@HuskerlandBob Sez: A lot of water under the bridge since I sat down with Noah Vedral in the 2016 preseason. As you will read here he did commit to Central Florida and wound up playing for a guy named Scott Frost. They both "transferred" to Nebraska and last spring Noah transferred again, this time to Rutgers.
Noah is a great young man, wise beyond his football years, and he certainly carved himself quite a niche in Nebraska high school sports history, football in particular. Like you I wish the kid the best of luck at Rutgers...except for that one Saturday each fall. (wink)
Hope you enjoy this preseason feature story, published in August 2016, just a few weeks before Noah would lead the Cavaliers to the 2016 Class C-1 state final.
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Oh, there’s a chance Bishop Neumann’s Noah Vedral wouldn’t someday become a football player. Remember Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber?
Actually, there was virtually no chance Vedral wouldn’t someday be a football player. The son of a former Husker, student manager for the Bishop Neumann football team since first grade, his grandpa head coach of the Neumann football team, the kid was immersed in the game from start to, well, now. All that’s changed now that he’s about to become a senior in high school is life’s pace, which is hectic to say the least.
“I don’t really have any free time, at least most of the time. This is the first time I’ve been home in five weekends,” says Vedral when interviewed last spring. “I’m always on the go, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
All love of the game aside, the reason for all the travel is pretty simple - kid’s trying to attract just the right college football scholarship offer. And over the summer he found the right fit, saying yes to Central Florida, a program led by new head coach Scott Frost, the former Wood River and Nebraska superstar quarterback.
“People (were) always asking me about Nebraska because of my dad having played there and me living in Wahoo, but I’ve traveled a lot over the past few months, seen a lot of places, and there are a lot of places with so much to offer. Central Florida just seemed like the right place for me,” says Vedral, who presently goes 6-2, 180.
Especially in the past few months Vedral has spoken with several other top Nebraska recruits - “the Class of 2017 in this state could be something real special” - and enjoys being part of that fraternity. “The people you get to know playing sports is one of the best things about it.”
Vedral’s going to get a chance to help Central Florida but what is for sure is Vedral surely helps the Bishop Neumann football program. A two-year starter at quarterback, a three-year starter on defense, he is certainly the team leader and one of best players in the state. A premier dual threat QB, last season Vedral passed for 1,527 yards and 16 TDs, and added 823 yards rushing and another 12 TDs.
“Above all else, Noah is a competitor,” says Bishop Neumann head coach Tim Turman, who also is Vedral’s grandfather. “He spends a lot of what I call lonely time working on his skills and he knows our offense inside out, and with his verbal leadership he is truly a coach on the field.”
Not only that, but with all the camps (including the Rivals.com camp in Kansas City last May) and throwing sessions for coaches Vedral has gotten in more than his share of throws in the off-season. “He’s always bugging his teammates to come out and catch some passes, sometimes one or two in the morning and then different players in the afternoon,” says Coach Turman. “He’s always striving to make himself as good a player as possible.”
Not only is Vedral a Division I football recruit, but he also played point guard on Neumann’s Class C-1 state basketball championship team and is also the defending all-class gold medal winner in the 300 meter hurdles. Not bad. Outside of his sports Vedral also holds down a perfect 4.0 GPA, is a member of the National Honor Society and is his class representative on the student council.
Teams with Vedral on them have been winners basically all through his athletic career - and with a 4.0 GPA you’d imagine in other capacities as well - but his football team has never won a state title. Never been in a state final. Last year’s state quarterfinal appearance is the best the Cavs have done with him at the wheel.
So what changes to get Bishop Neumann into the 2016 Class C-1 state title game?
“We are going to have speed in the backfield and on the edge, and a deep pool of lineman to show us the way,”says Vedral. “We don’t need to be a bunch of JJ Watts on defense, we just need to do our jobs and win the one-on-ones, and we have the athletes to do it.”
And the quarterback.
