By Hod Rabino
Devilsdigest.com
West Des Moines punter Matt Haack had as many ties to his residence state of Iowa as he did to his birth state of Arizona. Ultimately, when Haack had to decide between Iowa State and ASU, it came down to simply fulfilling a dream. Consequently, he called the Arizona State coaches a short while ago announcing his commitment to the school.
“It feels great,” Haack told Devils Digest on Tuesday evening. “It’s awesome. I thought about everything and being born in Arizona, Arizona State has been a dream school of mine. Iowa State was awesome, and the coaches there are incredible people. But in the end I know that Arizona is a state that I want to live in one day.
“The academics there are great, and with me wanting to study sports management and sports marketing, the opportunities in Phoenix with all the professional teams around are just incredible. The people at the school are amazing and I just loved it up there when I visited.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Haack, who also played wide receiver for Dowling High School, averaged close to 38 yards per punt as a junior. In a previous interview he explained that average as being the result of often kicking a rolling (aka Rugby) punt, which tends to be shorter than a traditional punt.
The punter was being recruited by ASU special teams coach Joe Lorig.
“I love Coach Lorig, and he has been upfront and honest with me from the get go,” Haack said. “I respect him a lot, and I can’t wait to start working with him. When I called him today he was super excited and said that he was waiting all day for me to call him. I got to talk to Coach (Todd) Graham, and he was also super excited to hear the news.”
Haack said that even though he may get some offers in the future, he has no plans to officially visit any schools except Arizona State.
“I’m 100 percent all in with Arizona State,” Haack said.
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