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In-state Tour: Elkhorn

2022 is the 19th year of the HuskerOnline In-State Tour. Every February since 2004, HuskerOnline profiles the top up-and-coming prospects in the state of Nebraska.

This year our In-State Tour was broken up into two events in Omaha and Lincoln as we profiled all the top prospects in the state.

Our next stop of the 2022 In-State Tour takes us to Elkhorn, where the Antlers are led by one of the top linemen in all of Class B.

2022 In-State Tour: Gretna | Elkhorn South | Omaha North

Elkhorn DL Aidan Betz.
Elkhorn DL Aidan Betz. (Casey Fritton)
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Head coach: Daniel Feickert

2021 record: 10-2 (Class B semifinals)

Season rewind: "I was really fortunate to come into a great program and a great school. Coach (Mark) Wortman had built the Elkhorn tradition for 40 plus years, and I got to be a part of that as a player. I was really lucky to get to take over for him. I knew we were going to have some talent coming back. It was just a matter of getting the pieces put together and it came together for us this first year."

Betz is one of the top returning prospects in all of Class B

Feickert's take on DL Aidan Betz: "We actually moved him up as a freshman a couple of years ago, which is really rare in Elkhorn. He right away came in when we were in Class A and held his own against some really good linemen. The last two years, he's been an all-stater and anchored both sides of our line. We'll be leaning on him again this year. Just the talent, the size, and he's a great kid. Yes, I think he is one of the best linemen in the state.

"He plays offensive tackle for us and he plays inside d-line. The good thing about Aidan is he's athletic enough. He could play either side of the ball. He could play d-end. Honestly, he's one of those guys that I think is athletic enough that the right program will find the right fit for him, and he'll do whatever they ask him to."

Betz's take: "This last year was, I think, a pretty good season because no one really expected us to go and do anything this year football-wise. Last year we won state and we lost a lot of seniors.

"Everyone was like, 'Oh, they'll be a decent team,' but I think we really showed people that we're still here. We're still really good. I feel like our seniors this year were really good leaders, and we pushed it far. We tried our best.

"I would say definitely defense (is my best position fit long term). I think I've played pretty well. Offensively, I played pretty well too. I feel like I'm pretty consistent offensively. I feel like I played best in the hard games, the good games, like the Bennington games, the Skutt games. I feel like I always play good against the good teams, which is what I like."

Recruiting: Betz has either attended recruiting events or games at Wyoming, Iowa, Iowa State and South Dakota State. He also is being recruited by North Dakota State and Central Missouri.

By the numbers: As a junior, Betz was a first-team Class B all-state selection and a second-team All-Nebraska selection. He finished the year with 36 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and four quarterback sacks.

In track, he threw the shot put 51-5 and the discus 141 feet as a sophomore.

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