Jesper Horsted – Wide Receiver – Senior – Princeton
Alex Khvatov: What are your measurements (height, weight and forty time)?
Jesper Horsted: I am 6’4, 228 and I haven’t run a 40 in a couple of years, but it should be around 4.5.
Alex Khvatov: Coming out of high school, what programs showed interest in
you?
Jesper Horsted: All of the Ivy League schools, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa State, NDSU, North Dakota, Miami Ohio and Lafayette.
Alex Khvatov: Why did you choose Princeton?
Jesper Horsted: I wanted a strong academic university, and they allowed me to play both baseball and football.
Alex Khvatov: What are your strengths?
Jesper Horsted: Hand-eye coordination, strength/size combination and endurance.
Alex Khvatov: What areas of your game are you trying to improve upon?
Jesper Horsted: Route running and blocking.
Alex Khvatov: Describe your overall career to us.
Jesper Horsted: I had a freak injury a week before reporting to freshman camp. I spent freshman year recovering from that and learning the playbook. I played a lot sophomore year but didn’t record a ton of catches. Junior year, I worked a lot in the offseason with the quarterback and developed good chemistry. I played a lot and recorded a lot of catches and touchdowns.
Alex Khvatov: What are your individual and team goals for your senior season?
Jesper Horsted: As far as the individual goals, I want to show improvement from the previous year on blocking and route running and put up comparable statistics to the previous year. As far as team goals, I want to win all 10 games.
Alex Khvatov: You just set the career TD reception record at Princeton, what does reaching that milestone mean to you?
Jesper Horsted: That was one of my favorite sports moments of all time. It was awesome to see my hard work pay off and to set a record in a football program that has such an extensive history.
Alex Khvatov: What is the highlight of your career up to this point?
Jesper Horsted: My personal highlight was breaking the touchdown record a couple of weeks ago, but the team highlight was definitely winning the Ivy League Championship in 2016.
Alex Khvatov: How did you feel when your team captured the Ivy League Championship in 2016?
Jesper Horsted: That was a great feeling. That team had a lot of talent and really good senior leadership. That has definitely been one of my athletic highlights here at Princeton.
Alex Khvatov: What have you learned the most from your head coach Bob Surace?
Jesper Horsted: He has taught me a lot about professionalism. Whether things are going really well or really poorly, Coach Surace does a great job staying composed. I think this is an important attribute in football, a lot of teams we play are undisciplined and get penalties because they let their emotions get the best of them. Stuff like that very rarely happens to our teams since Coach does such a good job keeping guys calm and focused.
Alex Khvatov: What is your favorite NFL team?
Jesper Horsted: Minnesota Vikings.
Alex Khvatov: Who is your favorite NFL player?
Jesper Horsted: Adam Thielen.
Alex Khvatov: What is the most important trait for a WR?
Jesper Horsted: Focus.
Alex Khvatov: What other players on your team should we keep an eye on this season?
Jesper Horsted: QB John Lovett and WR Stephen Carlson.
Alex Khvatov: Who is the toughest player that you have faced on an opposing team?
Jesper Horsted: Spencer Rymiszewski on Yale last year. He covered me last year, and we battled it out all game long. He was a gritty, physical corner who had good coverage.
Alex Khvatov: What do you enjoy most about football?
Jesper Horsted: I think just catching passes in general. I get so much enjoyment out of running a good route against a DB and then making a difficult catch. That’s my favorite thing in this sport.
Alex Khvatov: You also play baseball at Princeton. How does that help you on the gridiron?
Jesper Horsted: It has really helped me develop my hand-eye coordination and track balls in the air. Having to read the spin and location of a 90+ MPH fastball coming from 60 feet away has trained my brain to make quick decisions and my hands to be fast and precise.
Alex Khvatov: What are your hobbies?
Jesper Horsted: I also enjoy playing guitar, hanging out with my friends and fishing.
Alex Khvatov: What do you want to do with your life after your football career is over?
Jesper Horsted: I really am not sure yet. I would love to keep working with sports in some capacity.
Alex Khvatov: Who is your biggest role model?
Jesper Horsted: Joe Mauer and Adam Thielen.
Alex Khvatov: What is the biggest lesson that you have learned in life so far?
Jesper Horsted: When I had the freak stomach injury that required surgery and caused me to sit out of football a few months. It taught me how quickly things can change and how lucky I am to be able to play sports and be healthy.
Alex Khvatov: What five words best describe you?
Jesper Horsted: Competitive, active, enthusiastic, creative and driven.
