Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

Wednesday, Feb. 7, was the first day of National signing for football recruits, and a trio of Forest Lake players made their decisions official and final.

Heading off to St. Cloud State University will be Matt Schwartz and Matt Hansmann, while Collin Peterson will take his skills to Bemidji State University.

“It’s a really nice campus,” Peterson said. “[It’s] on the lake and in the wilderness, so right out your door you’ve got anything you want.”

Schwartz and Hansmann took quite a few recruiting trips together — with St. Cloud being one of them —but knowing where the other was leaning wasn’t a deciding factor.

“We kept in touch about where each of us were standing, but it was an individual decision,” Hansmann said.

With an impressive wrestling background, Peterson was also getting attention on that front, but in college he was interested in focusing on football. The coaches at Bemidji wanted him just for his defensive tackle abilities, and that also helped when choosing his college.

For Hansmann and Schwartz, it sounds like they enjoyed every aspect of what St. Cloud has to offer.

“It just fit,” Hansmann said.

“I really got along with a lot of kids there, too, which I think is important,” Schwartz said. “I thought I would fit into their social atmosphere a lot easier.”

All three will redshirt during their freshman year, and after that, Schwartz will try to crack the line-up as a defensive tackle as Hansmann will compete as a defensive back.

Last season was a down year for the Huskies of St. Cloud, but they’ve typically been strong, with a coach who has been there for close to a decade.

“Their program’s pretty well put together right now,” Hansmann said.

In 2006, Bemidji State went undefeated, won its conference and played in a bowl game.

Even though these seniors will go their separate ways next fall, in a couple of years they will have an opportunity to meet again on the football field. St. Cloud State will move into the Northern Sun Conference. Waiting for them will be the current champ, Bemidji State.

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