Colby’s Brent Jeske signs LOI to play D-2 football

State champ will play for Winona State

Colby High’s Brent Jeske suited deed to word on Wednesday, Feb. 2, when he put pen to paper and signed his national letter of intent to play football for NCAA D-II Winona State University.

Jeske gave the Warriors a verbal commit on Nov. 4, announcing his decision to play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Winona State University on the social media platform Twitter.

“First off, I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout this journey,” Jeske said in that early November post. “Next I would like to thank every college coach who gave me the chance to play at the next level. With that being said, I would like to announce my commitment to Winona State University!”

Jeske reiterated his commitment to the Warriors on Feb. 2, and began his letter signing by thanking his friends, family, teammates and coaching staff for being on hand for the event at the Colby School District.

“I want to thank you guys for coming here today, and I am proud to be a Warrior. For the next four to five years I’ll be going to Winona State.”

The attention Jeske garnered comes as no surprise. The 6’2”, 210 pound Colby product put together one of the best individual seasons in Hornets’ history, making game-changing plays on both sides of the ball as the Hornets went 13-1 in 2021 and won the Hornets’ fourth state title at Camp Randall in November.

As the starting quarterback of that championship squad, Jeske compiled over 700 passing yards and nearly 1,500 yards on the ground in his senior season. For his career, Jeske finished with 3,220 all purpose yards, 43 all-purpose touchdowns, 98 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Jekse was a three time all-conference linebacker, a two time all-conference quarterback and a two time all-region inside linebacker. Jeske was voted 2021 Marawood Back of the Year, and helped lead Colby to the 2021 WIAA D-6 state title over perennial powerhouse St. Mary’s Springs.

Jeske racked up a plethora of awards in his final year in Colby green and gold, being named 2021 all-region defensive player of the year along with first team WFCA all-state honors at linebacker, and AP high honorable mention at quarterback and linebacker.

Jeske was also a finalist for Associated Press Player of the Year in the state of Wisconsin. All these honors made Jeske a highly sought after recruit during the summer of 2021.

Jeske camped at several NCAA D-1 programs over that summer, and along the way received scholarship offers to play for such D-II programs as Bemidji State, University of Minnesota - Duluth, Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State.

“I’d have to say just the culture in Winona and what they want to achieve there. They want me to become not just an outstanding player but a better man for my future. I love the guys down there and they brought me in like I’ve been there for years already.”

It’s on the defensive side of things where Jeske will likely spend his collegiate career, and he is part of the inaugural signing class for first year head coach Brian Bergstrom, a former defensive coordinator for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 2021’s FCS runner-ups.

“Coach Bergy is an outstanding coach, but also an outstanding guy,” Jeske says. “He really is always bringing lots of energy to whatever he is doing.

Jeske and his brother Andrew will represent the Colby Hornets on last time in the Wisconsin Football Coach’s Association All-Star game on Saturday, July 16 at noon in Titan Stadium on the campus of UW-Oshkosh.

After that, it’s on to the college ranks, something Jeske has waited his whole life for.

“It for sure does feel like a dream just given the fact that I get the opportunity to play at the next level in such a competitive conference.”