December decisions are not uncommon for football prospects who don’t want to take a chance in the final recruiting month of January when scholarships are a bit more scarce.
In the first seven days of the month, North Chicago linebacker Kevin Green made an oral commitment to Purdue, and 6-foot-6-inch, 285-pound Plainfield Central offensive lineman Perry Dorrestein said yes to Michigan. Cary-Grove defensive back Alex Kube decided on Ball State, while Deerfield quarterback Alex Loukas chose Stanford over the Thanksgiving break.
According to Tim O’Halloran of rivals.com, 6-5, 250-pound offensive lineman Jon Asamoah of Rich East withdrew a commitment to Northern Illinois after Illinois made him an offer two weeks ago. Asamoah made an official visit to NIU last week and visited Champaign over the weekend. He would be a nice Christmas present for Illini coach Ron Zook.
O’Halloran also reports that Downers Grove North safety Garrett Edwards, who has committed to Illinois, would be offered a scholarship by Northwestern if he changed his mind. Purdue has made an offer, and Edwards is still being recruited by Iowa and Iowa State. Edwards has said he would like to visit Iowa, Purdue and Iowa State before signing a letter of intent.
Taking the ACT exam has forced Morgan Park offensive lineman Ramone Johnson to reschedule his Tennessee visit to Jan. 13. In addition to Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota, Johnson is getting a late rush from Penn State. Defensive end Kyle Jenkins of five-time champion Driscoll is being recruited by Illinois, Ball State and Western Illinois.
Maine South linebacker/receiver Adam Fee is being recruited by Boston College, Illinois, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Cornell, while teammate Tyler Knight is looking at Northwestern, New Mexico State, NIU and Toledo. Lane receiver Xavier Torres had January visits planned for Holy Cross and Central Michigan and is also being pursued by Air Force.
Fremd quarterback Scott Tolzien is focusing on Kentucky, Toledo and NIU, while Mt. Carmel running back Larry Dortch will visit Western Michigan on Jan. 13. Dortch has made an oral commitment to NIU but is still being pursued by New Mexico State, Boston College, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois and the College of Charleston. Wheaton Warrenville South defensive tackle Chris Arthurs is receiving interest from Illinois, Wake Forest, Northwestern and Illinois State.
Major decisions
No one is naive enough to believe that academic interests define a player’s college choice. But the cases of Green and Kube are refreshing, in that their educational future had some impact on their gridiron fate.
Green committed to Purdue, thanks in part to the computer graphic technology program there; the linebacker said he “always wanted to make video games.” And Kube committed to Ball State thanks in part to the school’s communication program.
“That was one of the things we talked about–really, why are you going there?” Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay said. “Why are you going to school?”
