Gueths signs with Northern Illinois

Way back in seventh grade, Zeke Gueths received some encouragement from Al Tomow that he still remembers.

“We’re going to make an athlete out of you,” the Hawks’ current football head coach said.

Five years later, Gueths, now a 6-foot-5, 248-pound senior at Shawano Community High School, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Northern Illinois University next fall on a full-ride scholarship.

The ceremonial signing was held Wednesday morning in the SCHS gym in front of a crowd of friends, coaches and family members. He is the school’s first Division 1 football recruit.

“I feel like I set an example for this community,” Gueths said. “I just wanted to show younger athletes to follow your dreams and this stuff can happen.”

Gueths has competed in four sports in high school. With his participation in track this spring, he will have competed in all 12 sports seasons for the Hawks. He also serves as president of the student council and National Honor Society, has a perfect 4.0 GPA and is a candidate for valedictorian for the Class of 2016.

Gueths is also a member of the FFA, Math Club and Science Society.

Earning success

Around the school, teachers, administrators and coaches have nothing but positive things to say about the NIU recruit.

“Zeke is just a phenomenal kid. You can’t say enough positive things about a kid like that,” SCHS head basketball coach Dave Ambrosius said. “He shows up and works his butt off every single day.”

NIU was also one of the first schools to begin recruiting Gueths after watching him play against Menasha. The recruiter wasn’t there to specifically watch Gueths, but after the game asked the then-junior to attend the NIU camp the following spring.

Despite subsequently earning offers from other schools, Tomow said loyalty played a factor in his decision to head to DeKalb, Illinois.

Gueths said that, without Tomow, he would not be where he is today.

“He’s self-made. He won people over. He put the time in, and a lot of hard work in to get where he is today,” Tomow said. “I hope that rubs off on our other kids. He’s definitely been a great example for his teammates.”

Gueths fell in love with the campus, academics and coaches at Northern Illinois.

“We’ve got a saying around our place that success isn’t owned, it’s rented,” NIU head coach Rod Carey said after a Shawano basketball game in January. “And rent is due every day. You’ve got to pay rent. It’s that easy.”

Big expectations

Gueths, who plans to redshirt his freshman season, was able to show NIU offensive line coach Joe Tripodi exactly what he had to offer during the junior camp last year. Gueths was the only offensive lineman there, which means he spent four uninterrupted hours working with Tripodi before being asked to follow him up to Carey’s office.

“I knew when I was going to his office that something was going to happen,” Gueths said.

He earned a scholarship that day, but that didn’t keep him from continuing to work to improve himself over the next year.

Gueths has built at rapport with Tripodi, who the senior called “down to earth” and “easy to talk to.” Carey and Tripodi attended the Hawks’ basketball game against West De Pere on Jan. 15.

“I know they are excited about his athleticism and how far he has come this year,” Tomow said. “So I think the ceiling is really high for him. As long as Zeke keeps working, he’ll have the chance to do nice things for them too.”

The Huskies have played in six consecutive Mid-American Conference championship games and won three of them. And Carey isn’t lowering the expectations for any of the athletes coming into the program.

“The class that just left, the seniors had 43 wins in their career, which is a lot,” Carey said. “So the class coming in behind them is going to have a big expectation.”

Leaving a legacy

SCHS Activities Director Charmaine Schreiber said Gueths has set a wonderful example for other students by getting involved in school activities.

“He’s always the first person to volunteer, the first person to help. He does all the heavy-lifting for us, literally.

“We’re real proud of Zeke because he’s demonstrated that you can balance academics as well as be a multi-sport athlete and be extremely successful. That’s what I’m most impressed about with Zeke, that he’s found that balance.”

Now, with just four months remaining at SCHS, Gueths is looking back on his legacy here.

“I just want to be that kid that shows you can be in the classroom and in sports and succeed in both,” Gueths said. “You can’t just focus on one thing. It’s important to be a well-rounded person.”