BRODHEAD - Three Brodhead-Juda football players signed their National Letters of Intent to play college football Tuesday at Brodhead High School.
Brodhead senior Brady Beuschel signed with Division II Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa. Senior teammates Derek Turner and Trenten Scheidegger signed to play football for Division III Mayville State in Mayville, N.D.
"Playing college football is something I dreamed about as a little kid," said Scheidegger, who will play middle linebacker and safety for Mayville State. "A lot of people have doubted me. I never let other people's thoughts get me down or slow me down. Now that it has happened I can't believe it."
Playing college football wasn't even on Bueschel's radar as a freshman. He played soccer as a child and ran cross country his freshman year. Then a friend convinced him to give kicking field goals a try.
"I tried kicking field goals, and I found out I was pretty good," Beuschel said.
He played three years of football for Brodhead-Juda and the Cardinals didn't have to worry about going for a two-point conversion very often. He excelled with deep kickoffs and was near automatic on extra points. Beuschel was 31 of 37 on extra points and 6 of 8 on field goals. It wasn't until Beuschel attended several college kicking camps that he started to believe he could hold his own as a college kicker.
"I never knew I would be good enough to play college football until I went to some of those kicking camps," he said. "I was excited after those camps because I felt like I had the talent."
He sent a video of his kicking ability to Upper Iowa and heard back in less than 10 minutes. He also considered attending Minnesota State University-Mankato and Bemidji State University.
"It's a small town feel just like Brodhead," Beuschel said of Upper Iowa. "I talked to about 15 players. They are all one big family. I wanted to be a part of that family. Coach (Tom) Shea is an old-school coach and I like that."
Upper Iowa had two freshmen kickers last year. Beuschel will have a chance to become an immediate starter as a freshman.
"I'm excited with a chance to go in there and start as a freshman," he said. "My ultimate goal is to start at kickoffs and field goals as a freshman."
Turner and Scheidegger signed to play football for Division III Mayville State together. Both Turner and Scheidegger were lured in by the tight-knit college at Mayville State with a football program that went 7-4 last year in the North Star Athletic Conference and is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The seven-team NSAC includes Dakota State University, Jamestown College, Presentation College, Valley City State University and two new members for next year in Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa and Dickinson State University.
Turner rushed for 836 yards and scored 14 TD as the fullback for the Cardinals and he had 33 tackles on defense.
Scheidegger had 63 total tackles including 43 solo tackles and five tackles for loss.
"It's a small town just like Brodhead," Turner said of Mayville. "It's a perfect fit. It's always what I wanted to do since I started in third grade. I always wanted to take the next step to college."
Turner is expecting to play on the defensive line and could see time at fullback.
"I'm looking at cutting some weight and working on my speed," he said. "I have to step up my work in the offseason and show them what I can do."
Brodhead senior Brady Beuschel signed with Division II Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa. Senior teammates Derek Turner and Trenten Scheidegger signed to play football for Division III Mayville State in Mayville, N.D.
"Playing college football is something I dreamed about as a little kid," said Scheidegger, who will play middle linebacker and safety for Mayville State. "A lot of people have doubted me. I never let other people's thoughts get me down or slow me down. Now that it has happened I can't believe it."
Playing college football wasn't even on Bueschel's radar as a freshman. He played soccer as a child and ran cross country his freshman year. Then a friend convinced him to give kicking field goals a try.
"I tried kicking field goals, and I found out I was pretty good," Beuschel said.
He played three years of football for Brodhead-Juda and the Cardinals didn't have to worry about going for a two-point conversion very often. He excelled with deep kickoffs and was near automatic on extra points. Beuschel was 31 of 37 on extra points and 6 of 8 on field goals. It wasn't until Beuschel attended several college kicking camps that he started to believe he could hold his own as a college kicker.
"I never knew I would be good enough to play college football until I went to some of those kicking camps," he said. "I was excited after those camps because I felt like I had the talent."
He sent a video of his kicking ability to Upper Iowa and heard back in less than 10 minutes. He also considered attending Minnesota State University-Mankato and Bemidji State University.
"It's a small town feel just like Brodhead," Beuschel said of Upper Iowa. "I talked to about 15 players. They are all one big family. I wanted to be a part of that family. Coach (Tom) Shea is an old-school coach and I like that."
Upper Iowa had two freshmen kickers last year. Beuschel will have a chance to become an immediate starter as a freshman.
"I'm excited with a chance to go in there and start as a freshman," he said. "My ultimate goal is to start at kickoffs and field goals as a freshman."
Turner and Scheidegger signed to play football for Division III Mayville State together. Both Turner and Scheidegger were lured in by the tight-knit college at Mayville State with a football program that went 7-4 last year in the North Star Athletic Conference and is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The seven-team NSAC includes Dakota State University, Jamestown College, Presentation College, Valley City State University and two new members for next year in Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa and Dickinson State University.
Turner rushed for 836 yards and scored 14 TD as the fullback for the Cardinals and he had 33 tackles on defense.
Scheidegger had 63 total tackles including 43 solo tackles and five tackles for loss.
"It's a small town just like Brodhead," Turner said of Mayville. "It's a perfect fit. It's always what I wanted to do since I started in third grade. I always wanted to take the next step to college."
Turner is expecting to play on the defensive line and could see time at fullback.
"I'm looking at cutting some weight and working on my speed," he said. "I have to step up my work in the offseason and show them what I can do."
