Listen to the story HERE:
Reed Russ visits Iowa
MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon/Plankinton junior Reed Rus went to the Iowa Hawkeyes spring football game this past weekend as part of a recruiting trip.
“They kind of reached out to invite me to a game, and that’s kind of when it started, and I’ve been talking to them ever since,” Rus said.
Rus would love to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and fellow Mount Vernon native Chad Greenway, he said.
You might know that Rus wears the same No. 18 jersey that Greenway wore in college – after HE made the jump from Mount Vernon to playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Greenway, of course, then went on to star for the Minnesota Vikings for more than a decade.
Russ did say, though, the jersey number is not on purpose.
“So when I was a freshman, I was going to be the quarterback, and obviously the seniors get to pick their number first, so when I went up there to pick my number, the only number that was really going to fit me was size 18,” Rus said. “So it was kind of a joke that I ended up having the same number he did.”
That being said, Russ said he is thankful he has his uncle to talk through recruiting.
“He’s been through this all,” Rus said. “He tells me how this is supposed to work — what not to do and what to do. It makes everything go a lot easier.”
Rus was named to the South Dakota High School Football Coaches Association All State list in football in the fall. His MVP Titans finished seventh this year in Class 11B in the regular season after going 7-1 and losing in the first round of the playoffs to Beresford 27-24.
Among other schools, Rus has also visited Augustana, South Dakota, North Dakota and NDSU this year.