Eagle Football Soaring

The New Ulm Eagle football team has been building up a successful program under new head coach Corey Kneeshaw. Coach Kneeshaw came from California in 2017 to coach the small New Ulm football team. Before Kneeshaw, New Ulm football struggled a bit trying to find its way. Kneeshaw had plans to change the way that people thought about New Ulm Football.

In years past, the Eagles have not always been on the radar as a stellar football program, despite the efforts of some. Before Kneeshaw came to New Ulm, the Eagles struggled to get victories. Kneeshaw has now been in New Ulm for two years and has already accumulated five wins for the Eagles.

Connor Foley and Hunter Ranweiler, the senior receiver/quarterback duo, both achieved school records, and Connor also had a state record.

Kneeshaw said: “You have to understand your players, know their strengths.” Kneeshaw had to replace Jordan Hillisheim, the Eagles star running back last year. The Eagles had always been a good running team, but Kneeshaw could see potential for a good passing attack with Hunter’s strong arm at QB and Connors height at WR on the outside. Foley said, “I thought the new offense was really good because it really fit our team’s attributes.”

Suffering heavy losses in seniors this upcoming season will be tough, but Kneeshaw said, “I believe with our recent success we will be able to get more kids to come out, creating more opportunities for our team.”

The Eagles had sixteen seniors out for football in 2017 and a lot of those players were huge contributors to the team. “There is going to be more competition for spots with all the seniors lost,” Kneeshaw said. The Eagles are going to have to bounce back just like they did from the 2016 season, when they lost 15 seniors. “I believe that we will be successful if we put in time and effort in the off-season,” Kneeshaw added

With the new 2018 football season coming closer and closer, Kneeshaw knows that he has to start recruiting more kids to come out for football. Part of recruiting is getting kids to come to Kneeshaw’s summer program he put together in the 2017. “The summer program really helped our team learn the offense/defense and it was really fun getting together with all my teammates in the summer,” said Foley.

The players come in the morning three days a week to practice plays and lift weights. Kneeshaw also put together a seven-on-seven league in the summer, where the players play against other schools from around New Ulm. This will help the underclassmen learn the offense and get stronger for the upcoming football season. “There is going to be a lot of opportunities for young kids to step up and earn spots on the varsity level,” Kneeshaw said.