It didn’t take long for Rick Nelson to land one of his former Ankeny football players as a Northern Iowa recruit.
Connor Kayser, a senior-to-be linebacker for the Hawks, announced his verbal commitment on Monday to play for UNI in 2024.
“I told myself that coach Nelson wouldn’t be the reason I committed, and he definitely was not the only reason just because of the fact that he won’t coach my position,” said Kayser. “But he was very honest with me on where they stood, and he didn’t really mince words in terms of what they thought of me as a player, which I liked. Most of the communication for visits and things of that nature were through him so I think that helped to have someone familiar walking me through that.”
As a junior, Kayser helped the Hawks to a 9-2 record in Nelson’s final year. He was named to the all-district first team.
Kayser made 42.5 tackles, including 15 solo stops. He had 11 tackles for loss and two sacks.
After the season, Nelson left Ankeny to rejoin the Panthers’ coaching staff as an offensive line coach. UNI was one of a few schools that targeted Kayser.
“I didn’t have a lot of offers. I had enough that I had options, but not so many that I was overwhelmed,” Kayser said. “I think that really helped me because I got to build some very personal relationships with coaches. UNI had by far the best group of coaches, and I think as much as they can teach me about football they can teach me just as much about becoming the person I want to be when I’m done.”
Kayser’s father, Mike, was a standout quarterback at Ankeny who went on to play for the school that is now known as Minnesota State-Mankato.
“My dad was very helpful in a lot of ways,” Kayser said. “His recruiting was obviously a little different just because it was a long time ago, but he helped me sort of see the bad side of certain places when I was getting blinded by the big facilities and things like that. He did a very good job of staying out of my decision because he wanted it to be something that I figured out not necessarily by myself but with minimal help so that I wouldn’t be influenced by other people.”