Lakeville South Receiver Devon Bzoskie Hopes His Busy Summer Pays Off

Lakeville South senior Devon Bzoskie had a busy summer camping.

No, the wide receiver, wasn’t trying to earn a merit badge. He was instead, hoping to earn a Division I college football scholarship. Lakeville Patch recently caught up with Bzoskie to learn the latest on his summer and expectations for the upcoming football season, which begins Monday with the start of football practice.

Bzoskie helped lead the Cougars to an 8-4 mark last season, losing to eventual state runner-up Rosemount in the state quarterfinals. He caught 41 balls for 422 yards and four touchdowns and was named honorable mention All-South Suburban All-Conference.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pond wide receiver also plays basketball, baseball and runs track and field for Lakeville South. He served as a baseball pitcher and competed in the long and triple jump events on the track team.

Bzoskie showed off his football skills on the basketball court at the recent Breakdown Summer Showcase. He hit a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a one-point lead against Osseo in the semifinals. Osseo football standout Will Johnson countered with a turn-around jumper in the lane with three seconds to put the Orioles back up by one with three seconds left.

That set up a chance for heroics as Leidner threw what was basically 20-yard out pass to Bzoskie, who took one dribble and passed the ball to a wide-open Nick Sanborn underneath the basket after being double-teamed for the game-winner at the buzzer.

Lakeville South fans are hoping that is a combination that they will see plenty of this fall.

Lakeville Patch: How many football camps did you get a chance to attend this summer?

Devon Bzoskie: I went to eleven. I went to UConn, Missouri, Tennessee, Memphis, Northern Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State and North Dakota State.

Lakeville Patch: Do you feel that you can pick up things from those camps that is going to make you a better player?

Devon Bzoskie: It definitely helped me. I improved throughout the whole summer. Just the little things that I learned and just getting quicker and getting my hands up for  the balls. Getting off the press, that helped me a lot. Better game speed. I know that is my best thing, but getting used to really good corners and D-backs and getting used to what they are good to do and running a good route against them. It was a great experience.

Lakeville Patch: What schools are you hearing from the most in terms of your recruitment? 

Devon Bzoskie: UConn, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northern Iowa and North Dakota State, mainly. 

Lakeville Patch: What are the expectations for the Cougars this season. You have your quarterback Mitch Leidner and a lot of the receivers, including yourself, back?  

Devon Bzoskie: We’ve got nothing but state to think about. We want to win the championship. That is what we wanted to do last year and we didn’t get a chance to do that, so we want to do that this year. I definitely think we can.

Lakeville Patch: Lakeville South won the 7-on-7 camp at the University of Minnesota, which has to give you some confidence, right? 

Devon Bzoskie: We did good. We played like seven to eight games. I caught a lot of eyes. The coaches already knew me, but they said that we have to stay in contact more and obviously, Mitch, my quarterback, caught eyes, too. (Leidner earned a scholarship offer from Minnesota after his strong showing).

Lakeville Patch: Are you going to try to take some visits before schools to check out some colleges?

Devon Bzoskie: I am just going to worry about my senior season right now and that will all work out. 

Lakeville Patch: I saw you at quite a few Minnesota Gopher football games as a guest. Did you get a chance to make any other games last fall?

Devon Bzoskie: No.

Lakeville Patch: You also play basketball for Lakeville South. Did you get a chance to play AAU basketball this summer?

Devon Bzoskie: I wanted to, but I went to a bunch of camps. I would have loved to play AAU, but I did not get a chance. I am really jacked for this season in basketball. I am going to try my best and see what happens

Lakeville Patch: The basketball team will have a much different look as they lost four seniors who will all play Division II basketball this upcoming season. It will be your chance along with some of the other players to step up and be a little bit more of a leader this season. 

Devon Bzoskie: We had three or four guys get a lot of varsity time. I got in like eight games last year. We lost all our seniors, but we are going to be a different team. We are going to be running the floor, kind of like a run-and-gun team. It will different. I think that we are going to catch some eyes as well there. 

Lakeville Patch: You and Mitch connected for a long court basketball pass that looked like something you might draw up on the football field. 

Devon Bzoskie: That was the first touchdown of the season. That was exactly how we drew it up. I was supposed to shoot it, but I had two guys on me and I saw Nick Sanborn down there, so I got him.

Lakeville Patch: So, we can expect to see you and Mitch connect a lot on the football field this season, right?

Devon Bzoskie: I am looking forward to it.