Rockhurst's Scheelhaase Takes in Junior Day

Earlier we profiled SLUH running back Ronnie Wingo, perhaps the top player in the state next year. If Wingo doesn’t end up ranked in the Show Me State’s No. 1 spot, it seems likely the honor will belong to athlete Nathan Scheelhaase of Rockhurst High in K.C. Scheelhaase also was in attendance yesterday at Mizzou Junior Day, and here’s the story on his visit and the latest on his recruitment.

“It went really well,” said Scheelhaase, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound junior who played quarterback and defensive back last year at Rockhurst. “We got to eat some food, check out the facilities and watched the basketball team beat Kansas State.”

Scheelhaase is no stranger to MU. This was his third visit, and the staff has clearly made him a priority in next year’s class. This time, though, he got to hang out with many o fthe other top juniors in attendance, as well as Tigers star receivers Jeremy Maclin and Danario Alexander.

“I sat with my teammate, Keith Langtry, Ronnie Wingo, Sheldon Richardson and E.J. Clark from De Smet. We definitely talked about the opportunity to stay in state and play for a great program,” he said.

His father, meanwhile, had a chance to sit and talk at length with MU assistant Dave Yost.

“We’ve always liked Coach Yost. He’s a real good, down to earth guy. And the rest of the coaches, too,” he said.

Scheelhaase’s father played college football at Iowa, which is another school recruiting Scheelhase. After all three of their visits to Columbia, his father has raved about the schools facilities.

So far, he has received offers from MU, Iowa, Arkansas and Kansas and is receiving interest from Illinois, Stanford and Oklahoma. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh flew in from California for one of Scheelhaase’s basketball games last week, and another Cardinal assistant flew in and visited his school.

“I would say Stanford is one of the schools that is definitely recruiting me hard …But it’s so far away and I’d be so far from all of the guys that I grew up with and all of the places I’m used to. But if a place turns out to be the best fit for me, then I’ll go,” he said.

Oklahoma is another school he’s interested in.

“I’m supposed to call Coach Stoops this week to talk about some recruiting stuff,” he said.

Scheelhaase could play quarterback in college, though it may be more likely he ends up at wideout or defensive back. He has 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash along with excellent agility. In short, he’s going to be a playmaker regardless of where he plays.

“That’s actually what I’m supposed to call coach Stoops about,” he said. “We talked about that with Coach Yost and he said I’d have the opportunity to really play wherever I want. If I feel right at quarterback, I could do that, or I could play receiver or defensive back. They know I have the skills to do that.”

Scheelhaase has maintained that unless someone truly blows him away, he won’t be making any decisions until next fall – and he doesn’t see that happening. So the question is, then, did yesterday’s experience help MU’s chances with him.

“I would say it definitely helped their chances,” he said.