Trent Pink, a 6-foot-3, 192-pound quarterback from Elk River (MN) High, is considered the top high school junior signal caller in the state. Pink helped lead the Elks to a 7-3 mark as they averaged an impressive 35.4 points per game.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Pink to learn the latest about his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: Did you have a chance to get to get to many Junior Days?
Trent Pink: No. I was pretty busy with basketball.
Gopher Hole: Anything planned in the next month or so?
Trent Pink: I have a bunch of unofficial visits at a bunch of schools.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you planning on taking unofficial visits to?
Trent Pink: Minnesota, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois, maybe, Purdue, Western Michigan, Wyoming and a few more. Pretty much anyone who is interested.
Gopher Hole: It sounds like you are going to go to more than a dozen individual college football camps this summer. What are some of the other ones that you plan on attending?
Trent Pink: There is an Elite Showcase thing In Chicago and a Nike Elite 11. I don’t think that I am doing Rivals, though.
Gopher Hole: You have a different style of offense (Wing-T), which is very effective and you guys had a great year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t showcase you as a quarterback. Is that ever tough at times?
Trent Pink: Yes, We don’t throw much in our offense as you can tell from the stats and stuff. I have got to go to different camps to show them what I can do. Show them that I can throw and if I can run an offense, apparently.
Gopher Hole: Are they going to change the offense a little bit for your senior year? Are you going to throw it a little bit more?
Trent Pink: The coach said that he is going to change it. He said that last year, we were going to run some spread and we put it in, but we never ran it, so this year, we’ll have to see when the season starts.
Gopher Hole: You had a great season as a team last year. Do you have a lot of players back or did you lose a lot of seniors?
Trent Pink: We have a lot of sophomores coming up to the varsity, but we did lose a lot of seniors. Right now, we are listed as third in the state for coming in.
Gopher Hole: Have they named the captains for Elk River yet?
Trent Pink: No. That is not until the season is about to begin.
Gopher Hole: I would assume that you are going to be a captain and be more of a leader as a senior. Is that something that you like?
Trent Pink: Oh, yes. I am more of a leader by example. I’ll get on some guys, but I like to show by my play more.
Gopher Hole: Were you able to do much football-wise during the basketball season?
Trent Pink: It is really tough to do. Sometimes during the weekend, I’ll throw with my dad.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are planning on spending some time down at the Gophers’ practice, right?
Trent Pink: Me and Coach Z (Jim Zebrowski) are going to go over some white board stuff and just talk some football.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers? What are they saying to you?
Trent Pink: Coach Z always says that he likes what he sees in me and stuff, but they are going to wait and wait until I show them that I can throw again and they make a decision from there. They are just waiting on me right now.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to go to many camps last year?
Trent Pink: I went to Illinois, the Minnesota camps and a few others.
Gopher Hole: You have one offer right now form Southeast Missouri State. How did they find out about you?
Trent Pink: I’m not really sure. I haven’t talked to them that much. I am looking for more FBS schools right now.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to have a chance to have the opportunity to play at the Division I level?
Trent Pink: It would be great. Competing with the best in the nation. It is high competition. That is what I like.
Gopher Hole: How about the possible opportunity to play for the hometown school?
Trent Pink: That would be great, too. It all depends on the quarterback coach and the coaching staff and what they have to offer, but Coach Z is a great guy and Coach Kill is a good coach. It would be really nice to play at home.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a quarterback?
Trent Pink: I have a lot of speed, so the defense has to contain me as a threat to run and also I am good at throwing on the run. I can also throw, too, but obviously I haven’t gotten to show that much, so that is why I go to camps.
Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to improve yourself and hopefully be ready for a big senior year?
Trent Pink: Probably just throwing the “1” ball. Straight on the line. I can do it, but sometimes I have the tendency to throw it off the back foot more and not put the pressure on my front foot.
Gopher Hole: Do you watch a lot of football? Are there certain quarterbacks that you watch?
Trent Pink: (Oregon quarterback) Marcus Mariota is a big guy that I watch. I like his play. More of the scrambling quarterbacks. Tom Brady. It is nice to watch him sometimes and how he stays in the pocket.
Gopher Hole: You are a good athlete. Is that something that you look at and maybe in a worst case scenario you could play a different position down the road in college?
Trent Pink: Whatever the coaches want me to do. If they want to put me at wide receiver or whatever I can play to get some time on the field and help my team win.
Gopher Hole: Have you played any other positions or have you mostly been a quarterback?
Trent Pink: I played a little bit of cornerback against Champlin Park against a bigger receiver.