Williamsburg’s Derek Weisskopf and Monticello’s Preston Ries are The Gazette’s 2023 football co-players of the year

CEDAR RAPIDS — They’re buddies, they’re “boys.”

Though they don’t see each other much since they live an hour and a half apart and their high schools don’t compete against one another, communication still happens pretty regularly between Derek Weisskopf and Preston Ries.

A solid relationship there.

“I’d say we’re friends. We get along good,” Ries said. “We’ve gotten to know each other through all the football visits since we were, like, freshmen and sophomores ... He’s a good guy. He’s a competitor.”

“Yeah, we’re good friends,” Weisskopf said. “We talk over Snapchat and all that stuff. He’s a great guy, a good family. Can’t wait to go play with him.”

That’ll happen next year.

Weisskopf, a Williamsburg senior, and Ries, a Monticello senior, are University of Iowa football recruits, both being brought into the program as linebackers. Buddies who will potentially compete in the future for the same spot, whether it be at the ‘Will’ or ‘Mike’ position.

That’s yet to be determined. You can throw Cam Buffington in there, too.

He’s another linebacker recruit from the state (Winfield-Mount Union) who is buddies with Weisskopf and Ries.

“I think all three of us are going to be on the field at once some year,” Weisskopf predicted. “Whenever that year comes, I’ll love that.”

Hawkeyes fans had to love what they saw from Ries and Weisskopf this fall. They were instrumental on both sides of the football, helping lead their teams to great success and deep playoff runs.

Williamsburg won the Class 3A state championship. Monticello lost in the 2A semifinals to eventual champ Van Meter.

Ries and Weisskopf have been selected 2023 prep football co-players of the year in The Gazette area.

“I don’t like to talk about personal stats or anything, but it was fun,” Ries said. “I got to play with my buddies for four years, and I’d say we had a heck of a run. It was fun to play for great coaches, great teammates and in front of Monticello fans. We had a great support system for all four years here. It was fun, and I’ll definitely miss it.”

“It was an incredible season. The guys around me were great,” Weisskopf said. “They put in the work to give us a chance to go play in the UNI-Dome for the third straight year in us seniors’ careers. Just for us to put in the work and knowing our goals were to be there and win one more game than last year (when Williamsburg lost in the 2A semifinals) was a great feeling. And it’s still unbelievable to me.”

From a pure statistical standpoint, it was incredible what these guys did for their respective teams.

As a free safety, Weisskopf was Williamsburg’s second-leading tackler, adding a fumble recovery and four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He also punted.

Offensively as a receiver, he caught 14 passes, including four for TD. When teammate Kellen Cockrell went down with an injury roughly midway through the season, Weisskopf was moved to quarterback where all he did was complete 64 of 110 passes for 1,123 yards and 20 touchdowns, to four interceptions.

He threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns (on only 12 completions) in Williamsburg’s semifinal win over Solon.

“We had some injuries, and I had to step up and fill in. It worked out,” Weisskopf said. “The first couple of games were rough, I had to get used to it a little bit. But it was just about going out there and playing football. Be an athlete. Just give the dudes, our very athletic receivers out there, something to hang on to. Go give them a chance, get them the ball.”

Ries got his teammates the ball as well, completing 142 of 226 passes for 2,559 yards and 24 touchdowns. A true double threat, he rushed for 1,926 yards and 33 scores.

Do the math there, and that’s 4,485 total yards and 57 TDs. Ries ended up setting the state’s all-time record for career passing and rushing yards with 12,984.

Oh, and he also was Monticello’s leading tacker, as a linebacker, this season and its regular punter.

“It’s a lot of fun when you get to touch the ball every play. Quarterback is a lot of fun. Coaches kind of give you the key to the ship,” Ries said.

He said playing linebacker is essentially being a defensive QB.

“You are supposed to know what everyone is doing, you’ve got to be able to make calls,” he said. “Your defensive line, you tell them what to do, what stunts they are going to run, what pass coverage we are in. You are relaying all that out to the linemen, the DBs, safeties. Theoretically, you are in charge. Obviously everyone should know what they’re doing, but as a linebacker, you are kind of facilitating everything.”

Weisskopf and Ries impress just as much off the field, described by most everyone as great kids. They are multi-sport guys, family oriented, with Weisskopf’s younger brother, Dylan, a sophomore on this Williamsburg team.

Ries has two sisters. Peyton Ries is a freshman who ran at the state cross country meet in November, Julia is in sixth grade.

So many similarities here across the board. Where they differ is their allegiance to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Ries has always has had one. A lifelong Hawkeyes fan, it was a no-brainer when Iowa began recruiting him and offered a scholarship.

“I knew I wanted to wear the black and gold,” he said.

Weisskopf, meanwhile, has grandparents who attended Iowa State games over the years. He was still pretty much a Cyclones kid when he open enrolled at Williamsburg as a freshman from Victor, where his family still lives.

And it was basketball that was his first love. A multiple-year all-stater in that sport, Wisconsin invited him to their football camp as a freshman after seeing his athleticism on full display on the court with AAU program Martin Brothers.

That got the ball rolling, or the football bouncing. Iowa then invited him to its camp, and he had a new favorite sport.

“At first, I was kind of like ‘Aw, I want to go play basketball somewhere,’” Weisskopf said. “I truly thought I was going to be a basketball player, thought I’d be taller than this (6-foot-3). Maybe I will still grow a little bit more. But right when that football stuff came around, I was like ‘Great. This is the sport for me.’ I made the right decision.”

Pretty clear The Gazette did this season, too.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com