Hawks’ Xander Menapace completes long recruiting journey by choosing Columbia
Chuck Kutz saw something in his freshman tight end that led him to believe he could become Hamburg’s starting quarterback.
The Hawks’ former head coach liked the kid’s height, his work ethic and his intellect. Mostly he liked his desire to excel and compete.
“I saw somebody who really wanted to be a quarterback,” Kutz said Wednesday afternoon, after Xander Menapace announced his commitment to play at Columbia University, an FCS program and member of the Ivy League.
Menapace was 6-foot tall and lean as a freshman; he gave no hint he’d blossom into a defensive end-sized college prospect.
He needed to work on his throwing mechanics. He needed to improve his footwork. He needed to learn a position he had not played — not in Mites, Midgets or junior high.
Kutz, a veteran of the game who won district championships at Blue Mountain, didn’t focus on what Menapace didn’t have; he saw what he could become.
“I didn’t know if I could (play quarterback),” Menapace recalled after ending a long recruiting journey with a signing ceremony in Hamburg’s gym, where family members, teammates and coaches gathered to share in the moment. “I was a little undersized. Then I started growing.”
He grew to love the game, every bit of it. Not just the Friday nights but all the things that lead up to being ready to excel come kickoff: The winter lifts, the summer workouts, the film sessions.
All of that led to Menapace quarterbacking the Hawks to one of the best seasons in program history. Their nine wins this season – including a District 3 playoff victory – were punctuated with his running and throwing acumen.
He finished as Berks’ top-rated passer and set more than half-a-dozen program passing records, including yards (1,833) and touchdowns (16) in a season and completion percentage in a season (63.4) and career (.61.8).
His favorite part wasn’t the three touchdown passes against Warrior Run, or running for three TDs against unbeaten Lancaster Catholic or throwing and running for a touchdown in Hamburg’s first home playoff victory, against Upper Dauphin.
No, his favorite part was the prep work it took to produce those kinds of numbers.
“People don’t see the grind,” Menapace said. “They don’t see the countless hours of film we watched. It’s not just going out there Friday and ‘ballin,’ it’s a process.”
The recruiting process turned out to be tougher than any game on the schedule. It was long and tiring and at times emotionally draining.
Menapace was behind the eight ball from the start. He broke his right wrist in a basketball fall in Feb. 2021 and wasn’t able to throw for college coaches during the all-important spring and summer camps heading into his junior season.
He played in a Wing-T offense as a sophomore and junior, which meant college coaches weren’t able to evaluate his arm strength or throwing mechanics.
That made last offseason a critical and busy one for him. He criss-crossed the Eastern seaboard, attending every camp, clinic, showcase and on-campus competition he could find.
“Most people didn’t know that I could throw a ball,” Menapace said. “I tried to get out to as many places as I could. There weren’t many days where I wasn’t throwing a football or lifting weights or running or doing something.”
At nearly 6-5, 210 pounds, Menapace has the prototype size college coaches like in their quarterbacks. What he didn’t have was the game film to catch their eyes. That came during his senior season when the Hawks, under first-year coach Matt Hoffert and new offensive coordinator Tyler Hartranft, went to a Spread attack that showcased Menapace’s running and passing talents.
Late in the season Division I programs, including Columbia, finally started to show serious interest. Still, it wasn’t until late December that he got his first offer. He was high on the prospect board in a lot of rooms, he was often told, but it took months to see that come to fruition.
“College coaches really keep you on the hook,” Menapace said. “It was definitely hard, not knowing (where you stand). You put all this work in, you expect a result. The result took a little time. I accepted that.
“Everyone wants to get the offer right away. At the end of the day you have to go through your process and find the school that’s the best fit for you. I’m just thankful that I had the opportunity that I had.”
Menapace signed on the first day of the NCAA’s national letter of intent signing period. He is among at least nine Berks players headed to Division I programs.
“I was disappointed (when the offers didn’t come sooner),” Menapace said, “but I used that as fuel, to keep pushing to get the opportunities. I did everything that I thought was right, and I had a lot of good people surrounding me. That really helped me push through those moments where you want to give up. I didn’t give up, and here I.
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“I’m meant to be here. It doesn’t matter when they jumped on me, I’m just happy they did.”
Kutz, who stepped down as Hawks’ coach following Menapace’s sophomore season, made sure he was there Wednesday to see the process come full circle.
“He did all the right things (to get here),” Kutz said. “He kept growing and developing. He took the weight room to heart. To take it to a whole nother level like he did, that was all on him. He dedicated his time and energy, and his progressions were remarkable. I’ve never seen a transformation in someone like that.”
