Schuylkill Haven running back Niko Castillo has decided to become a Gopher and commit to the University of Minnesota to continue 
playing football. The three star senior confirmed his commitment on X on November 28th by saying “Ready to get to work ‼️〽️〽️〽️.” Castillo chose the Gophers over Gannon, West Virginia State, Stonehill, and Kent State.
“It’s a blessing” to play Power 4 football. “Crazy how fast things can happen,” he said. With the Gophers being in the Big Ten, that strongly influenced his commitment decision, along with being offered a full scholarship. “I loved the coaches, it’s really a family here,” Castillo added.
Schuylkill County is known for supporting local athletes when they accomplish big things, and “they have been with me through it all, great to have support throughout the recruiting process,” Castillo also said. This is the community he is happy to contribute back to as he is always happy to make the future Hurricanes better either at camps or one-on-one sessions.
During his senior year, he had 865 yards on 73 carries with 13 rushing scores. In terms of receiving, he caught the ball 17 times for 423 yards and 9 touchdowns. The Hurricanes had an undefeated 10-0 record in the regular season and were widely considered the top AA team in the state. After easily handling Catasauqua and Northern Lehigh in the first two rounds of district playoffs, they lost 31-28 against Williams Valley in the district title game.
From a coaching perspective, he’s a competitor according to Schuylkill Haven’s former Cornerback and Wide Receiver coach, Joey Cannavacciuolo. Minnesota is getting a player that is “hungry for success.” Being overlooked by a lot of major programs will make him ready to compete and give it his all, Cannavacciuolo added.
Castillo is not the first Schuylkill County senior to announce a commitment to a Power 4 school. He joins Dante Carr of Minersville, who committed to UCF in early June to be a quarterback. “This recruiting cycle from Carr and Castillo will move mountains for our players because it shows even though we aren’t powerhouses, or play them, it doesn’t mean we don’t have players that can produce at that level,” Cannavacciuolo also said. Between Carr, Castillo, and juniors Chase Guers of Blue Mountain with two Power 4 offers and Colton Reber of Schuylkill Haven who finished ninth in the nation in rushing yards, the Division One talent is there.
Castillo was the 29th player in the class of 2026 to become a Gopher. In this senior class, the head coach of Minnesota, PJ Fleck, held the 28th best recruiting class in the nation at the time of Castillo’s commitment.
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON NOVEMBER 28th