Intro: 2021 Kansas City tight end John Mike Gyllenborg
Kansas State still needs a tight end and KSO spotted a potential late bloomer in the Kansas City metro in the last few weeks. That would be senior John Mike Gyllenborg of Rockhurst High School.
He was a standout at one of the college football scouting combines held by Joseph Potts at KC Turf Zone in Lenexa.
It was then that he measured in at 6-foot-5 and 219 pounds, ran a 4.75 40-yard dash, clocked a 4.28 second pro-agility shuttle, had a standing vertical leap of 36 inches and nearly recorded a 10-foot broad jump.
For those wondering, those are strong measurements for a tight end recruit. They even surprised him a bit.
“I wouldn’t say I anticipated some of those numbers,” Gyllenborg admitted. “The adrenaline definitely boosted them a little bit. I have been training very hard, though. I expected to be close to those numbers.”
They are especially impressive for someone that hasn’t played football since the fourth grade.
That’s right. He’s also new to the sport, but the word has been that he has been the best player for Rockhurst at practices, already.
“Yeah, I haven’t played football in a long time,” Gyllenborg confirmed. “My mom wouldn’t ever let me play. This year, she did. Coach (Kelly) Donahue has been a great influence.”
Kelly Donahue is the new coach at Rockhurst, after Tony Severino finished his historic career as the school’s head coach last season. Donahue was previously the head coach at Blue Springs.
“He’s obviously let me know that I can be as good as I want to be,” Gyllenborg shared. “He knows me and we both realize I’m new to this, so there are some growing pains. I can’t get cocky or anything like that. He’s just letting me know I can go as far as I want.”
Because he’s yet to play any high school football, the college interest is non-existent right now. Like some players throughout the country, he needs a platform to showcase his skills and talents. Hopefully, CoVid-19 doesn’t obstruct that mission.
“Yeah, I haven’t gotten any college interest,” Gyllenborg said. “Nobody knows me. They don’t know I exist. They’ve never been able to watch me play. This year is important.”
If he is able to produce some film of him playing wide receiver and tight end at Rockhurst and shows that his combine numbers translate to the field, the attention and recruiting interest will follow.
Does anyone have a leg up if they were to jump into the picture for Gyllenborg? Not really.
“I’ll go and play anywhere,” he explained. “I don’t know anything about anyone, yet. I’ll consider anyone and anywhere if there is an opportunity there. I’m just trying to play ball in college and get bigger and better.”