Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Coming off a disappointing 2-7 season City High coach Dan Sabers had one objective for each returning player during the offseason.

“I told our guys after last season, they had to understand, we just had to get more explosive,” Sabers explained.

When it came to senior linebacker Max DePrenger there was addition request from Sabers.

In addition to adding explosiveness Sabers asked DePrenger to pack on as many pounds as possible.

“I urged him to try to gain a little more weight and he gained some just not as much as I would like,” Sabers said. “Other than gaining a little more weight he has done everything that we could ask him to do.”

DePrenger was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for City High last fall.

Despite weight just 145 pounds as a junior DePrenger led City High with 64.5 tackles in his varsity debut season racking up nearly double the amount of stops as any of his teammates.

He spent the offseason trying to following the directive from his head coach to gain weight.

DePrenger hit the weight room, he got his rest and he ate and ate and ate.

“I’d go home every day and eat two sandwiches and take a nap,” DePrenger said. “I ate as much as I could.”

The results were modest, DePrenger packed about 10 pounds of muscle onto his 5-foot-11 frame.

“I’ve been working on it but it hasn’t come easy for me,” DePrenger said of gaining weight. “I try to do it but it just doesn’t come. I’m like 155 right now and I’m still trying to add.”

Any high school coach would like a 185-pound outside linebacker that can run like DePrenger.

Sabers would have taken 165 or 170 pounds for his returning top tackler.

Instead DePrenger will have to settle for being the best 150-pound linebacker around.

“Max might be the toughest 150 pounder there is,” Sabers said. “He’s a great kid, he goes hard and he’s fearless out there.”

Don’t let the size fool you, DePrenger can play.

He’s not just productive for his size he’s flat out productive, finishing with 50 solo tackles including two for loss a year ago as a free safety.

DePrenger will start the season at outside linebacker but has the knowledge, skills and now the varsity experience to play any position in the secondary.

“The experience from last year is going to carry over to this year and that is going to help me,” DePrenger said. “I feel like I’m better equipped physically and mentally to play at this level.”

DePrenger didn’t add 20 pounds but the weight he did put on will come in handy this season as his role expands.

Last season DePrenger had a limited role on offense, getting 18 carries in a reserve tailback role.

In his limited carries DePrenger showed some of the explosion Sabers felt was missing a year ago, averaging a team-high 5.8 yards per carry.

DePrenger expects to see his offensive load increase this season as he enters the year in a time share with junior Tonka Hickman at running back.  

“I’m definitely excited to be as involved anywhere as the coaches want me to be,” DePrenger said. “Tonka and I are going to be kind of switching off back and forth so I’m hoping to get some carries this season and show my explosiveness and how I can run the ball.”

The offseason chore for DePrenger was gaining weight but his in-season responsibility is even more important.

DePrenger joined Quincy Wells and Liam McComas as team-selected captains for the coming season and Sabers expects plenty out of his senior leader both on and off the field.

“He better be,” Sabers said when asked if DePrenger was ready to take his game to another level. “The guys elected him captain yesterday and those captains are going to have do a lot for us.”

Playing linebacker at 145 pounds DePrenger isn’t used to shying away from much.

He certainly wasn’t interested in deflecting any of the added pressure or responsibility that comes with being a captain.

“I’m beyond glad that I am a captain because I know that I can get everybody on our team to become that unit that we can become,” DePrenger said. “I want to make sure that we get that winning tradition back.”