Hoffman Estates (Ill.) Conant junior running back prospect Malik Frederick (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) had a very strong 2019 junior season for the Cougars and head coach Bryan Stortz. Frederick checks in and recaps his latest recruiting, off season plans and much more here.

"I've been just back in the weight room. lifting and also training for next season," Frederick said. "I'm also running track in the spring for my school so between lifting for football and running track I'm staying pretty busy."

Frederick filled us in on his latest recruiting news.

"I've been in touch with one of the coaches at Harvard and they want me to stay in touch. Northwestern also has been in touch and I'm hoping to get out to visit them and see a spring practice. Iowa State is also in touch along with the coaches from NIU, Illinois State plus Brown. Those have been the main schools as of lately and hopefully more coaches will reach out once the recruiting period opens back up soon."

Frederick also has a few upcoming college visits planned.

"I'm planning to go to the Illinois State junior day next weekend. I'm also planning to go to NIU for a junior day the following weekend. I also want to get out to visit Harvard but that might not happen for a bit."

Frederick also reflected back on his 2019 junior season along with looking ahead towards his 2020 senior season.

"Overall I felt last season was a good year for us. I was generally happy with my overall play last year. I had more carries and more yards and touchdowns last year. I felt like I was able to run more downhill last season and I was able to make people miss. Last season we played with a lot of underclassmen and we had a really tight knit group. The seniors from last season taught us a lot about teamwork and the importance of just sticking together and we are going to carry that forward for this coming season."

So what part of his game is Frederick working on to improve this off season?

"I'm really working to improve my overall speed. I want to be able to get faster along with just being more agile along with just getting off to a quicker start."