Thursday, December 20th, 2018
Niekamp officially a Cardinal
By Colin Foster
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
St. Henry's Caden Niekamp, seated center, signed to play football for Ball State University on Wednesday. Seated are parents Joe and Cheryl Niekamp. Standing, from left, are St. Henry coach Brad Luthman and athletic director/ assistant coach Dennis Wendel.
ST. HENRY - Caden Niekamp was sold on Ball State University when he attended a summer football camp in Muncie.
While he was there, the St. Henry lineman sold himself as a football player to the Ball State coaching staff.
Niekamp's college choice had been known since before the high school football season began, but he made it official on Wednesday when he signed his letter of intent to join the Cardinals next year.
"I went to a camp in the summer," explained Niekamp, who plans to major in business. "They liked how I performed. They called me not too long after and offered me a scholarship.
"The campus is great and the coaches are all great people," he added. "I was there this weekend and they were all real nice, treated everybody great. It was really an easy decision."
Niekamp has the size of a Division I football player. He stood at 6-foot-7 and weighed 305 pounds entering his senior season. As a junior, he was a second team All-Midwest Athletic Conference selection before earning honorable mention this past season.
This fall, the St. Henry line paved the way for running back Zach Niekamp to earn MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Not only did the Redskins snap a 22-game losing streak to Coldwater, they also reached the postseason for a second time in three seasons. They fell to those same Cavaliers in the regional semifinal.
Ball State is coached by Mike Neu. The Cardinals finished this season 4-8 overall and 3-5 in Mid-American Conference play. The program has big games booked in upcoming seasons. In 2019, they will play Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium. The following season, they will travel to "The Big House" to play Michigan.
Niekamp joined elite company on Wednesday. By signing his letter of intent, he became the 38th football player from St. Henry to join a Division I program.
"You've got a lot of great players who have played at St. Henry and went on to college," Niekamp said. "It's just really nice to be the next guy on that list. Hopefully, there's more to come."
