What's Next - Ballston Spa's Blaine Zoller

BALLSTON SPA, NY (NEWS10) -- Each week this summer we’re featuring one of the Capital Region’s best student-athletes who just graduated high school on our segment “What’s Next?” We dive into what lies ahead, while looking back on their storied careers. This week we have a three-sport athlete heading to one of the most prestigious institutions in the country: Ballston Spa's Blaine Zoller.

"I feel like it's the work that you put in when nobody's really watching," said Zoller. "I know that's like a cliché thing to say, but it's just waking up early in the morning when you don't want to. Those mornings, when I look back, that's what got me to where I am."

Blaine Zoller has never been one to shy away from some hard work, playing varsity football and baseball for four years and varsity basketball for three years, trying to reach the next level on the field and in the classroom. "It's only getting more and more difficult to try to be a three sport athlete and a high end student," said Ballston Spa head football coach Jason Ohsnman. "Especially if you look at his transcript, he's not taking the easiest courses we offer. So for him to take on that workload and to be such a great teammate and to work as hard as he does, just to be able to dial in for three seasons during the school year as well as in the classroom is pretty impressive."

Zoller originally thought he'd play baseball in college, but in the summer after his junior year, he had a change of heart. "I feel like the love kind of ran out for it." said Zoller. "I just saw football and since I was a little kid, I've always loved football, and football has always been the thing that has come natural to me."

Natural is an understatement. Zoller racked up over 3,000 total yards at Ballston Spa, including 11 touchdowns in his senior year. "He's a very unique combination of size and speed and power," said Ohnsman. "I think that can get lost on people sometimes. You see how big he is. He's very sure-handed, he's going to catch just about everything you throw at him. But then all of a sudden, you see him take off 70, 75, 80 yards. I've actually spoken to a lot of coaches after games where he has a big game, a few his junior or senior year, and they underestimated his speed a little bit."

Those unique traits caught the attention of David Archer's staff at Cornell University. Zoller's hard work on the field and in the classroom earned him an opportunity to not only play Division one football, but to attend one of the most prestigious universities in the country, as he committed to the Big Red. "It's quite rewarding," said Zoller. "It's cool to see my family and how much they enjoy seeing me have success and stuff. It's just cool to see. I kind of have this as something bigger than myself, for my school, and for my family. It's really cool to see like the smiles on their faces."

After Zoller committed, Cornell parted ways with Archer. Dan Swanstrom took over as head coach and began assessing the pieces coming into the program. Zoller's tape stood out, and Blaine continued to impress Swanstrom on his official visit. "He's got a good way about him," said Swanstrom. "He's got good demeanor, carries himself with great confidence. So I'm really excited about his potential future here in the program."

As Zoller gets ready to blaze his own path with the Big Red, he'll forever be a Scottie. "Playing for your high school is an experience you'll never take back," said Zoller. "Anyone I saw in the school the past couple of years, if they ever talked to me about a sport, I always said, 'Join the football team. It's the best thing you'll ever do.' Playing for your school, playing under the Friday night lights, it's the greatest thing, greatest feeling ever."