wsbt.com/sports/wsbt-outstanding-student-athlete-gehrig-dieter-20110901,0,5544124.story
6:59 PM EDT, September 1, 2011
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Nobody in state history has ever done, what Gehrig Dieter has already done this season.
"He has the attitude that every ball that's in the air, he can catch," said his coach at South Bend Washington, Antwon Jones.
In Washington's season opener, Dieter set the state record with 373 receiving yards, to go with five touchdowns. It was the eighth-most receiving yards in national history.
"I knew I had like over 200 yards,” Dieter said. “And then at the end they said 373. And it was like, ‘Wow, did I just do that?’ That's like better than a video game.
"It means a lot. There's probably 100 years of Indiana high school football, and to have the best receiving game, it means a lot, and it’s very humbling."
Then in Week Two, he very nearly did it again -- 338 yards and three more scores.
"Triple coverage, four guys on him, and somehow he still comes up with the ball," Jones said.
According to MaxPreps (and common sense), Dieter leads the nation in receiving. By 268 yards.
"I think I can improve on it,” Dieter said. “And I'm still going to play with a chip on my shoulder each and every week."
Dieter says that chip on his shoulder comes from recruiting. Or rather, a lack of it. He's been snubbed by his first choice, Notre Dame, and many of the other big-time BCS schools have shown interest, but not offered. They told him they wanted to see his first three games.
Well, they're going to get a heck of a tape.
The day after he broke the state record, SMU offered him a scholarship. If he keeps this up, more will surely follow.
The only question now is: What will he do next?
"Now that he's set the state record, I'm sure he's eyeing the national record, which he only missed by 40 yards the first game when he only played three quarters,” Jones said. “If we had known then, we'd have thrown another ball to him. But we didn't, so it's something for him to go after now."
"I think there's a lot more that I can do," Dieter added.
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