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 “Freshman year, I wasn't the best player. I didn't even make JV,”
Conrady said. “Then I lifted all year long.”
Conrady started on the offensive line his sophomore year, and has
been a fixture for the Railsplitters ever since.
It's not hard to see why.
Conrady, a towering six-foot, five-inch senior tips the scales at
330-pounds.
But as much as the giant of Lincoln's offensive line smashes and
drives opponents on Friday nights, Lincoln Coach Seth Bass says
Conrady is the team's silent leader.
“He's not going to be a kid who is going to grab anybody and yell
and scream that they're doing it wrong,” Bass said of his senior
center. “He's a hard worker and a leader, and he goes about it in
the right way.”
All of his hard work now has Conrady on the radar of a handful of
Midwestern universities.
“I couldn't sleep the first night I got word a schoool was looking
at me,” Conrady admitted.
Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and the University
of North Iowa all have invited Conrady to campus.
“It's been (a lot of) 'Come to our games, and we'll talk',” Conrady
said of the recruitment process so far.
Conrady and the Railers have five games left this season, so it'll
be a while before he's able to head out for a visit.
The campus at UNI caught Conrady's eye because of the dome and
athletic facilities in Cedar Falls.
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But he says his parents, Valarie and Gary Conrady, are more
interested in classes and computer labs.
“It's a lot of choosing college based on majors,” Conrady said about
his conversations with his folks about being recruited.
The senior says he's interested in radiology as a possible career.
Conrady knows that Lincoln football has had a tough go of it lately.
The Railers are 0-4 and will likely drop to 0-5 after a Friday night
meeting with defending state champion Sacred Heart Griffin.
But Conrady says to be recruited despite the win-loss record is
special.
“I just hope it inspires everyone else to do the same thing,”
Conrady said after Thursday's practice. “Hopefully it will raise
Lincoln.”
Or 'Raise L' as Coach Bass likes to put it.
“(Sage) hopefully leaves a legacy for the future kids,” Bass said
there are several former Railers playing college football.
“Hopefully the kids see that...And if we can get this to spiral a
little bit, hopefully people will take a better look at us.”
Lincoln travels to Springfield Friday for a 7 p.m. game against
Sacred Heart Griffin.
[Benjamin Yount]
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