Rosemount Lineman Honored By All-Star Game Opportunity

Brandt Berghuis, a 6'1", 220-pound defensive lineman from Rosemount, may be playing his last football game for awhile this weekend as a member of the South team in Saturday’s Minnesota Football High School All-Star Game at TCF Stadium. However, unlike many players on both sides of the field who will have their game faces on, it would not be surprising to see Berghuis smiling throughout the game.

Berghuis has enjoyed spending the past week, practicing and getting to know his teammates and opponents in Saturday’s game. He is anxious to get out on the field after suffering a serious knee injury this fall.

Berghuis, who helped lead the Irish to an appearance in the Class AAAAA Prep Bowl, will concentrate on track and field at North Dakota State.

Berghuis helped lead the Irish to a 12-1 mark, losing to Wayzata 31-14 in the Prep Bowl. He was named Minnesota Associated Press second team All-State.

Berghuis finished seventh in the state in the shot put as a junior with a toss of 54-1 ½ and ninth in the discus with a toss of 150 feet. He was eighth in the shot earlier this month with a toss of 53-4

Rosemount Patch caught up with Berghuis at the All-Star Game media session to learn more of his high school career, Saturday’s game and college future.

Rosemount Patch: This is may be one of the last times you’ll be playing football. How important has this week been to you?
 
Brandt Berghuis: It’s been really important. I hurt my knee in the semifinals, so it was hard to end my high school experience like that. Just getting the honor to play in the stadium and play this week has been the greatest thing ever.

Rosemount Patch: What has the experience been like going down in St. Peter and staying in the dorms with the guys?
 
Berghuis: The coaches are great. The guys are great. Even though we come from different teams, everyone gets along great. It has been an awesome week, probably one of the best weeks of my life. It has been a good time.

Rosemount Patch: You had a great year track and field-wise and signed with North Dakota State. Have they talked to you much about expectations there? A lot of schools will redshirt their freshman, especially for throwing events?

Berghuis: They said depending on how my fall goes, I’ll redshirt or not. We’ll see how it goes. I won’t mind redshirting. I am just excited I get to do something athletic in college.

Rosemount Patch: How pleased were you with your track and field season?
 
Berghuis: It was not as good. I had knee surgery in the winter, so I missed a big part of the beginning of the season. My knee bothered me all season. I did better my junior season than I did my senior year, but being able to go to state as a senior was an honor. I was eighth in the shot at the end of the season. I got All-State as a junior in shot and discus. Discus, I did not place in my senior year. I think I was seventh in shot and ninth in discus as a junior. My PR (personal record) was 56 feet as a junior and my senior year, it was 54. It was a big drop and just hard to come back from the ACL surgery.

Rosemount Patch: You still have to be pretty pleased that you were even able to do that well, considering the injury. A lot of people might not have been even able to comeback at all.

Berghuis: I’m just happy that I got to go out there. I don’t believe in excuses, so I could have thrown better with my knee, but it was a factor.

Rosemount Patch: When you look back at your times at Rosemount, what will the highlights be?
 
Berghuis: Friday nights under the lights, playing with my team. A team that I grew up with playing in our AAA way back in elementary school. Growing up with the team, playing with the team. I am going to miss the coaches. The coaches are great. I am going to miss Tim Conboy, the throws coach and how dedicated he is and letting everyone in the weight room. I am going to miss all the other coaches, the D-line coach, Coach Roback. It just seemed like all the coaches are really into the game. The coaches really have a heart for the game. They really coach well and they are really dedicated.

Rosemount Patch: Have you thought much about what you would like to major in at college?

Berghuis: I’m undecided right now.

Rosemount Patch: Would you possibly look into playing football after your frehsman year?

Berghuis: Maybe. I am kind of excited for the track season. If I miss it a lot, I’ll play, but right now I am looking forward to track. They have indoor and outdoor track seasons. Their indoor league in the winters is big, but their spring is the big track season.

Rosemount Patch: Did you think about going to a school where you could play both football and do track?

Berghuis: Originally, I was going to go to Bemidji and play football and run track, but they dropped their track program. So, I [decided] to [go to] North Dakota State and run track there.

Rosemount Patch: What kind of potential do the track coaches see you having in the throwing events?

Berghuis: I’m not sure yet. I’m not sure if I am redshirting or not next year. I had my ACL surgery six months ago, so I am just recovering. I am pretty excited for just an opportunity to play any sport, .

Rosemount Patch: This is your first time playing since the injury. When did that happen?

Berghuis: It happened in the semifinals. I did not get to play in the championship. It is a good way to end high school football playing in this. It’s awesome coming down here.

Rosemount Patch: You participated in track and field this spring. How was the knee held up in these workouts?

Berghuis: It is all right. It has swollen up. It has bothered me. It is bothering me a little bit, but when the game comes, I’ll be so excited to play, I don’t think that it will be that big of a factor.

Rosemount Patch: Former Rosemount wide receiver Zach Vraa, who was Mr. Football as a senior, is at North Dakota State playing football. Have you talked to him about his experiences up there?

Berghuis: He says he likes it up there a lot. He says it is a good school. He says he likes everything about it. He wants me to walk-on there, too, but we’ll see how it goes. He’s got Mr. Football, so it is kind of hard to go up there after he went up there. He is a good player.

Rosemount Patch: There were some guys on your team that you were rivals with in high school. What was that like getting to know them?

Berghuis: Frank Veldman of Eastview is kind of a rival. It is kind of funny. I have his decal on my helmet right now. (The team often traded decals with their teammates.) That is kind of funny being rivals coming in and now having good team camaraderie, despite coming from different backgrounds. He is a cool guy. We all get along pretty well.

Rosemount Patch: How has the week gone? Has it been what you thought it would be?

Berghuis: I thought that there would be more tension between the teams, but everyone comes from different teams and gets along really well. Everyone is good friends. It’s like we have known each other for a long time.

Rosemount Patch: What is it like playing at TCF Stadium?

Berghuis: It is awesome. The stadium is a lot bigger when you are in the middle of it. It is the coolest thing. I just can’t believe that I am here right now.