How Rock Bridge's Sam Kaiser navigated a 'stressful' recruiting process to form high expectations

If Rock Bridge quarterback Sam Kaiser were to write a song about the summer he's had, he could look to Johnny Cash for some inspiration.

After all, the two have been everywhere. Kaiser, through camps and recruiting visits, has seen his fair share of the United States in a short amount of time.

"I've been Wyoming to Michigan, to Texas," Kaiser said, "I'm going to Harvard and Princeton next week, so I'll be on the east coast."

That's how summers are for the highest-rated quarterback in the state of Missouri. Kaiser is the 22nd-best prospect in Missouri and a three-star prospect, according to 247Sports.

If he wasn't familiar with America's geography before, Kaiser would be more comfortable with it now.

"I guess I'm gonna have all four corners," he said.

Kaiser's summer is winding down, and his senior season is on the horizon. Going into that campaign, he has personal expectations that rival the team's goals.

As a first-year starter last season, Kaiser led Rock Bridge to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Class 6 District 2 championship game where the Bruins fell short against DeSmet. This year, Kaiser aims to surpass that milestone.

All-Conference, All-District and All-State accolades are on Kaiser's to-do list this fall. That starts with bettering himself as an athlete. Last year, he added mass to his frame as he prepared for his first season as a starting quarterback. This summer, he wanted to improve his athleticism.

"My main goal this year was to get faster," Kaiser said. "I've been sprinting, I think twice a week and I stay consistent lifting. I feel good and strong and fast. So I'm feeling pretty good physically."

He was able to show his improvements at different camps this summer, which earned him offers from Murray State, Southeast Missouri State, Harvard and Central Michigan in June.

That was the latest twist to his recruiting process, which was a stressful journey that he said is now in its final stages.

"It's definitely a business and I've learned that quarterback-wise in recruiting in college football," Kaier said. "It's been good to experience all the different programs and see their day-to-day life and meet a bunch of different coaches. But I'm ready to commit and I think that's going to be coming soon."

Kaiser doesn't have a list of finalists he's going to drop; he said he's just going to announce his commitment when he knows the time is right.

He said he was looking for a school where he could connect with the coaching staff and have the opportunity to set himself up for life after football academically. Looking for that school is a process, but the business aspect of it was something he found out the hard way.

Kaiser had an offer from Vanderbilt and visited the Commodores in March. Since then, Vanderbilt got commitments from Jeremy St-Hilaire and Whit Muschamp. The Commodores didn't have room to take a third quarterback in its 2024 recruiting class.

More: Why Rock Bridge's Sam Kaiser, cousin of Drew Lock, could be next big thing in Boone County

Looking back, Kaiser said he probably should have taken that offer and committed, but now he still has plenty of others he can field. Kaiser noted his visit with Central Michigan where he visited with head coach Jim McElwain, who previously coached Florida.

"Me and my dad sat in with him and had a great conversation," Kaiser said. "It is kind of cool to see the coaches you watch growing up and you're sitting right next to them, and they're trying to get you to play for their school. That's fun."

Kaiser has also taken trips to Pittsburgh and Miami (Ohio). There are plenty of teams that would revel at the chance to develop a 6-foot-6, 210-pound quarterback with high-level quarterbacking in his blood.

That decision will come soon - within the next several weeks he said - and then Kaiser can turn his focus to the upcoming Bruins' season, which he wants to see end at Faurot Field in November with a state championship.

"I don't wanna lose," Kaiser said. "That's my main thing. I think we can do that."

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Sam Kaiser navigated a 'stressful' recruiting process to form high expectations