Heading into his senior season of football, Zack Lasek is hoping to make a splash at the highest level of college football. 

The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Huskie lineman has offers to play for the FCS University of Northern Iowa and Division II Wayne State and Minnesota State, but is hoping to get on the radar at Iowa’s FBS schools. 

{{tncms-inline content="<p class="p1">"It’s definitely nerve-racking knowing that my performance is what is going to determine it, but that makes it easier because my performance is something I can control. I’m confident I’ll perform well this season." </p>" id="a217fd92-adfe-4636-9562-d9ed9a5c1792" style-type="quote" title="Pull Quote" type="relcontent"}}

Lasek, who is also a 1000-point scorer for the basketball team, said college football is likely the path he will follow after his final year at Highland. 

“As I’ve gone through high school I’ve started to love football more and more and now probably like football a little more than basketball,” he said. “Playing (football) with my brothers, who liked football more, kind of pushed me more toward football.”

Lasek was recently named the No. 14 2020 basketball prospect in the state of Iowa by the Des Moines Regsiter. 

Part of that love for football comes from knowing that the sport has a time limit. 

“Football is just kind of more appealing to me right now… when you’re older you can’t just go to a YMCA and play pickup football so I’d say it is a lot more thrilling than basketball,” he said. 

Lasek had 7.5 tackles for loss last season as a defensive end including three sacks on a defense that allowed around two touchdowns per game. On the offensive side, Lasek played tackle for the Huskies working to protect the left side of the line. 

The offer from Northern Iowa came soon after the Class of 2019 signing date in February, putting them as his first offer.

“I was playing video games at home and got a call from coach (Ryan) Clanton, the offensive line coach, and he just talked to me and said they wanted to offer me a scholarship and that was pretty cool,” Lasek said. 

The offer from UNI would offer the ability to reconnect at school with his brothers. Trey is a freshman walk-on for the Panthers and his brother Trent attends UNI. 

After spending time at Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Iowa’s football camp this summer, Lasek is hoping to turn those performances into more substantial talks with coaches. 

The recruiting process will ramp up this fall for Lasek, who said after a conversation with University of Iowa coaches during their football camp they would be waiting to evaluate him this season.

“I talked with coach Ferentz and coach Bell right after their camp and they wanted me to visit the Hawkeye Tailgater,” Lasek said. “They said they liked me a lot and they liked me at the camp, but they would wait to see how things with other recruits materialize and how my season went before they make a decision.”

Lasek can take up to five official visits this fall, but doesn’t have any set on the calendar as of now. 

Overall, Lasek called the recruiting process a fun journey so far. 

“It definitely has been fun to see new places, going to see places like Nebraska or Minnesota and seeing what other programs are like compared to Iowa that I’ve lived around my whole life,” he said. “It was kind of neat comparing and contrasting each place.”

So with so much on the line, Lasek is looking to make a splash in his senior season. 

The Highland football team opens up their season with a scrimmage against Louisa-Muscatine on Aug. 23. Their first official game is on Aug. 30  on the road at Columbus.