs.
Gopher Hole: Have they talked to you much about what position you would play in college?
J. J. Guedet: Talking with Coach Fleck last night, he said that as long as I do the work, he is thinking left tackle for me and a four-year starter.
Gopher Hole: Is that kind of cool to hear that they have that high of expectations for you?
J. J. Guedet: I think it’s awesome. I never been one to shy away from expectations, so I think that I am going to have to go head on and try to exceed their expectations.