QB Conor Rhoda Excited to be a Gopher; Turns Down PWO at Wisc and Scholarship @ NoDak

[GopherHole Staff]

QB Conor Rhoda Excited to Be a Gopher; Turns Down PWO at Wisconsin and Scholarship at North Dakota
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/213345?referrer_id=331171

Conor Rhoda, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior quarterback from Cretin Derham Hall, will be preferred walk-on at Minnesota. Gopher Hole caught up with Rhoda Monday night to learn more about his decision.

Gopher Hole: What were the main factors in making you decide to commit to Minnesota?

Conor Rhoda: There were quite a few. Them being the hometown school, it was a really nice comfort zone. Being able to still stay close to family and friends. Being able to maintain relationships with high school coaches and people from the school. The coaches at Minnesota made me feel welcome. Like everyone said, the program is going in the right direction with this coaching staff. It doesn’t really look like it will be going back to the way it used to be for quite awhile with these guys. I’ll be able to go to a program that is on the up and up. That is a pretty special thing to do.

Gopher Hole: You made an official visit a couple of weeks ago. How was the visit?

Conor Rhoda: It was good. I probably did not need to make that visit to finally make my decision, but it was nice to go over there again and hang out with the coaches. I got to meet some of their families and it made me even more pumped. It was great to hang out with them and get to know them even more.

Gopher Hole: Who were you down to when you made the decision to commit to Minnesota?

Conor Rhoda: Minnesota and I had a full-ride to North Dakota.

Gopher Hole: Was it hard to say no to a full scholarship?

Conor Rhoda: It was, but I always wanted to play at the highest level. I think that I can play at this level and my coaches do and the Gophers coaches do, too. I don’t want to look back twenty years from now and say that I passed up an opportunity of playing Big Ten football and not to take anything away from North Dakota program, a D1-AA school. It wasn’t that hard of a decision. I did my homework on both of them to make sure that I was making the best decision, but in the end, I was happily able to make the decision and be happy with it.

Gopher Hole: Had you made an official visit to North Dakota?

Conor Rhoda: Yes. I made that at the beginning of December.

Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to go to many college games this past fall?

Conor Rhoda: I went to three Minnesota games and one at North Dakota and one at Wisconsin.

Gopher Hole: Were the Badgers also looking at you as a preferred walk-on or had you even gotten that far?

Conor Rhoda: They were and I got my preferred walk-on from the Gophers and I decided to go with a preferred walk-on from the Gophers over the Madison one, so I stopped talking with Madison. I was happy with where I was at.

Gopher Hole: The Gophers don’t have a lot of quarterbacks on their roster. Was that something that was appealing to you that there was an opportunity that you could get some playing time?

Conor Rhoda: Definitely. It definitely was. When I went over to the campus Saturday and talked to Coach Zebrowski for a few hours and watched film and stuff. We were talking about that there are a lot of quarterbacks that they have as athletes who if they don’t pan out as a quarterback that are able to play other positions, too. I see my style as being more of a true quarterback and that is what they are looking to being me in as, because the commit that they have is just a really good athlete on top of being a really good quarterback. With (Max) Shortell transferring, they needed to bring in a true quarterback they thought and that is what we talked about. It is going to be nice with a lot of young guys close in age and creating a lot of good competition. It should be fun.

Gopher Hole: Have they said what they are expecting of you next year?

Conor Rhoda: Not a whole lot. I’ll redshirt next year. They really want me to put on weight and get bigger and faster. I assume that after the Signing Day, that stuff will come more into play.

Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a quarterback?

Conor Rhoda: My leadership and being able to make plays when there is nothing there. That is something that my coaches have talked about making all the plays that are there, but also making the special plays when you shouldn’t able to make a play and you are able to and that is what changes the outcome of games and put you at a different level of a quarterback. That is something that I think that I am good at escaping the pressure and finding guys down the field after running around. I feel that I have a very good football intelligence. My high school offense is probably as complex as a high school offense gets in Minnesota as far as getting to make all the calls and the protections calls. It is a lot like a college offense, just not as many plays. That is probably one of my greatest strengths that I might be coming in a little more ready than most guys because of the program that I played in.

Gopher Hole: How much of an advantage do you think that it was playing at program like Cretin Derham Hall? You had a lot of talented teammates. How much do you think that helps you as opposed to being at the typical high school?

Conor Rhoda: I would say the biggest thing was the offense that you got to play in and the complexity of it. If you want to play quarterback in college, there is not a better offense that you can play in because you got to do all the stuff that a college offense does, so it is nice that you get a lot of recognition of being at Cretin Derham Hall and the past that they have had and they have a lot of good players around you, too, that help you look good and you help them look good. There was not another program that I would have rather played at.

Gopher Hole: What things are going to be trying to work on to continue to improve yourself as a player to get ready for camp?

Conor Rhoda: I think that the main thing is just gaining weight and getting faster. I want to work on my footwork. There isn’t really one thing that I want to focus on. I need to get better at everything.

Gopher Hole: Are you playing any spring sports at Cretin?

Conor Rhoda: I’m playing baseball. I am a captain for the baseball team. We have captain practices starting up. I pitched my sophomore and junior years and this year, I’ll pitch and play right field, too.

 

[BleedGopher]

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gopher Gold]

He's quicker and throws a better ball than I expected. Thanks for the highlights Bleed. Always great to have guys like this on the team. A bonus that he is from Cretin too.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I said it in another thread about him, but I think he's the perfect kind of walk-on. (Similar to the QB from La Crosse).

I think he does most things good but probably missed out on being a MAC level guy because he didn't really seem to do anything great. He has a strong arm (I thought his best sport would have probably been baseball (pitcher)), he's fairly athletic (closer to Nelson than to Shortell), he's got decent size (tall but not big) and he has always been a really good kid and a leader at CDH.

Now, I wouldn't have wanted the U to have taken a risk on him with a scholarship, but he's the kind of guy who does enough things decent that he'll be an addition to our program, even if it's just as quality depth.

Welcome aboard Conor!

 

[HopherGole]

Glad he's walking on here, but I've seen him in person and he's neither 6'3" nor 195. He's not a B1G quarterback. He should have taken the scholarship. UND is a solid program and he could have earned a job there. I think he made a mistake.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Glad he's walking on here, but I've seen him in person and he's neither 6'3" nor 195. He's not a B1G quarterback. He should have taken the scholarship. UND is a solid program and he could have earned a job there. I think he made a mistake.

Yeah, the 6'3" is probably kind of close but he's not 195 lbs.

If he could earn a job at North Dakota, he'll help us with depth. That said, if it's a mistake or not depends upon what he's hoping to experience during his collegiate career.

 

[Ole]

Glad he's walking on here, but I've seen him in person and he's neither 6'3" nor 195. He's not a B1G quarterback. He should have taken the scholarship. UND is a solid program and he could have earned a job there. I think he made a mistake.

Just who exactly in your opinion SHOULD walk on?

 

[everybody knows my name]

Something tells me the staff already knows his actual height and weight. That didn't stop them from asking him to walk on.

I'll go with the staff's knowledge & experience rather than a GHer's intuition.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Glad he's walking on here, but I've seen him in person and he's neither 6'3" nor 195. He's not a B1G quarterback. He should have taken the scholarship. UND is a solid program and he could have earned a job there. I think he made a mistake.

If he went to UND he'd likely sit behind a QB for the next four years by the name of Joe Mollberg.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Something tells me the staff already knows his actual height and weight. That didn't stop them from asking him to walk on.

I'll go with the staff's knowledge & experience rather than a GHer's intuition.

I agree. You can't lie to the coaches on this stuff. They measure you. The biggest thing he said is that Kill wanted a True QB in the program in case all hell breaks loose basically. He can hold on Extra Pts. and FG's and be the safety blanket to keep redshirts on guys in the future.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

If he went to UND he'd likely sit behind a QB for the next four years by the name of Joe Mollberg.

Mollberg is a good football player. He had a bit of buzz around him after his JR season, I believe he was invited to summer camps and all of that, but he ended up not getting an offer from a BCS school. He loved the U (I remember from his Gopherhole interview), and I want to say that he refused a WI camp invite because he hates the Badgers. So you have to like Joe Mollberg.

There is going to be less depth at UND than the U though, so while Rhoda llikely wouldn't beat out Mollberg, he has a lot more people to beat out here.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I agree. You can't lie to the coaches on this stuff. They measure you. The biggest thing he said is that Kill wanted a True QB in the program in case all hell breaks loose basically. He can hold on Extra Pts. and FG's and be the safety blanket to keep redshirts on guys in the future.

Yep, worse case...he's Adam Lueke (spelling) and gives our scout team a decent look and might even provide depth (maybe save a RS on a future QB).

 

[HopherGole]

Just who exactly in your opinion SHOULD walk on?

Any kid who gets a PWO should walk-on if he wants. And I'm sure since he's a Cretin kid, paying for college won't be an issue. BUT, in my opinion, players should go where the money is, then where they have a legitimate chance to play. As a former college player, I saw walk-ons come in, bust their butts and then not get invited back for year two and finish their careers as a student. If he was a better prospect I'd say have at it and earn a scholarship, but I don't think he'll be able too.

And to his size: I'm 6'4" and him in pads with a helmet on wasn't even close to my height. My point is that he's a D1AA QB. He's good but not good enough for the U.

 

[Sportsfan24]

Any kid who gets a PWO should walk-on if he wants. And I'm sure since he's a Cretin kid, paying for college won't be an issue. BUT, in my opinion, players should go where the money is, then where they have a legitimate chance to play. As a former college player, I saw walk-ons come in, bust their butts and then not get invited back for year two and finish their careers as a student. If he was a better prospect I'd say have at it and earn a scholarship, but I don't think he'll be able too.

And to his size: I'm 6'4" and him in pads with a helmet on wasn't even close to my height. My point is that he's a D1AA QB. He's good but not good enough for the U.

I understand where you coming from on the money thing but I must tell you from experience, a player should follow his heart. I experienced first hand the sadness of a player who was playing out the gate as a true freshman on a nationally ranked team because he was not where he wanted to be.

Is he good enough? If he believes so that's all that matters, the majority of the kids who sign next month won't play meaningful minutes in their entire career as gophers. My point? Nobody knows whose good enough until they take the field as gophers.

 

[HopherGole]

That's all well and good....but he's not talented enough to play here. lol At least he could have attended UND (for free) and have a much better chance of playing. Plus, as a player, you need to go where you're wanted. If a coach/program wants you, they will make the investment.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

That's all well and good....but he's not talented enough to play here. lol At least he could have attended UND (for free) and have a much better chance of playing. Plus, as a player, you need to go where you're wanted. If a coach/program wants you, they will make the investment.

They did make an investment here. A PWO takes a spot and could very well push a starter off the 105 roster come camp.

Also, again, the Gophers had approx. 12 guys who were either starters or played a ton who walked onto the team.

Northern Illinois started 8 walk ons in the Orange Bowl.

Dismissing the importance of the walk-on is naive bordering on stupid.

 

[Killjoy]

They did make an investment here. A PWO takes a spot and could very well push a starter off the 105 roster come camp.

Also, again, the Gophers had approx. 12 guys who were either starters or played a ton who walked onto the team.

Northern Illinois started 8 walk ons in the Orange Bowl.

Dismissing the importance of the walk-on is naive bordering on stupid.

I disagree with you on this one Bob. It isn't bordering on stupid, it is stupid! I am not sure if HoleGopher believes that since he is coming in as a walk-on he can't possible be as good as a scholarship player or if it is this particular walk-on player that he thinks isn't any good but many walk-ons become significant contributors and starters. It is great to see our program starting to get some traction with walk-ons.

 

[wait!what?]

That's all well and good....but he's not talented enough to play here. lol At least he could have attended UND (for free) and have a much better chance of playing. Plus, as a player, you need to go where you're wanted. If a coach/program wants you, they will make the investment.

Hi AJ!

 

[GophersInIowa]

It's funny, some people like to complain that we're not getting enough local guys who are going to NDSU, UND, N. Iowa and other smalls schools and becoming very good players. Others are complaining that we're getting some of these same type of guys to walk on at the U instead of taking scholarships at these same schools. I'm confused, which is it?

 

[Killjoy]

It's funny, some people like to complain that we're not getting enough local guys who are going to NDSU, UND, N. Iowa and other smalls schools and becoming very good players. Others are complaining that we're getting some of these same type of guys to walk on at the U instead of taking scholarships at these same schools. I'm confused, which is it?

That's easy! They like to complain!