Senior Jariel Lopez said he picked University of Minnesota Duluth over other schools because a lot of different variables made the school stand out to him.

“I like the city that the school is in, and they gave me more options compared to other schools I had offers from,” Lopez said. “The coaching staff and the team as a whole was also better.”

Senior Adam Bauer said that one of Lopez’s qualities that makes him stand apart from other players is his ability to know when to be serious and when to have fun.

“He knows when to flip the switch when he gets onto the field. He’s a funny guy on the sideline, but then when he gets on the field, he flips a switch, and he doesn’t think about anything else,” Bauer said.

Lopez said one of the reasons he was motivated to continue playing football in college is because it will allow him to receive a college education.

“Honestly I don’t really come from a family with a lot of income so football is one of the ways I can financially get supported in college and pay for my college,” Lopez said.

Sophomore McCabe Dvorak said his favorite part of playing with Lopez is how reliable of a player he is.

“Knowing that when he’s on the field we have a good chance of holding or just stopping the other team and just how productive he is on the field,” Dvorak said.

Park football coach Rob Griffin said his favorite part about coaching Lopez is the work he puts in to improve as a player.

“My favorite part about coaching Jariel is his want and desire to be a better player,” Griffin said. “So everyday coaching him up, really hard trying to get him to change things that he needed to change about his game, and he was willing to work hard to do those things to become a better player.”