Kurt Nantkes?

[Z-REB]

I am looking for a little background information on QB Kurt Nantkes. It is under my impression that he signed with North Dakota State out of high school. I don't believe he ever attended NDSU?

He is the starter at QB on what should be a pretty good UNLV football team this year. From what I have seen, he is a pretty good quarterback with a great arm. He was the QB who led UNLV to an upset over Top 25 Colorado State in the last game last year(it was his only start last year).

His background has been a bit jumbled ever since he arrived at UNLV 3 years ago. What I do know for sure is that he was drafted out of high school (I believe he graduated in '96?)by the Oakland A's and he signed. He pitched in the A's farm system for a few years before retiring from baseball, so that he could play football again.

When he first signed with UNLV, there were reports that he signed with Nebraska to play football out of high school. I have since found out that he did sign with Nebraska, but as a baseball player. Maybe he did plan on walking on to the football team also. He signed with NDSU out of high school to play football (don't ask me why he signed with 2 schools). I also read some older reports on your site that said Nantkes left NDSU to join the Air Force.

What I am hoping is that someone here knows the whole story to his background from high school on? It would be interesting to know his real background.

Here is a link to a story on Nantkes from the Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/unlv/2003/mar/26/514856433.html

http://www.lasvegassun.com/from.ed/2003/mar/26/photos/P000058750.jpg

Thank you.

[Bob_Holiday]

Kurt Nantkes supposedly signed a national letter of intent to play for Coach Bob Babich and NDSU when he came out of high school (in the Denver, Colorado area I think). His name is not mentioned in any of the official media guides at NDSU. The reason he never played at NDSU according to the news media up here was that he accepted an appointment at the Air Force Academy. I'm not sure that he ever attended the academy either. After that, I heard the same as you that he played minor league baseball. Then he disappeared from my radar screen. He was one of a group of Colorado kids that signed with NDSU at that time including Brandon Richardson, DeShawn Perkins, Mike Madrid and Steve Higgins. Of that group only Perkins and Richardson ever played at NDSU.