Regis' Zander Rockow signs with University of Minnesota
Dec. 22—Regis football standout Zander Rockow is ready to "Row the Boat."
The Eau Claire Regis senior signed his letter of intent on Wednesday afternoon to play linebacker for the University of Minnesota as a preferred walk-on.
Rockow signed on Wednesday surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches at Regis High School.
"Feels amazing, I've dreamed of this every single day since I was a kid," Rockow said. "It feels amazing just to do it and have everyone here supporting me."
Rockow was a dominant force as a running back throughout his high school career, including a record-breaking 251-yard rushing performance in the state championship game this season. Rockow was a four-year varsity starter on both offense and defense in his high school career.
At the University of Minnesota, Rockow said he will play linebacker. He said he chose Minnesota because of the culture that head coach P.J. Fleck has built there.
"There's something different about that energy in that culture and I want to be a part of it," Rockow said.
Rockow said he began getting "serious Division-1 interest" around his sophomore year, and from there he started attending different camps over the summers and "worked his butt off" to make his dream of playing at that level a reality.
Rockow verbally committed to Minnesota this past June after he impressed coaches with his performance at a Minnesota camp.
Rockow spoke to Fleck and his staff over zoom Wednesday morning and they reiterated how excited they are for him to join their program, he said.
Rockow said the Wisconsin Badgers' staff had been reaching out the last couple of days, including by text Wednesday morning, trying to get him to flip his commitment. Rockow was firm on his desire to play for Minnesota, saying he is "all about the boat."
Rockow's teammates were with him in the Regis auditorium on Wednesday to watch him put pen to paper and joined him on stage for group photos.
Rockow credited his teammates at Regis and head coach Bryant Brenner for supporting him and helping him accomplish his goals by building a winning culture around the football program.
"It's really special," Rockow said. "I have a ton of people behind me, having my back, cheering me on."
Rockow said he still plans to play baseball this spring, as Regis looks to defend their state championship title from last spring.
"It feels pretty nice to be able to play baseball one last time, run it back with my guys one last time, just before I go off to Minnesota," Rockow said.
