PWO commit Wyatt Schroder: "It's a dream come true"

The Gophers picked up a very talented preferred walk-on commit this past week in St. Francis tight end Wyatt Schroeder. Prior to his decision to commit to Minnesota, Schroeder was committed to South Dakota State on scholarship. TGR spoke with him about his decision to flip and become a Gopher.

"It was a difficult decision," Schroeder told TGR. "SDSU has had great success at the TE position recently, the success of Dallas Goedert (former SDSU TE and current Philidelphia Eagle) obviously is hard to pass up. I have always held a place in my heart for Minnesota so once that opportunity showed itself I knew I couldn’t pass it up. The decision to commit to the U of M was so much more than a football-based decision, many things that this program is doing off the field as well as campus being so close to home all were big factors in my decision."

The Minnesota football program has a unique culture that reaches beyond the gridiron, and those offered aspects had a big impact on his decision to flip.

"This program is so much more than just a football team. They do so many things to help me strive to become the best possible man I can be off the field. Volunteering, mentoring, learning, life coaching and many other things that are going to help me be the best person I can be. I believe that this program is heading in the right direction on, and off the field which was a huge part of my decision."

With limited scholarships available at this time for Minnesota, it was a group effort by several members of the offensive staff to get Schroeder to hop in the boat.

"I have really built a great relationship with multiple coaches on the staff here at Minnesota over the last year of them recruiting me. I think my strong relationship with Coach Patterson, Coach Simon, and Coach Fleck really helped me make this choice. They have displayed a certain level of trust and confidence in me as a player since the first day they recruited me."

At the end of the day, the Minnesota native's chance to stay and represent his home-state school was too much to pass up.

"Getting to play for my in-State school was a factor in this decision. I grew up a Gopher fan so it is going to be pretty cool being able to wear the Maroon and Gold. My goals for my time as a Gopher are to become the best man I can be, become the best football player I can be, and do everything I can to be an impact player on the team. I am beyond excited to be attending the University of Minnesota and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to play football. It is a dream come true"