Joe Paterno probably doesn’t know where Algonquin is, but that didn’t stop the Penn State coach from sending a recruiting letter to a 6-foot-5-inch freshman quarterback named Eric Vierneisel.
After all, football is in this young man’s genes. His father, Phil, was a tight end who helped lead Taft to the Public League title in 1972 and played three seasons at Illinois alongside Scott Studwell, Revie Sorey and Tom Hicks.
But after missing his sophomore season at Jacobs because of reconstructive ankle surgery, Eric Vierneisel decided to focus on basketball.
Good call. He has developed into a 6-7 basketball star who plays all five positions for Jacobs while averaging nearly a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
He has signed a national letter of intent to play at California next season for coach Ben Braun, a former New Trier athlete. He chose Berkley over Wisconsin.
“I loved both campuses,” said Vierneisel, who also considered Illinois, Notre Dame, Michigan, Purdue and Stanford. “I had a better relationship with Coach Braun. I never talked to [Wisconsin coach] Bo Ryan until right before I made my decision at the end of July.
“And yeah, the weather had something to do with it. Colleges in a warm climate–I looked at them a little closer.”
At Jacobs, he is back to being the man for all positions. He’ll line up for the center jump, then bring the ball up like a point guard and finally post up–all in the same sequence.
“It’s kind of a challenge,” Vierneisel said. “One time down the court, I’ll be guarding the center in the post. Next time down, I might be guarding the point guard.
“I just do whatever the team needs.”
It must be working because Jacobs is off to a 10-7 start and is challenging Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South for the Fox Valley Conference title.
