Bethel QB Visperas pounces on offer, commits to Eastern Washington
Kekoa Visperas probably expected to hear from some friends and family, some coaches at teammates from the Bethel High School football team when he verbally committed to play for Eastern Washington University on Tuesday night.
But a surprise message popped into his Twitter inbox. Vernon Adams, former EWU and Oregon Ducks quarterback, reached out to the Bethel senior QB.
“He said congrats on the commitment and told me to let him know if I ever needed anything,” Visperas said.
In many ways, Visperas is a similar quarterback to Adams, who now plays for the Montreal Alouettes of the Candian Football League. Both are around 6 feet tall, both can sling the ball all over the field and both can make plays with their legs.
Visperas’ stock has been rising following a strong offseason. Coming into the summer, he didn’t hold a Division I offer. But his play at showcases like the Northwest 9 competition started to open some eyes.
When he was officially extended a scholarship offer from EWU on Tuesday night, he committed hours later.
“(Quarterbacks coach Ian Shoemaker and head coach Aaron) Best put themselves out there, showed me and my parents that they were real, they were serious. That relationship with me and my family was huge. Eastern has a ton to offer and they play at a really high level.”
Visperas said the Eastern coaching staff has been talking with him for the past two months, investing time into getting to know him before extending an offer.
“Their goal is to build a relationship with the player before they offer,” Visperas said. “A lot of schools offer right off the bat, after a little talk. Eastern was different. That’s a huge thing for me. … They had an idea of my plan as a person, what I was planning on doing if the offer did come around, because we had built that relationship. I felt comfortable and confident making that decision so quickly.”
Eastern, which plays in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in the Big Sky Conference, has boasted some talented teams over the years, including a national championship in 2010.
“The level of competition and the standard they hold themselves to is huge,” Visperas said. “Their program and system, for a quarterback, the QB’s that have succeeded are similar to how I like to play — using the RPO, read options, using quarterbacks’ athleticism. That’s something I really wanted to do in college: be able to run the ball at times and also throw.”
Visperas said his athleticism stood out to Eastern’s coaching staff during their evaluation of him.
“They just love the way I can throw the ball and that I’m an athlete,” he said. “I can use my legs if I need to. … If the pocket collapses, I can escape.”
For many high school football senior recruits, there’s a level of anxiousness these days, with not having a fall season to put film out for recruiters because of the coronavirus pandemic. Visperas said he feels fortunate to have his commitment locked down.
“This process, with COVID, it was crazy,” Visperas said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to come. I just had to go to the field and throw, go to the weight room; it was something I had to hold myself accountable for. So it’s so relieving, I don’t have to worry about the (recruiting) stuff anymore.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 11:49 AM.
