Mesa linebacker signs with Minot State
This is No. 16 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 274) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.
SPOTLIGHT: 2/24/21
After back-to-back years of leading Mesa High in tackles, Zeth Nastal will become a Minot State Beaver once graduation is completed this May.
Nastal matched his 2019 total with 82 tackles during his senior season (in two fewer games). The 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker also had five sacks last fall for the Jackrabbits.
He was offered by Minot State last July, committed in December, and signed earlier this month. Before he pledged to the Beavers, he took two visits to the North Dakota campus to make sure he was able to meet in person with the players and coaches and learn as much as he could about the program while feeling the vibes.
"I love the energy the coaches bring every day," Nastal said in an e-mail interview. "It was loud and fun at the camp when I went up there and I committed the second time I visited."
Mesa is one of the oldest high schools in the state (opened in 1898), and therefore, has a long tradition. Some of Nastal's best memories are of the activities that MHS takes part in annually.
"We have a whole assembly just for the traditions at Mesa High," Nastal said. "Traditions like Bury the Warrior, the bonfire, the Haka, and assemblies are what make Mesa a great place with rich roots."
Nastal not only embraces the nastiness necessary of a linebacker, but is multi-positional. He can either rush the passer, or take on the Mike role and make the calls for the defense. He brings a high motor and a strong work ethic. The area he feels he's improved the most on during his high school years is with his football knowledge.
"When the new coaches came in my junior year, we had to learn a new defense, which was especially different for me because I didn't play linebacker at all my sophomore year," Nastal said. "So I dove right in. I watched film for about three hours a day on the best that played at backer and the team we were playing that week."
Doing that allowed him to not only become a smarter player, but to be able to see things faster on the field making the reads easier to make.
Aside from football, Nastal played basketball during his junior year and has been in both DECA and student council. DECA prepares emerging high school leaders in marketing, hospitality, finance, and management. In student council, Nastal has been active since his sophomore year and is currently the student body secretary.
Despite staying busy with all of those activities (plus football), Nastal has been able to balance all of that with his schoolwork. The foundation for all of that starts at home.
"I have great parents that keep my head straight and check me when I need it," Nastal said. "The support was what made it easy for me. They kept me focused, but also let me have fun with keeping sports, but having school be the main priority."
Nastal was one of five Arizona signees to Minot State in the '21 class. MSU competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (Div. II), but did not have a football season this academic year. The plan is to return this fall. In their last year of competition, the Beavers finished 3-8 in 2019.
