"I'm not big into five fat guys just standing in front of somebody on a zone blocking scheme," Danny Davis has said.
The football coach at Dakota College in Bottineau, N.D. specializes in recruiting in smaller players who are fast and hit hard.
He thinks he's found that in Cash Snooks of Bayfield.
"He reminded me of the way Coach (Jimmy) Cundiff coached, the way Coach (Mike) Wnorowski coached, the way Coach Heide coached: They don't put up with anything.any sort of shenanigans or any loose ends," Snooks said. On Thursday, he donned a Dakota College at Bottineau shirt before inking his commitment to Davis and the NJCAA-level Lumberjacks.
"He wants to run a tight ship and he's there to win; he's not there to mess around," said Snooks, listed as not only a free safety and receiver but also an emergency quarterback on BHS' 2015 roster. During the Wolverines' state championship season, he was credited with 29 tackles, 4 interceptions for 40 yards and two fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown).
"It's a great opportunity for Cash, to go to a junior college," said Bayfield Coach Gary Heide. "Carry out his dreams. You'll get to play a lot there, and if you continue to play better and evolve as a player then you can play in other levels too. So it's a great opportunity to start; you get to play a lot of football and have fun doing it."
DCB went 6-4 overall and 3-2 in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference in 2015.
"I'll be mainly defense, I believe," Snooks said. "They run a 3-3-5, so they've got five defensive-back positions open, and that's what we ran not this year, but the year before.so I could run any of those. And they also saw I was listed as a receiver, so he might try me as, like, a slot receiver.we'll figure it out!"
Offensively DCB averaged 20.2 points per game in 2015, and 164.8 rushing yards per game. Passing, however, left a lot to be desired with just 81.3 yards per game and only seven pass touchdowns (compared to 17 rushing) all season.
"I would love to play both sides of the ball, depending on where he wants me, but we'll see what happens!" Snooks stated. "I'll play wherever he wants me.hopefully it works out like that."
Said Heide: "He's got great instincts, great tackling ability for a defensive back. And of course he was always enthusiastic and ready to go; a great leader on the practice field and game field.knowing what's going on out there and just filling in the pieces in as one of our kids that kind of led the way and made some of the calls."
What was his best selling point, in the player's opinion? "I'm very disciplined; I want to listen to the rules-he tells me what to do and I'm going to do it," Snooks said.
Indicating an interest in business management studies at DCB, Snooks said he'd declined an offer to wrestle at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. In hindsight, that was a good choice with GCU recently electing to discontinue its varsity program after the current academic year. Bottineau also offered more of a familiar setting.
"It's almost identical to Bayfield. I mean, the same amount of people in the town as Bayfield-around the same amount-and the school.is the same as here at Bayfield High School," he said, with fewer than 700 students. The small class sizes appeal to him.
Preparing to sign last Thursday was nervewracking for the senior.
"I was sitting up there in Mr. Walton's class and I just kept asking, 'Can I go? Can I go? Can I go?' And everyone was like, 'Why are you all jumpy?' I was like, 'I'm just nervous!'" he said, recalling the minutes before his signing. "I'm excited! I was nervous before the State game, but it was nothing compared to this."
Now there will be a jersey, pads and helmet awaiting Snooks in the "land of the frozen chosen," in a Peace Garden State town closer to Canada than Bayfield is to Durango.
"The temperatures in winter, they're cold! But springs and falls can be beautiful just like here.people get by," laughed Heide, who's coached in Minnesota. "They.have facilities, I'm sure, at college to do (football) indoors-so they'll keep him warm!"
