Lincoln-Way Central’s Lucas Andresen spent his summer touring the country, with stops in Miami and Dallas among the highlights.
Make no mistake, though. These were business trips, not vacations.
Andresen, a senior receiver, was playing with Midwest Boom, a powerhouse team on the national 7-on-7 circuit that had Lincoln-Way East’s Jonas Williams as the quarterback.
“It was a lot of fun,” Andresen said. “It gave me a lot of growth and a lot of experience going into this season. It definitely improved my game a lot.”
Andresen, who at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds projects as either a tight end or receiver in college, opened up some eyes along the way this summer.
He received his first Division I offers from Butler and Dayton. Lincoln-Way Central coach Dave Woodburn thinks bigger schools should be checking in as well.
“I’m surprised that more people haven’t noticed him yet,” Woodburn said. “But they will soon.”
Andresen also showed off plenty of big-play ability last season for Lincoln-Way Central, which comes in at No. 6 in the Daily Southtown preseason rankings.
In a run-heavy offense, he finished with 39 catches for 599 yards and nine touchdowns as the Knights (9-4) made a surprising run to the Class 7A semifinals.
Now, he feels more prepared to make an even bigger impact in a wider variety of ways.
“Playing with Boom, I feel like it’s made me better in every aspect of my game — my route running, my physicality and my run blocking,” Andresen said. “It’s just knowing that I’m bigger than most people and I’m going to go kick someone’s butt.”
Andresen said it was “a lot of fun” teaming up with a district rival in Williams, the USC recruit. But he’s happy to be back with his longtime quarterback in fellow senior Drew Woodburn.
“I love the kid,” Andresen said of Woodburn. “We’ve been playing together for a long time, so there’s nothing like catching the ball from my guy.”
Drew Woodburn said the pair’s connection started in third grade when they played flag football together.
“He makes a lot of plays for me,” Drew said of Andresen. “He bails me out. He saves me from throwing interceptions by just going up and making plays. It’s definitely a good tool to have.”
Speaking of flag football, that accounted for all of Andresen’s experience in the sport until he made his tackle debut as a freshman.
Three years later, he’s a Division I recruit.
“It’s all been a learning process, knowing I could get somewhere,” Andresen said. “Knowing that all my hard work has paid off and I’ve gotten somewhere, I’m grateful and I’m blessed.
“It’s exciting to know that I’ve got somewhere to go in the future. But I’m not saying I’m content in any way, shape or form.”
Neither are the Knights, who experienced a bitter end to their breakthrough season in 2024.
Lincoln-Way Central was less than a minute away from playing in the 7A state championship game before Batavia scored a TD with 31 seconds left to hand the Knights a 25-21 semifinal loss.
Senior running back/receiver/linebacker Luke Tingley said that one still stings.
“There’s a lot more confidence going into this season, but we still have a chip on our shoulder,” Tingley said. “We still have something to prove.”
So does Andresen, who isn’t letting his summer accolades make him overconfident.
“I stay humble in myself knowing that I still have something to prove,” Andresen said. “I’m not relaxing or coming down for anybody.
“I’m not stopping until people know who I am and know how much of a threat I am.”
Quick hits
Team: Lincoln-Way Central.
2024 record: 9-4.
Offensive leaders: Lucas Andresen, senior, receiver; Justin Cobbs, senior, running back; Patrick Sammon, senior, lineman; Drew Woodburn, senior, quarterback.
Defensive leaders: Jalen Byrd, senior, linebacker; Aiden Hennings, junior, lineman; Nolan Morrill, senior, safety; Austin Welsh, senior, linebacker.
X-factor: Luke Tingley, senior, running back/receiver/linebacker.
