Ready to report: John Nestor

A few hours before he was going to officially graduate from Marist High School, John Nestor joined us for an interview as part of our Ready to Report series. Nestor discusses the recruiting process with Iowa and his relationship with Seth Wallace and Phil Parker. He talks about what position he will play and his interesting roommate choice for his first year on campus.

You can listen to the interview on our podcast feed here: NESTOR PODCAST

Q: This is a big day for you with graduation day. What are your thoughts?

NESTOR: This has been coming for a long time. I am ready to move on to the next chapter in my life. I have great memories of my time in high school and how it prepared me for the next level.

Q: When did football become a realization for you? When did you know you might be able to play at the college level?

NESTOR: It’s always been a dream of mine and always something that I knew deep down that I could do with hard work. When I was growing up my team was LSU and I loved watching The Honey Badger.  That’s why I wear #7. Growing up and watching him kind of sparked the dream I had to play college and professional football.

Really it picked up going into my junior year. In my freshman year I didn’t start at my position. Sophomore year going in when Covid happened, I knew that if I wanted to make this happen that I would have to start putting in the effort and the hard work  I had a decent sophomore year, so junior year I knew it was all or nothing and I have to make my impact. I finished out with a good junior year and had opportunities to play college ball and Iowa is my place now.

Q: You brought up the Covid year. That was tough for kids in Illinois because you didn’t play a traditional season. That had to make things more difficult from a recruiting perspective. How did you attack that and get your name out?

NESTOR: The Covid year was honestly kind of a blessing in disguise for me. With Illinois being shut down it gave me more time to grow as a player and develop into the kind of player that I am today. I didn’t get a chance to play on varsity in my sophomore year, so I took that role and made the most of it. I really grew as a player and that year really helped me become the player I am today.

Q: When do the Iowa Hawkeyes become part of the recruiting discussion? When do they get on your radar?

NESTOR: After my junior year they came in. Coach Wallace and Coach Copeland were the first two coaches to come in and sit down with me. That was after my junior season, I think in December. As time went on, Coach Ferentz came in to visit me and then they offered me a junior day visit. When I was there I learned more about the program and then right before we left Coach Ferentz gave me the offer. It really didn’t take me long to make my decision. They were everything that I was looking for and more. Iowa really made my decision easy.

Q: You had some really good offers from Big Ten and Big 12 schools. What stood out about Iowa?

NESTOR: First, Coach Parker. What he does with his evaluation process and how he takes defensive backs and takes what’s inside them and produces with them and puts them in the NFL.

Second is the coaching stability. Not a lot of them leave and they stay true to Iowa. They are there for the right reasons and they are where they want to be. That was really big for me.

Then the way their defense plays. It’s an aggressive defense and I saw myself in that type of playing style and scheme. What I have seen watching their games is that they fly around on defense, but they are like one. They are passionate about the game and I think of myself that way too. I wanted to be a part of that defense and a story like that where we can make history. I want to make history at this place.

Q: Watching your film and knowing the type of players that work well with Phil Parker and his defense, I kind of thought you were right out of central casting for him. Did he say anything like that to you? Did Coach Wallace say anything like that?

NESTOR: Coach Parker isn’t really that type of guy to show you his hand. (laugh) He’s probably not giving me props unless I really earn it. They gave me a really high honor when I first sat down with Coach Wallace and Coach Ferentz. They kind of saw me as similar to Riley Moss. That was a big honor to me to just hear that. They saw the type of player that I like to think I am. But at the same time, I have to earn that, right. I have to go out and earn being the next Riley Moss. I have to put in the work and effort.

Q: What position are you going to play? There was probably a time Moss thought it was a safety. Look at Cooper DeJean, he was supposed to be a safety and he’s a corner now. Are you a corner? Safety? Cash?

NESTOR: They told me that I will start out at corner. In my junior year I played corner. In my senior year I played safety and sometimes kind of like a dime or cash type position. I can be pretty versatile, so they are confident that I can play different spots on the defense. They think corner is my best spot right now.

Q: You committed pretty early. You also developed some really good friendships with the Swarm 23 guys. What has that been like for you?

NESTOR: That’s everything. You can’t expect to step on the field with a bunch of strangers. You have to be able to trust your linebackers and defensive linemen on the field. How can you do that if you don’t know them? We have developed friendships. I have with Marco Lainez, Aidan Hall, Ben Kueter, and Kahlil Tate, along with some of the offensive linemen. We have a great group of guys and a group of guys that like to get after it. We all have the same vision in mind. We want to take over the Big Ten, win a Big Ten Championship, and go even further from there.

Q: Your bio says you also competed in basketball and golf. Which one was your better sport?

NESTOR: Yeah. (laugh) Basketball. When I was growing up I was a better basketball player than I was a football player. I had to quit basketball to focus on football. At the time it was hard, but now looking back on it, it was well worth it.

Q: How good of a golfer are you?

NESTOR: I actually play a decent amount. I get out with my buddies. I am going to tell you that I am a good golfer, but if you got me out on the course you would say I am not the best. I’m ok, I guess you could say that. (laugh)

Q: What are you looking forward to most about year one as a Hawkeye?

NESTOR: I just can’t wait to get on the field. I just can’t wait to get around these older guys and learn from them. I want to get there and compete right away. I am not afraid of competition, but I also know we have a skilled position group. I want to learn from the older guys and hopefully maybe get a second string look or whatever it might be. Maybe I can get on special teams and travel. I want to be able to contribute to the Hawkeyes, whatever my role might be.

I am also excited to work under Coach Parker. He’s the #1 defensive coordinator in the country. I am really excited to get under him and start learning and making plays.

Q: One of the big moments for every freshmen is putting on the uniform for the first time on a game day and coming out of the tunnel with Back in Black playing. You have seen it on your visits. How excited are you about being able to do it this fall?

NESTOR: You have no idea. It gives me goosebumps right now talking about it. I am super excited. I have been waiting for this for so long. I have been visualizing myself and my teammates running out to Back in Black. I know for some it might not be a big deal, but I cannot wait to walk out to the first game and hear that. It gets me pumped up right now!

Q: Everyone reports June 11^th. What are you looking forward to about this summer in Iowa City?

NESTOR: Again, I am most excited to be back on the field. I can’t wait to be around the guys and do what I love. I just want to get on the field and compete and see where I stand. I want to find out what my weaknesses are and what aren’t my weaknesses. I want to get around the older guys like Cooper DeJean, Castro, Jamari Harris, and Quinn Schulte. I want to learn the in’s and out’s. I just want to be around the Doughboy group and earn what that means.

Q: What have you been doing training wise the last few months?

NESTOR: I am with my trainers. I have been going to them since my freshmen year. I owe them and my dad everything. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They pushed me to be great and put in so much time and effort into me and I am forever grateful to them for that.

I do speed training three times a week. It’s acceleration and then top end speed. Then I do the DB work, which is three times a week. We also lift four or five times a week up there too. I have some buddies that are playing at the next level too, so we will get out on the turf and do some one on one’s and compete.

Q: Do you test your 40 or anything like that?

NESTOR: Yeah, last time I tested was at Iowa’s camp last June. I ran a 4.58 there. I have really been focusing on my speed since the end of the season. I haven’t tested my 40 time yet. That comes up in two weeks. I am looking to go in the low 4.5’s.

Q: Who are you rooming with this year?

NESTOR: Marco Lainez. That will be pretty interesting with him being the QB. We are going to have some interesting discussions after practice. He’s a great dude and a competitor. We have the same personality, but opposite sides of the ball.