Interview with 2009 WI OG/DL Jordan Kohout

[Bernini]

RP Exclusive with Jordan Kohout

Growing up as a competitive football player in a non traditional recruiting state like Wisconsin, it can be extremely difficult to be recognized as a bonafide prospect. Imagine then, competing in the small town of Waupun, approximately 50 miles from Madison; and the lack of visibility is further aggravated. Therefore, for a talented player like WI OG/DL Jordan Kohout (pronounced Ca-hoot), he has to work that much harder. Kohout attended multiple camps in the summer of this year, such as the University of Michigan's and Wisconsin's. At the former he garnered Co-Outstanding Defensive Lineman honors, alongside 6 others. He also received valuable experience, matching up with some of the midwest's best Offensive Line prospects, such as Graham Pocic and Ethan Ruhland, both Kohout's elders. In addition to camps, Jordan has distributed highlight videos to every program in the Big Ten and MAC conferences, as well as several Ivy League schools. His diligence has paid dividends, resulting in interest from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Duke, Stanford, and Ball State.

Recruiting Planet caught up with Jordan Kohout recently, to learn more about him as a player and a person.

Your season wrapped with Waupun fairly recently. How satisfied were you with the performance of your team, as well as your own personal performance?

Well, I'm a pretty optimistic guy, I try to be positive and have to say that with the losses we suffered, we did pretty well. We got past the first round in the playoffs and to me that's very important; Waupun has never suffered a loss in the first round of the playoffs. We had a lot of guys step up who filled the positions well and did what was asked of them.

As for myself, I think I did well. I played hard, I had some pretty good stats on defense and I received All-Region for it as a DE. I also received Wispreps 1st team All State as an OL. But, even with a good season this year there is still a lot of room for improvement.

How would you describe yourself as a football player? Which are specific areas of strength, and which are in need of improvement in your opinion?

As a football player, I would describe myself as aggressive, mobile, and mean. I play with bad intentions; which is to say, I don't want someone to get hurt badly but I'd like to see them walk back to the huddle thinking that they're in for a long night.

My areas of strength, one of my areas would have to be my strength. I benched around 300 during the season and squatted around 475. I think my strength allows me to play well on both sides of the line. I am also pretty athletic for my size, I can move well.

Areas of improvement, one of the areas I'd have to say would be my foot speed, especially in pass protection. I have pretty good feet, they're fast, but it's just that they need to be quicker and more agile if I want to be where I want to be as a football player. I also need to work on my general quickness and reaction to ball carriers, defenders, etc. I'd like to improve my overall speed as well.

You seem to play with tremendous intensity and a non-stop motor on the field. How do you get motivated to do so?

Once again, thank you for the nice compliments. I consider myself a pretty hard worker, in anything I do; I work hard, whether it is school, football or track and field. I want to be the best I can so I can get a division 1 scholarship. I think what it boils down to, getting a division 1 scholarship, and ultimately a good education and a good life. I want to be the first in my family to go to college, and I just love hitting people.

Some are projecting you to either side of the football, and multiple positions within the line. Do you have any preferences?

I really don't have any preferences to which side of the ball I play at the next level. I love offense and running people over, that unsung glory that all offensive linemen share.but I also love tackling people and getting after the quarterback, but whatever college I go to the coaches will put me where they want me and that'll be great whether on offense or defense, just as long as I get a chance to play.

Ideally, if you had the power to select any 5 colleges in the nation to attend after high school, what would they be and why?

#1. Wisconsin, hands down. I grew up loving Wisconsin; I mean what little kid from this state doesn't want to play for the Badgers? They have a great football program and a great coach in Bret Bielema. They are also very high on academics, which is very important to me. Also, it is close to home and it'd be cool to have my family and friends come and watch whenever they want. They have everything I could ask for.

#2. Illinois. Illinois was the first school to ever invite me to a game for an unofficial visit and I really liked it down there. They have an awesome football program and a lot of really awesome players there. A lot of the top recruits in the nation seem to want to go there. They are also very high on academics.

#3. Iowa. Iowa has always had a great football program, and also have good academics.

#4. Ball State. They had a good season this year, losing some games against bigger schools by a small margin. I've met Coach Hoke and Coach Burnett personally and they were very cool. They have pharmacy as one of their majors and I am interested in pharmacy.

#5. The final school, I am going to say Ohio State. Ohio State has had a history of excellence in football, but other than that I really don't know much about them.

What do you plan on majoring in during college? What do you intend to parlay it into beyond football?

I think I might major in pharmacy. I like chemistry and science, and pharmacy would allow me to explore those fields. Also, it is a very well paying job which, with a good income I could have the comfort of exploring other things. I think I'm going to be a pharmacist.

When you aren't mauling players on the field, what do you enjoy off it?

I like doing a lot of things off the field. I like hanging out with my friends, I like reading (I am a big fan of Stephen King and Richard K. Morgan), and writing. I also like training for football and throwing shot and discus for track. I love doing stuff with my family, my family is very important to me.

What are your goals for next season?

I want to get All State on both sides of the ball, be Offensive Lineman of the Year in conference, be the Defensive POY in conference, I want our team to go undefeated. I want to run a 4.8, bench 350, squat 600, hang clean 300, and weigh about 270.

In addition to working out vigorously, Kohout plans to attend several more camps and combines in the 2008 offseason, like the Midwest Combine, and return trips to Michigan and Wisconsin. If his hard work materializes into a D1 scholarship, as could be expected, it all paid off in a dream realized.

http://www.recruitingplanet.com/

[osugrad21]

Very nice interview! Jordan, thank you for your time and be sure to keep us updated.

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