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Dec. 26—STEWARTVILLE — Few would have guessed this when Ridge Hatz was a Stewartville High School sophomore.
Back then, Hatz was barely 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. No way did he seem on his way to becoming a future Division II college offensive lineman.
But this month, it happened. Hatz orally committed to Winona State University, where he is projected as an offensive tackle.
A lot has happened since those 6-foot, 175-pound days for Hatz. He’s gone from getting a sprinkling of playing time as a sophomore on a standout Stewartville offensive line, to being a two-year starting star for a Stewartville team that has claimed back-to-back Class 3A state championships.
And Hatz is the same guy in name only. That’s because he’s practically unrecognizable — 2 inches taller and close to 90 pounds heavier than his sophomore year.
Hatz took stock of himself two years ago, approached Stewartville coach Garrett Mueller about what he could do about his lack of size, and then went to work.
Did he ever.
“I told our coach that I needed to put on some weight,” said Hatz, who is not only a star on the football field but in the classroom, complete with a 3.75 grade-point average. “He then gave me a meal plan and I stuck with it as best I could. I was consuming about 4,500 to 5,000 calories a day. I’ve cut back on that now, but if I needed to do it again, I could.”
Hatz became so consumed with consuming because his love for football ran that deep. He didn’t want to be just good at football, he wanted to be great and to do his part in taking the Stewartville football program to the next level.
Consider all of that done. Hatz, Stewartville’s best offensive lineman this season from a group that was chock full of veteran stars, played left tackle as a senior and didn’t allow a single quarterback sack. That went a long way toward the Tigers…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lineman-state-champion-stewartville-commits-010100503.html
Author : Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Publish date : 2024-12-27 01:01:00
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