IW QA with Wausau East Coach Jack Synold

IW: What do you think Mark can bring to the Big Ten level?

Synold: I think it’s the same things he brought to our level. His intensity, his hitting ability and his speed, which will be tested at the college level.

IW: Was his early commitment something you recommended to him? Was it a positive for his senior season?

Synold: I think it was really good for him, because he didn’t have to get into…a lot of schools want you to come to camp and it really becomes a tryout at these camps. Mark was fortunate enough, with his ability, to not have to go through that so he didn’t have to worry about that. I saw some of the kids do that this summer. That’s tough on kids. They might to go Iowa camp one day, then they’re at Wisconsin the next day, then another place the next day. Mark didn’t have to worry about that, and Coach Alvarez was really good. He said, `Son, if you break your leg or whatever, the scholarship’s yours.’ It took a lot of pressure off Mark that way, so it was nice to commit. And he had looked at all the schools before Wisconsin offered, and he had a lot of stuff out of the way, so it was nice.

IW: What type of season did Mark have this year?

Synold: It really was his best season, because he had to play both ways. He was by far, one of our leaders, like we expected, one of our captains. His intensity carried us, and helped the team achieve its best record this school has ever had, 9-3.

IW: Had he played fullback previously?

Synold: He had played fullback before, but this year we said we were just going to let him go both ways. He had 17 touchdowns. That’s a pretty good record for him, and he missed two games. He hurt his knee and was out for two games. And what’s interesting is those were the two games we lost, before the playoff game that we lost.

IW: What are some of his other stats?

Synold: He had 853 yards rushing, 38 solo tackles, 43 assists and eight tackles-for-losses.

IW: Where do you see him fitting in at Wisconsin?

Synold: He’ll probably be used at their Mike linebacker, or maybe even their eagle backer, which is more of their adjuster and coverage kid, because he has good speed. They had a chance to come and see him twice in person this year. One of the games they saw was when we beat Marshfield and it was their only loss all year.

IW: The Badgers are in dire need of linebackers stepping in right away next year. Some of the other incoming recruits like Alex Lewis and Reggie Cribbs might be expected to contribute as true freshmen. Do you see Mark getting in that mix to play next year?

Synold: I think, from talking to their coaches and stuff, they are looking for their linebackers possibly to come in and help right away, not necessarily just at linebacker, but also they need to beef up their special teams. He’s got big speed, and he’s a big hitter. I think that’s what Mark can add. So I wouldn’t be surprised at all if I see Mark playing already next year somewhere.

IW: What does he need to do to improve, so he can play next year?

Synold: He’s got to fit into their system. Mark is doing all of the things physically, between his lifting and his running. He’ll be back out for track again this spring. He’s doing all those right things. It’s going to be adjusting when he goes down there and being mentally ready to adjust to it.

IW: Is there anybody Mark reminds you of?

Synold: I think what Wisconsin is hoping, is they get another Chris Ghidorzi or Nick Greisen type of kid. That’s what Kevin (Cosgrove) and Tim Davis, that are recruiting Mark, have said they hope they can get that type of production out of him. If they can get that out of him, it would be great.

IW: Does he have a similar personality to Ghidorzi and Greisen?

Synold: Yeah, Mark is a big hitter type of kid, and he’s just intense. He got a penalty his junior year because he flattened a kid on a play. He jumped up and it was just a great hit in the backfield. We were beating the team pretty good, and the referee made a comment, “Well he was intimidating by the way he hit.’ Well excuse me? I think the referee was just trying to control the game because we were taking it to the other team, but it was early in the game and Mark got a 15-yard penalty, so that’s just his intensity level. He didn’t say anything to the kid, it was just the way he hit him. That was a heck of a penalty to get. But he’s a real intense kid, and he gets after it. And he’s like those kids. Chris Ghidorzi was just a great kid. If he can do what those kids did, that would be a real plus.

IW: What’s his current height and weight?

Synold: He’s 6-2, 230 now. He’s going to stay right in there. He’s getting real thick. When those kids graduate, they start really filling out. He’s got a chance to rest now that the season is over. Playing both ways wears on you a little bit. But it didn’t matter. We were up seven on Hudson in the playoff game, and we needed to ice the game with five minutes left on the clock. He ran the ball 11 straight times before he went in the end zone.