HS Football: Haven’s Castillo verbally commits to Minnesota
Schuylkill Haven's Niko Castillo carries the ball during the Hurricanes' 48-38 win Thursday over Minersville (Photo by Kelly Wiley).
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Over the past four years, Niko Castillo sculpted his body from a lean, lanky 150-pound freshman to a 230-pound, physically ripped athlete.
It showed on the football field as the 6-foot-2 running back/linebacker was a big reason Schuylkill Haven reached three straight District 11 Class AA title games.
The University of Minnesota took notice. And in the crazy world of college football recruiting, Castillo became one of the Gophers’ final targets for their 2026 recruiting class within a span of one week.
Castillo verbally committed to the Big Ten school Friday afternoon after receiving a scholarship offer from Golden Gophers’ head coach P.J. Fleck during a recruiting trip to Minneapolis. He will officially sign his NCAA Division I letter of intent during a ceremony at the high school as part of Wednesday’s National Signing Day.
Castillo is Schuylkill Haven’s first Division I football commit since 2008, when Zach Barket (Lehigh), Tyler Swoyer (Lafayette) and Mike Murphy (Lafayette) all signed with Patriot League schools.
“I’m still processing it all,” Castillo said Friday night from a hotel in Minneapolis. “I couldn’t sleep this whole week.”
Castillo excelled on both sides of the ball this season for Schuylkill Haven, which won its first 12 games before falling 34-31 to Williams Valley in the District 11 Class AA championship game.
On offense, Castillo rushed 73 times for 865 yards and 12 touchdowns, including one TD run for 98 yards. Utilized often in Haven’s passing game, Castillo also hauled in 17 passes for 423 yards and nine touchdowns and compiled 1,547 all-purpose yards.
Defensively, the outside linebacker was one of the top defenders in the area, collecting 67 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
A four-year starter, Castillo compiled 1,743 rushing yards, 603 receiving yards and 252 tackles for his career. Over the last three seasons, Schuylkill Haven went 32-6 with three straight trips to the District 11 title game.
“Niko’s commitment to Minnesota is a direct reflection of his body of work in the weight room and on the football field,” Schuylkill Haven coach Mike Farr said. “He has embraced the process of our football program and now he will benefit by playing Big Ten football.”
Castillo said he stood 5-9 and weighed 150 pounds as a freshman. He grew to 6-foot, 190 pounds as a sophomore, then weighed 215 pounds as a junior. He was officially weighed and measured Friday in Minnesota at 6-2, 230 pounds.
He credited a consistent weight-lifting program and a protein-heavy diet with helping him mold his body into a chiseled, muscular physique.
“My transformation started my freshman year to sophomore year,” Castillo said. “Going into my junior year, I got more leaner and faster and focused more on my speed. I was lifting every day.
“My senior year I had another big transformation. Beginning of the summer I was 210, 215. During the season I was 235.”
Minnesota running backs coach Jayden Everett was the first to reach out to Castillo last Thursday, Nov. 20. The Gophers are recruiting Castillo as a running back.
Up until last week, Castillo’s recruitment included NCAA Division I offers from Kent State of the MAC and Stonehill College of the NEC. Castillo said Elon University was also supposed to offer him this week.
Castillo is the 29th member of Minnesota’s recruiting class, which is ranked 28th nationally by Rivals.com and eighth in the Big Ten behind USC (1), Oregon (4), Ohio State (5), Michigan (12), Washington (19), Iowa (23) and Illinois (24).
“(Everett) followed me on Twitter,” Castillo said of Minnesota’s interest. “I texted him and said ‘Thanks for the follow.’ He texted me back and said, ‘I saw you’re a linebacker.’
“After that, he got on the phone with Farr. He was talking to Farr and said he wanted me out there for an official visit and that they were going to offer me when I got there. He didn’t want to offer me before because if I posted it, then other schools would notice.”
After scoring two touchdowns in the South’s 50-0 romp over the North in Wednesday night’s Schuylkill County Football Coaches’ Association Senior All-Star Game at Rotary Field, Castillo and his mother, Tammy Dayson, were picked up by a car service Friday morning, taken to the Philadelphia airport and flew out to Minnesota.
