Nebraska nabbed its ninth commit of the 2022 recruiting class on Wednesday. Millard South athlete Gage Stenger committed to the team. Stenger had been committed to Kansas State since June but the Huskers started showing more interest in the versatile playmaker fueled by the big season he is having.
Millard South coach Andy Means felt good for his star player when he found out that he was going to commit to Nebraska. The Huskers offered Stenger on Oct. 1. Means was a sounding board for him through the decision.
“I wanted him to do what he wanted to do and what he felt comfortable doing,” Means said. “I know he liked Kansas State when he went for his visit in the summer and that’s why he committed. I just told him just compare and see what see what you want to do and he decided to go to Nebraska.”
Means says that he knew Stenger would be special back when he was a sophomore at Millard South, winning games for the junior varsity team doing the same things he is now for the No. 1 team in Class A. Stenger is a good athlete with a 38-inch vertical jump and a 4.55 forty-yard dash. He checks all the boxes at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.
That’s not the best thing about his game according to his coach.
“Number one, he’s got a great football IQ,” Means said. “He knows the game. He’s out there on offense and defense basically directing people. The other thing is, he is a very fierce competitor. He absolutely hates to lose. Those two things are really intangibles. He loves playing the game but he wants to win.”
Stenger made the transition to quarterback for his senior season after playing wide receiver for Millard South as a junior . He’s thrown for 1,095 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions so far in 2021. He’s also rushed for 507 yards this season with 10 touchdowns on just 53 carries. Stenger starts at safety on the Patriots defense as well. He’s credited with 12 total tackles on defense.
The senior rotates in and out on defense since he’s the team’s quarterback. When I saw him play last month, the big takeaway from his performance was whether or not an offer would come from Nebraska. Fans were certainly wondering.
Gage comes from a long line of Stengers that have played for Means. The latest Nebraska commit is the sixth member of the family that he’s coached at Millard South. It’s a really athletic family that has a high competitive spirit about them.
Seeing this moment happen for his player gives Means pride. One of the reasons he and his coaches do the job they do is to help guys become the best players they can be. Making kids the best fundamentally sound players they can be to help them get to the next level is the name of the game.
“There’s some sort of a feeling of accomplishment when any of our kids get get offers from any school,” Means said. “It gives us It gives us as coaches a sense of accomplishment that maybe we’re doing something right. That’s really the goal is to help develop these players to the best of their ability and then they have to perform.”
