Rich Wilkie, the head football coach at Andover (Minn.) High School, knows plenty about what his senior standout Jake Geier is getting into at North Dakota.
Geier, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound safety, was one of 22 players announced Wednesday as part of the program's 2016 recruiting class.
Wilkie grew up in Jamestown, N.D., where one of his student teachers in high school was UND head coach Bubba Schweigert.
Wilkie also went on to play football at UND from 1985-89.
"I'm excited for Jake and not just because he's going to my alma mater," Wilkie said. "It should be a good fit for him. I think he'll have a great career.
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"I think they're really fortunate to get a guy like Jake. Based on my previous experience with recruiting, I thought Jake could end up at an FBS school."
Although he's a defensive prospect at the college level, Geier didn't play much defense in high school. At Andover, Wilkie said they put the ball in Geier's hands as much as possible on offense.
Geier had 78 catches for 929 yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 336 rushing yards and 13 more touchdowns as a runner. Andover also used Geier as a wildcat quarterback at times.
When Andover did call on Geier to play defense, he played cornerback. Wilkie said he used Geier at corner to lock down opposing wide receivers.
Geier's play his senior season earned him 2015 Minnesota Vikings all-state honors.
UND special teams coordinator Shawn Kostich, who recruits Minnesota, said Geier came to UND's June camp and impressed the coaching staff with his explosiveness during drills.
That's what Wilkie said separates Geier.
"All of the coaches coming through recruiting, I told them that for his size, I've never had a kid run those times," Wilkie said. "He's got everything that a college football coach would want."
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Kostich said Geier was a hot item in recruiting well beyond his commitment to UND.
"I think between he and (Evan) Holm, they were hammered the most from other schools," Kostich said. "They didn't stop calling him. It was a stressful process for us. He never wavered on it. He was a very loyal kid."
Said Wilkie: "We had all the Missouri Valley schools come through, but UND was the first to offer. He got a couple of late offers, but he was set on the staff there."
Wilkie, who said he's known Schweigert since he was 15, made an interesting athletic comparison for Geier.
"Athletically, he ranks right up there some of the best I've coached," Wilkie said. "That goes all the way back to Darin Erstad.
"Jake is the type of kid who represents your program and community well. Those types of players are unique, special guys."
