Workout warrior Ben Van Sumeren hearing from Power-5 programs
Garber ATH Ben Van Sumeren was a top ten national tester during the Nike Opening Regionals tour. He now has major programs looking his way as a result.
A look atop the best combine testers from Nike’s Opening Regional tour, which had stops in 13 cities nationwide, produces some expected results. Texas is well-represented, as is Georgia, Louisville and Indianapolis. There are players in the top ten committed to Ohio State, Texas, Baylor, and five-stars like Brennan Eagles as well as the nation’s No. 1 prospect in 2019, IMG Academy defensive end Nolan Smith.
Ben Van Sumeren may not fit in with that group geographically or in terms of hype, but he proved he fits in with them athletically. Van Sumeren hails from Essexville (Mich.), not a place many outside of the area have heard of. When he attended the Cleveland regional in April, he had only a handful of offers, none from Power-5 schools at that time.
At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, he ran a 4.76 in the 40-yard dash. He ran 4.03 in the shuttle, the same time as the nation’s top overall tester Christian Morgan ran. He had over a 40-inch vertical. In short, the small town kid showed he had big time athleticism, and that is only a piece of what has made him special.
When asked what type of kid and athlete Van Sumeren is, Garber head coach Jake Coquillard said “phenomenal – and that answers both questions right there.”
“As far as a kid and the person that he is, he’s a coach’s dream,” Coquillard continued. “Hopefully at some point, I’ll be lucky enough to coach someone else like him, but it’s going to be tough. He is a rare type of kid. His work ethic off the charts, he’s respectful, polite, never settles and always wants better. He is a workout warrior. He is constantly in the weight room. He comes from great family, God in his life.”
He also always has a football with him. Van Sumeren sleeps with a football and buckles it into his passenger seat when he drives places. He is described as a kid who loves the game and pursues improvement relentlessly.
At one time, Van Sumeren was committed to Western Michigan. Following his Opening Regional performance, Coquillard began receiving more calls and interest from other schools. Van Sumeren re-opened his recruitment, but continues to keep the Broncos on his list.
“He has great skills and I think everybody found out Nike how good he is as far as testing,” Coquillard said. “We’re such a small school I think flies under the radar a bit. It had been a slow process getting him out there, but he finally caught on and schools started inviting him places.”
That list of schools contacting him has grown quickly and includes big names like Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Cincinnati, Missouri, Wake Forest and more.
“Right now he’s on his way to Wake Forest. They have a camp on Friday. They have been on him for a long time. Cincinnati wants him there next weekend. Penn State wanted him to come this weekend, but he elected to go to Wake Forest because they have been on him heavy.”
Minnesota, the first Power-5 school to offer, remains in the hunt as well. Van Sumeren visited once and is considering returning to the Twin Cities at the end of this month for the Gophers’ BBQ.
“That offer was big,” Coquillard said. “Right out of the gate, they did their due diligence. Their wide receivers coach Matt Simon came to school, they sent their defensive coordinator in to take a look at him at our high school. That meant a lot and then obviously, he got to get out there and see the campus and visit with coaches, tour, and he loved the campus and the coaches were awesome.”
The two in-state Big Ten schools – Michigan and Michigan State – are also monitoring him closely. “Michigan State, we had a great workout for them. We thought for sure something would happen,” Coquillard said. “Michigan’s coach and recruiter Greg Mattson called me on Monday and they are evaluating Ben’s film and how they want to proceed this week.”
Notre Dame is another school that has shown a lot of interest, especially during the camp in South Bend Van Sumeren attended.
“Their linebacker coach Clark Lea worked almost exclusively with Ben,” Coquillard said. “He learned so much at that camp. He loves Notre Dame, it fits his personality and religious side. Notre Dame has shown good interest as a linebacker.”
There lies the question of where Van Sumeren fits best at the next level.
“I think his first love is on the offensive side. To me, that’s where he’s very gifted,” Coquillard explained. “It comes very naturally to him catching passes and using his frame to go up and grab balls from people. His route running is good. He has done a little bit of linebacker, not a ton, he hasn’t focused himself on that side of the ball, but it intrigues him. After the Notre Dame camp, he said ‘I think I can play linebacker, I just have to get better.’ I think you look at him at linebacker at 6-foot-3 and he was 228 he other day and the schools say ‘wow.’”
Of course, no matter where he plays, the school that lands Ben Van Sumeren will get a hard working, passionate kid and as the country now knows, one of the best all-around athletes there is. “I think it’s a situation where he just loves the game of football, so he will play any position, if a school says it’s linebacker or h-back, then so be it, he will give everything he’s got to make it happen because he has determination and a love of football.”
