Xavier's Vega an influence at linebacker, tackle and newspaper

CEDAR RAPIDS - You love Daniel Vega, the football player.

The Cedar Rapids Xavier senior has quickness, a non-stop motor and defensive versatility. He plays with emotion.

But you love Daniel Vega, the kid, even more. He's polite, articulate, has proper priorities (postponing an interview Sunday night because he was swamped with homework), and, probably most importantly, writes for his school's newspaper.

You've got to appreciate any young person who's an advocate for journalism.

"I want to minor in it in college," Vega said. "That's my hope. I love to write, so if I can end up doing that as a career, I definitely would. I know it's a little tough nowadays, but I've always loved to write."

Vega could get some real boss material if he decided to write something on himself. Converted from linebacker to defensive tackle this season, he leads fourth-ranked Xavier (8-1) with 15 tackles for loss and six sacks.

His overall tackles total of 34 ranks second. Any opponent of the Saints has to game plan against the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder.

That opponent Wednesday night in a Class 4A opening playoff game is Clinton (4-5).

"Very athletic for his size," Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. "The fact that he plays different spots, different positions shows his versatility and gives him an advantage ... He's got a great personality, a very caring kid. He's what we tell all our guys we want them to be: tough and mean on the field, but off the field, be a good person. And he is."

Xavier often lines up Vega at different spots on the defensive line. Sometimes he's in a three-point or four-point stance, sometimes he's standing up threatening to blitz.

Either way, he's looking to wreak havoc, and usually does.

"I was expecting to play linebacker, but things happened and the coaches asked me to move down to defensive tackle, and I gladly did it," Vega said. "I've felt like I've had a lot of things happen my first full year of d-tackle ... For my first year, I think it's been decent. It could be a lot better, though."

"I think the toughest part actually has been using my hands. What I need to work more on is using my hands instead of just trying to bull rush people. My technique needs to get better."

But, make no mistake, Vega's got a future in the college game. He already has offers from North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Illinois State and Western Illinois.

He has camped at Iowa State and Iowa, and both programs know exactly who he is. Vega has made multiple trips this fall to Iowa games with Xavier teammate and Iowa commit Matt Nelson, including watching last Saturday's overtime win over Northwestern.

"(Assistant) Coach (Reese) Morgan basically told me flat out 'We're going to wait until the end of your senior year to see how you do. Then we'll make a decision,'" Vega said. "But every time I go down to Iowa City, like last week I went down to the Northwestern game, I feel like they're starting to gain more interest in me. Maybe that's just a feeling, I don't really know. Whatever happens, happens, basically."

He's got plenty of other things to worry about first. Xavier was stunned in a midseason game against Cedar Rapids Washington but rebounded to win its final three regular-season games.

A lot of people expect the Saints to get back to the 4A state title game for a second straight year. Vega has experience with that game, playing in it last season and serving as a water boy for his older brother, Domingo, back for Xavier's 2006 4A state championship team.

"We definitely didn't follow through with our expectations as a team (in the regular season)," Vega said. "Of course, that loss to Wash definitely hurt. That game specifically, I don't think we came out ready to play. We came out flat on offense and defense and special teams. You can't take anything away from Wash because they beat us. They beat us bad. But I think we've bounced back well. A lot of people have stepped up leadership-wise. Right after that game, everybody forgot about it, put it in the backs of our minds and moved on."

Vega said he thinks the pressure is off his team, and that's a good thing.

"That's what our coaches were saying. (Assistant) Coach (Jim) O'Connell, at halftime of that Wash game, actually had the best line," Vega said. "He said we were afraid to lose, and I agree with that 100 percent. After that loss, it felt like a lot of pressure was lifted off of our backs. At least for myself. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I just felt like my mind was more clear on playing Waterloo West and Cedar Falls and Linn-Mar down the stretch."

Below are some examples of Daniel's contributions to IowaPrepSports.com.