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Sam Peters Talk About Minnesota Offer

Sam Peters, a 6-foot-3, 222-pound junior tight end from Maple Grove (MN) High, shined at the Minnesota football camp Sunday and received a scholarship offer afterwards.

Peters helped lead the Crimson to an 11-2 mark, losing to Lakeville South 13-7 in the Class 6A Prep Bowl.

The Gopher Report caught up with Peters Wednesday night to learn more about the Minnesota football offer.

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The Gopher Report: You got one more day of school left. What does that feel like?

Sam Peters: It’s draining. I’m excited for it to be done finally.

The Gopher Report: Is it going to be weird to be a senior after tomorrow?

Sam Peters: Yes, for sure. It’s kind of sad, like seeing all the seniors go away and graduate, but I’m excited to be one of the leaders in the school next year.

The Gopher Report: You guys had a great year this past year, making to the Prep Bowl. I know that you lost some key players, but what are the expectations for Maple Grove this upcoming year?

Sam Peters: I’m expected us to be pretty good. We lost half of our defense and a few guys on offense, but we should be okay in replacing them and I think we’ll be pretty solid again.

The Gopher Report: You were at the Gopher camp this weekend and tested out very well, which was one of the reasons I think you attracted a lot of interest from the Gopher coaches. You ran a 4.68 forty and broad jumped 9-3. Had you been working on some of those things before the camp?

Sam Peters: The broad jump, I honestly, really haven’t done. It was no technique, just jumping, really. The forties, I did track this spring and that probably helped a little bit. I was doing some personal training and I think that probably improved my forty time.

The Gopher Report: You played well there and it seemed like the coaches focus on you a lot. Did you think that you might get an offer after you were doing well there?

Sam Peters: It’s hard to say. They came and watched me at the school and they really liked what they saw the first time and he just started talking to me a lot more after that and once camp came around, they were singling me out and making go to the front of the line and running me back and forth between O-line stuff, like blocking the D-line and doing one-on-ones with safeties and corners and doing some tight end blocking drills. I think that was when I realized that they were focusing me a lot more than most other people there.

The Gopher Report: That had to make you feel pretty good, too?

Sam Peters: Oh, yes. For sure.

The Gopher Report: What led up to them offering you. How did they tell you that they were going to extend you a scholarship offer?

Sam Peters: After the camp got over, I was talking to Coach Harbaugh and he told me to grab my stuff because we were going up to P.J.’s office, so we went up to the team lounge area and we were sitting there for a little bit, waiting for P.J. and then once he was ready, me and my dad went into his office and sat down and we were talking to P.J. for a little bit and he said that “he loves what I do and he loves what he saw in the camp and he thinks that I’d be a great fit in their program,” so he decided to offer me.

The Gopher Report: When you get called into the office, you probably think is going to happen. Is that what you figured?

Sam Peters: Yes. I was thinking one of two things. It was either going to be an offer or it was going to be them saying that I didn’t do very good and they weren’t going to offer. I’m pretty glad that it went one way than the other.

The Gopher Report: Are you going there again this weekend? What are you hoping to gain from that experience?

Sam Peters: I’m excited to meet all the staff and tour the facilities. Get to meet all the players that are committed currently and some of the other recruits that are going there. I also heard that they’ve got really good food, so I’m excited for that. It looks like a really fun time, so I can’t wait.

The Gopher Report: Have you heard from any of the current commits already?

Sam Peters: Yes. I’ve been talking to them on Snapchat a little bit. We are developing a little bit of a relationship.

The Gopher Report: Have you meet any of those players before this camp?

Sam Peters: Me and Martin (Owusu) used to be on the same team, so we’ve always been friends before he moved to Prior Lake. Through him, I became pretty good friends with Greg (Johnson).

The Gopher Report: Do you know Reese Tripp and another player who was at the camp and committed over the weekend, Alex Elliott? Do you either of those two kids?

Sam Peters: I knew Reese. I saw him at the spring game and that’s where we met. We’ve been talking a little bit since then, but I haven’t ever met Alex in person. We’ve been talking on Snapchat, too,

The Gopher Report: I think you had about ten offers before the camp. Is that about right?

Sam Peters: I think Minnesota was my 13th.

The Gopher Report: I know that you were getting some looks from other Power 5 schools like Wisconsin, Iowa and Iowa State. Have you heard from any other schools now that you’ve got that first Power 5 offer?

Sam Peters: A few days after I got the Minnesota offer, Iowa said that they have offered four guys and they are taking two and they think that they probably have the commits already locked in. Wisconsin said that they see their senior evaluation, too.

The Gopher Report: Do you feel like now that you got that offer, schools either need to step it up and offer you or maybe you need to move on?

Sam Peters: Yes. That’s kind of what I’m thinking.

The Gopher Report: Is there a chance that if you have a really good weekend and enjoy your time, that you could see yourself committing fairly soon to Minnesota?

Sam Peters: Yes. I could definitely see that happening. I’m not sure when, but I think sooner more than later.

The Gopher Report: In a perfect world when would you like to have this all done or have you even thought that far? Did things speed up with that Minnesota offer?

Sam Peters: I would say at the latest, the 1st. I don’t really want to delay it too much, so pretty much soon as possible, really.

The Gopher Report: You were saying that this was going to be your last camp, right?

Sam Peters: Yes, it was.

The Gopher Report: You said that you participated in track. Have you always been mostly a football player or did you play other sports growing up or have you been focused on football until this season with the track once you got to high school?

Sam Peters: I started playing football in sixth grade and at that point I was playing baseball and hockey. I played all three of those sports until last year and I dropped baseball and hockey to focus more on football and then I picked up track this spring for the first time.

The Gopher Report: Do you think that you might try to do track next year or have you even thought that far?

Sam Peters: This year. I had some problems with shin splints and I stopped running track for awhile, so I’m not sure if next year I’ll be doing track or I’ll be speed training on turf with a softer surface. I haven’t really thought that far ahead.

The Gopher Report: Are you planning on graduating in June or would you think about enrolling early?

Sam Peters: I think that the way my school does it, we do trimesters not semesters and I don’t think that we actually can early enroll.

The Gopher Report: What do you like to do away from the football field?

Sam Peters: I’m a big outdoorsmen, so I like fishing. I like playing video games sometimes. I like cars, hanging out with friends. Just the normal stuff, really.

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