Interview: Iowa 2017 3-Star QB Rocky Lombardi Setting Up for Standout Senior Season

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

A million words may have been typed about West Des Moines-Valley’s quarterback and all-around athlete Rocky Lombardi and another couple of million might be on the way. The Class of 2017 athlete is a standout in wrestling and lends his talents on the diamond and track but his abilities appear to be taking him on a path towards collegiate gridiron glory.

Lombardi earned All-District honors after his sophomore year and followed up with a first team All-State performance during his junior season passing for 2,400 yards with 29 touchdowns against five interceptions. Not exact numbers, but the 6’3.5”, 220 pound, pro-style quarterback added another 400 or so yards with a guessed eight touchdowns scored on the ground.

The Tigers went 10-3 during the 2015 season with Lombardi leading the way on offense. College coaches have taken notice of Lombardi’s size, arm strength, and abilities in the pocket with Iowa, Iowa State, Dartmouth, Miami (OH), Western Michigan, and Virginia all offering. The list of offers could grow, but all of that depends on Lombardi. Teams interested in the Iowa product includes Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Navy, and Minnesota. If Lombardi verbally commits to the school of his choice early, more offers may not come. A lot of schools want to see a quarterback in person or get them on campus before offering; that may not be the way to land this 3-star quarterback.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I stole a couple of minutes from Lombardi during his spring break to cover his junior season, offseason workouts, and received an update on his recruitment process to date.

Interview

Rocky, first, thanks for taking time out of your spring break to answer some questions to day.

“It’s okay.”

I’ll try to be quick. First question, how did your skill set grow from the 2014 season to the 2015 season?

“I’ve always tried to be a good decision maker. I worked on making harder throws while still being smart by not making big mistakes or throwing incompletions. The biggest thing from my sophomore year to my junior year was making tougher throws and making better decisions.”

What are your strengths on the field?

“My biggest strength is my arm strength. I have good deep ball accuracy. I’m good at keeping the play alive and getting the ball down field, even when I’m scrambling I’m keeping my eyes down field.”

What type of offense does the Tigers run primarily?

“Mostly pro style. We run a lot of 21 but there are not a lot of highlights on my reel out of that. We run 11, we don’t run any 10 but we might run that this year, and we run some 12 personnel two tight.”

You have some wheels to gain yards on the ground when needed. How would you describe yourself as a quarterback, are you a pro-style quarterback who can run or are you a dual-threat quarterback?

“I’m not a dual-threat but I’m not immobile in the pocket either. I’m not going to burn a safety down the sidelines. I’m a pocket passer who can throw on the run.”

What was your best game last season and why would you consider that your best game?

“My best game was probably against Southeast Polk (Game 3 – won 38-0). I’ve played well against them the last two seasons, I don’t know why. I have a high completion rating against them, something like a 75 percent completion rating. I threw for four TDs and ran for one more. I got five total touchdowns and threw for around 300 yards and did not play the fourth quarter. I was on and clicking against Southeast Polk. I got the ball into some small windows too.”

How does the team look going into next year?

“We look pretty good. We’re missing a few offensive linemen. John Raridon is going to Nebraska. He’s a huge loss. We are getting a few back. We have one starter coming back and one lineman who played some in the playoffs. We have a great running back, Jevon Mason, who will be a junior next season. He started as a sophomore.

“Our skill guys are great. We have two of our three starting receivers back. Our tight end, Quinton Curry, is back. He just won state in basketball. He’s 6-foot 6-inches. We have a guy coming up from the sophomore level, Tariq Brown, he’s going to be a great receiver. He’s young but he will be very good. He’s very athletic and has great hands. Hopefully everything will come together and we’ll have a great season next year.”

What are you working on in the offseason to prepare for your senior year?

“Right now, in the winter and spring, I’m mostly working on strength. Being strong is not a huge part of playing quarterback but I’m trying to get a little bigger. When I get back from spring break, I’m going to start throwing with my receivers, get their hands ready. I think I’m going to do some chalk talk with them too. Going over where and when to break routes, when to adjust off the blitz, and stuff like that.”

Are you going to any exposure camps coming up?

“I don’t plan on any. I might go to the Nike/Elite 11 regional in Chicago. That has always been a dream of mine. I’ve watched that show growing up. Other than that, I’m pretty much done with that unless a college asks me to come to one of their camps.”

Do you have any college camps lined up?

“No. No college camps scheduled. Again, maybe I’ll go to one this summer if someone calls and asks me to go to the camp.”

You have six offers right now. Which schools are showing a lot of interest in you but have not offered you yet?

“I do have a few MAC schools showing interest. Some of the bigger schools are Nebraska, Michigan State, and Arkansas – they just contacted me recently. Kansas State still sends me stuff. Those are the main schools that have talked to me but have not offered yet.”

Who got in touch with you from Arkansas?

“Their offensive coordinator, Dan Enos.”

How did that conversation go?

“He said he liked my film. It was a pretty short conversation. He said I’m on their list and that he’d like for me to come down to Arkansas soon.”

Do you have any unofficial visits lined up for the offseason?

“I might go to Western Michigan again, maybe Northern Illinois, and Nebraska. I have not officially decided where I am going but those would be some of the schools that I would visit.”

Have you taken an unofficial visits so far?

“Yeah, I’ve taken two to Iowa. That might be it. I might go to Iowa State coming up. Iowa State is 40 minutes from my house, I can drive up there any given day. ISU wants me to go to their Junior Day.”

How has your visits to Iowa gone so far?

“I liked it. Iowa is a good program and a great school. I’ve been there five or six times. I’ve seen all their facilities. The weight room is huge, like nothing else that I have ever seen. The staff is nice. They’ve been there for 20 years, they are stable and not changing.”

From a football evaluation only, what are some of the things you are looking for in a program before you verbally commit?

“From a football viewpoint, I want a pro-style offense. My dream is to play in the NFL. That’s what they run. That is important to me. I want someone to make me the best that I can possibly be. That comes with the strength program as well, that goes hand in hand. That’s why Iowa is impressive to me. Their training program is great and they train their players to be phenomenal.”

What are your influential factors for everything outside of the football program when breaking down a school?

“Education obviously is a big factor and should be for any college athlete. If that is not taken into consideration they are crazy. I want to go into business, so I want a school with a good business program. Maybe how far it is away from home. That is not a huge role, but it does a play a little bit of a factor. I want my parents to see me play. As for the feel, I don’t have a standard “I want this.” You can kind of tell when you step on campus if the school is right for you or not.”

Have you thought about when you would like to verbally commit to the school of your choice? Do you want to do it before your senior season or after?

“I have not made a timeline. I would like to be committed going into my senior year, but that is not a set thing. Ideally I’d like to be committed. It depends on who offers me and my offers right now.”

What other sports do you play for Valley?

“I play baseball, I’m running track now, and I just got done with wrestling.”

How did wrestling go for you?

“It went well. I took third in state, that’s not bad. I got beat by the guy who won it all. I had beaten him three times earlier in the year. I was not ready for him in our match. He caught me in the beginning. I was down 5-0 and could not come back.”

Are you getting any looks in wrestling?

“I’ve gotten a few letters from some schools for wrestling. Recruiting is a little different for wrestling. They get 10 scholarships, most of them are half or third scholarships. It’s a little harder getting recruited for wrestling than football.”

What positions do you play for the baseball team?

“I’m a short stop. I do play other positons like outfield, second, and I pitch. I’m a utility player. Sometimes I play third base, left, or right field. I have caught before, but I’m not really a huge catcher.”

What kind of pitcher are you?

“I’m usually a starter, but I guess I don’t know where I’ll be this year. I throw hard but not extremely hard. I throw a good curve.”

How is everything in the classroom?

“I have a 3.5 cumulative GPA.”

Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet?

“I have not. I’m studying for my test now and plan on taking it in April.”

Rocky, thanks for your time today. Have fun with the rest of your spring break and good luck with any camps that you may attend coming up.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: youtube.com; No. 12 Rocky Lombardi.

Photo credit: allhawkeyes.com; Rocky (right) visits the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Photo credit: desmoinesregister.com; No. 12 Rocky Lombardi drops back to pass.