Sports360AZ
Story by Maddyn Johnstone-Thomas
For Dane Christensen, football has been a significant part in his life since he started playing flag football at five-years-old, and then later moved onto tackle football in fifth grade. Now in his senior season at Casteel High School, Christensen is looking beyond high school and to his future football career.
The recruiting process for the 6-foot-3, 190 pound quarterback hasn’t been easy, especially when adding the COVID-19 pandemic into the mix.
“It was kind of a bummer to begin with,” Christensen said. “Spring ball got canceled and then obviously we’re unable to visit colleges over the summer due to COVID, but I’ve been in communication with several Division I colleges throughout quarantine and throughout the beginning of this senior year.
“Then our season was in jeopardy for a little bit and that was kind of scary and a little bit of a hard pill to swallow. The recruiting process was a little bit slow at first but I believe it’s starting to pick up a little bit.”
Christensen currently has one offer from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Heading into the fifth week of the season, the Casteel Colts are 3-1 after coming off a loss to Williams Field.
In their first game of the season against Boulder Creek, Christensen was named Offensive Casteel Football Player of the Game. He hasn’t slowed down since then. According to MaxPreps, Christensen ranks 3rd in the state for passing yards. He currently has 1,137 passing yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 284.3 yards per game.
Despite the results shown on the field, Christensen only has one offer with signing day a few months away. He has found people to lean on during the difficult process.
“I’ve talked to several of my coaches at Casteel and my quarterback coach,” Christensen said. “They advised me to just stay patient through it all and that everybody’s recruiting process is a little bit different. For whatever reason, mine was a little bit slow at first, so hopefully it starts to pick up a little bit.”
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christensen takes pride in his faith, which helps him become a better person on and off the field.
“My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father are a big part of what I do each and every day,” Christensen said. “I go to church every single Sunday. I pray every night, and I try to be like him in every way I can. I’m putting (the process) in his hands and trusting that that all is going to work out, it’s pretty much all that I can do and I believe it’s going to work out. I’m going to continue doing that.”
As far as this season looks, the Colts have four games left in the year. They have their sights set on something big, with Christensen at the helm and leading the way.
“We can play better football and we know that,” he said. “We play some great football teams coming up and so our goal is, as a team, is to win the state championship. We believe we have the guys to do that. That’s been our goal all summer, so any way we can accomplish that. We’re gonna strive to do that and believe that we can do that.”
