2025 4-star OT Owen Strebig makes first cut
Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic Memorial four-star offensive tackle Owen Strebig has received 23 offers. Going forward, the 6-foot-7, 295-pound recruit will be focusing on 11 of them.
Strebig announced Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, UCF, USC and Wisconsin as his finalists on Monday. He has previously visited each of these programs except for Missouri.
“These are schools that have done a really good job of creating a relationship with not only me, but also my family,” Strebig told On3. “These are schools I can see myself playing at and getting developed at. They are also places where I can see myself getting a degree from and places that can set me up for my future.”
While his recruitment will remain open, Strebig is primarily focused on his finalists at this time. The No. 1 player in Wisconsin communicates with his top 11 schools roughly every week and some of those programs are also in contact with his parents.
Visits and relationships will play key roles in Strebig’s recruitment
So far, some of Strebig’s trips have included seeing Notre Dame four times, Florida, Iowa and USC twice and Wisconsin multiple times. He is currently in the process of setting up visits for January.
“I like going on visits because you get to visualize where you would be and what your day-to-day would look like,” said Strebig, the No. 110 overall prospect and No. 11 offensive tackle in the 2025 On300. “You get to spend time with coaches, which is most important to me. One of my biggest things too is that my parents get to spend time with the coaches because the coaches aren’t coming into school to talk to them or texting or calling them weekly. So, I think it’s important for my parents to get a feel of who I’ll be around in my future.”
According to Strebig, relationships at a school and with a coaching staff are very important to the four-star and his parents. Additionally, he is in no rush to reveal his college destination.
Strebig shared that there is “definitely” a chance he commits before his official visits. However, he is more focused on announcing a decision when the time is right for him and his family, whether that is ahead of or following his officials.
“I’ll know when I’m able to sit down with a staff and feel like I have no more questions, ” Strebig said about when he will know a school is the right fit. “… Also, it will be my parents understanding who they are and me being comfortable with the players in the program and the commits if the school has commits already.”
Strebig breaks down his finalists
Florida: “It’s SEC football. I really like the staff and a good thing about them is they’re a program with two offensive line coaches. So, you’d be able to learn and get developed.”
Florida State: “They had a dominant year. Coach (Alex) Atkins is very good at developing offensive linemen and being able to play at a championship level is a big deal.”
Illinois: “They started off that relationship pretty early. It’s Big Ten football. Coach (Bart) Miller and coach (Bret) Bielema are offensive line-driven, so it’s a good place to be if you’re a tackle.”
Iowa: “Coach (George) Barnett has been recruiting me since the summer of my freshman year. I’ve had a relationship with him and he’s a great man. I’m really comfortable around him. My family is too, so it’s just another place I can see myself.”
Miami: “I really think there’s a lot of opportunity out there. The visit I took was probably one of my favorite visits I’ve had in my recruitment because of the way the staff talked to me. We were able to talk ball and talk about life. They just keep trending up.”
Michigan: “They are a dominant school and had a great year. Coach (Sherrone) Moore has done a really great job recruiting me and I had a really nice time up there in March. That’s definitely another school I want to get back to.”
Missouri: “They’ve kept my recruitment really simple. Coach (Brandon) Jones and I talk often. They offered me back in August and I’ve been wanting to get there. They had a good year and it’s a program that’s trending upwards and it’s SEC football, so I’m excited to get there and check it out.”
Notre Dame: “I really like Notre Dame’s culture. I can lock down a degree from there and then, I really have a good relationship with not only the staff, but also a good amount of the commits in the 2025 class.”
UCF: “They just keep trending up. We’re also in Orlando a lot as a family, so destination-wise, it would be a good place to be.”
USC: “There’s a lot of opportunity out there. I think coach (Lincoln) Riley has a lot of good things going on. Moving to the Big Ten, it’s a good football conference and that’d be like coming back home for me since I’m from Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin: “I would be able to represent my state. That’s another school where I can lock down my degree and carry on that tradition of offensive line play.”