Few players in state history have entered their senior football seasons with the level of hype that followed Ian Premer this year. 

Even fewer delivered in the manner in which the Great Bend phenom did in his final campaign. 

Regarded as the state’s No. 1 overall prospect and one of the nation’s top tight end recruits, Premer more than lived up to the billing. 

Premer, who officially signed with Notre Dame last week, reeled off one epic performance after another during Great Bend’s 11-1 season. 

“Heading into the year, all the attention was on him,” Great Bend coach Erin Beck said. “And yet, he was so locked in on this team and how he could get better and do everything possible to help us win. He got so much stronger as the year went. Sometimes a kid can get wrapped up in the attention, but he was just so focused on the work.”

Premer, a Top 11 All-State selection by KSHSAA Covered, was utilized all over the field as Great Bend creatively found ways to keep feeding its 6-foot-6, 230-pound superstar. 

“It was a lot of fun for me and definitely beneficial for my development,” Premer said. “At Notre Dame I’m going to be more of a tight end, but our coach did a really good job of having me out wide, in the slot, at traditional tight end, in the H-back role and even carrying the ball.

“That’s going to help me with ball security, run after the catch, lead blocking and all that stuff. I’m really thankful to my coaching staff for doing that on the offensive side of the ball. It worked really well for us to mix up looks.”

Premer’s versatile season produced 28 offensive touchdowns – 14 receiving and 14 rushing. He finished with 752 receiving yards and 620 on the ground. 

“I don’t ever want to make it sound like it was really challenging (to get Premer touches), because when you have a kid like that – just get him the ball,” Beck said. “But you do have to sometimes be creative in the way you get him the ball. It’s hard sometimes to split him out and not have the defense go out and double him. 

“You’ve got to move him and get him in different formations – hand it to him, snap it to him, throw it to him and do all the different things to get him involved.”

Premer also starred on defense at safety, notching a team-high six interceptions with two pick-sixes. He was named Western Athletic Conference player of the year on both sides of the ball, becoming the first player to earn that distinction in conference history. 

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the season against Hays in Week 7, Premer was a one-man wrecking crew. He scored five total touchdowns, rushing for three TDs, catching another and scoring on an interception return. It started a stretch of five straight multiple-touchdown games for Premer. 

After beating Hays for the second time, Great Bend’s bid for a perfect season ended in the semifinals, with a 30-28 loss to eventual state champion Salina Central. 

“You’ve got the initial sting of losing, but when you look back at it, 11-1 was a really great season for us,” Premer said. “We won a lot of games by a lot of points.

“I’ll look back on it as a great last ride for this senior group that has played together for a long time and grew up together.”

Beck said Premer’s potential was evident from an early age when he started attending youth camps.

“You could just tell there was something different about his competitive nature,” Beck said. “He had this herky jerky spatial awareness that made him very difficult to guard. 

“Would I guess that he would have been a five-star, No. 1 tight end? Probably not. But you could just tell there was something different about him.”

Premer’s recruiting profile started to blow up his sophomore year.

“It started off with KU and then I started to get more offers after that,” Premer said. “That’s when I was like, ‘Man, I could be a really high-level football player if all these programs want me.’

“I had a great junior year then I started to focus more on football, going to visits and more camps to improve my craft.”

Premer said he tried his best not to get overwhelmed by the recruiting process. 

“I was happy with the way I handled it,” Premer said. “Obviously, it’s a long process and it can be stressful at times. In May and June of this year, when it became closer to decision time, I was a little more stressed, but I think me and my parents and Coach Beck did a good job of handling that and focusing on the school and team as much as possible and not let recruiting take over my life.”

That process led him to choosing Notre Dame, announcing his commitment to the Fighting Irish last June. 

“They’ve played at such a high level of football recently,” Premer said. “The history there is always amazing, and how they use the tight end position and continue to produce NFL tight ends. Then you combine that with how much I love the coaching staff and the high level of education. It was really a no-brainer for me.”

Beck lauded Premer for remaining grounded and focused on the Panthers through the recruiting process. 

“He’s the ultimate team player and he’s always shown that from the time he started getting recruited,” Beck said. “Honestly, I think it goes back to when he was in youth sports. That’s the way his parents (Mandi and Chad Premer) raised him. 

“They raised him to be so humble and always about helping out the team. And his decision to go to Notre Dame proved it as well. When you’re choosing a school like Notre Dame, it’s about something bigger than you.”

Premer’s huge football season helped solidify his case as one of the state’s all-time great multi-sport athletes. He delivered a sensational basketball season last year as a junior, averaging 24.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, earning Top-5 All-State honors. He’s also an all-state baseball player, helping the Panthers finish runner-up in 5A last spring. 

At a time when many top football prospects are graduating mid-year to head to college early, Premer made it clear he was always going to stay in Great Bend to play his senior basketball season. 

“Initially, when (recruiters) asked if I wanted to mid-year, I always told them no right off the bat,” Premer said. “I never really had that big decision to make because in my mind I was staying and playing basketball.

“The bonds with my teammates are really deep. A lot of us have played the same three sports together since we were in third or fourth grade. I really enjoy playing with them and the team part of it. 

“Personally, I really enjoy competing,” he added. “I think I’d be really bored if I was just training all the time. I really like the action the games give me.”

Premer’s current focus is helping the Panther basketball team contend for a state title. After that, he’ll be eager to turn his complete focus to football. 

“Once basketball is over, I’ll get locked in on the football training part of it,” Premer said. “My whole life I’ve been a three-sport athlete so I’m really excited to get focused on that one sport and watch my potential grow there.”

Beck said Premer will continue to cement his place as one of the state’s all-time greats.

“I think he will go down as one of the greatest multi-sport athletes in Kansas history,” he said. “He’s that special.  Sometimes you’ve got to go prove it beyond high school, and there’s no doubt in my mind he will. I have a feeling you’re going to look back in 10, 15 years and say he was the greatest to ever do it.”