As a junior last fall, Lemont quarterback Payton Salomon threw for 1,753 yards and 31 touchdowns with just one interception.
This summer, Salomon said he traveled 11,453 miles to attend 10 camps throughout the nation — everywhere from Coastal Carolina to Montana.
Big, impressive numbers on both fronts.
“I was trying to get my name out there as much as possible,” Salomon said. “The seniors on the team and coaches all told me this was a big summer for me to get my name in front of as many people as I can.”
He made some inroads, but thus far, there are no scholarship offers on the table.
If Salomon can lead Lemont (11-1) — No. 7 in the Daily Southtown’s preseason rankings — to another big season, it shouldn’t be long before college coaches take notice.
Lemont coach Bret Kooi is puzzled that the 6-foot, 170-pound Salomon doesn’t have an offer yet. Kooi believes Salomon has all the tools to call signals at the next level.
“He’s pretty special,” Kooi said. “He has a little bit of everything. He has pretty good arm strength and a very good touch. He has good vision and reads well. He’s mobile, too.”
Salomon said he strategically picked his camps “realistically for football and educationally.”
Aside from his skills on the field, Salomon has impressed Kooi with an intense, competitive nature.
“No matter what he does, he competes,” Kooi said. “He competes when he is warming up in the weight room. We could be playing dodge ball for fun, and he is competitive.”
Salomon said that competitive streak came from wrestling.
He was a backup at 152 pounds for Lemont’s Class 2A state championship team in 2020, but last year, he suffered a shoulder injury early in the season. That kept him off the mat.
“It’s because of wrestling when I was younger because it’s a man-to-man sport,” he said about how he became competitive. “I’m going out there and wrestling, and it’s like I just want to win so bad. I’ll do anything I can do to win.”
One moment as a leader he’s most proud of occurred Nov. 5 in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs at Springfield.
The Senators were coming off a wild, record-breaking 94-72 victory over Rock Island, and Lemont had no idea what to expect.
After the first half, Lemont held a 31-28 lead, but Salomon had a few choice words for his teammates.
“We were moving slow,” he said. “I was trying to keep everybody’s head up. I told them to always play with intensity and play fast. Never take plays off.
“If you make one bad play and go out, come back and make a great play.”
There weren’t too many bad plays for Lemont, which erupted in the second half for a 73-36 win.
Lemont scored 40 or more points in nine games last season, and Salomon anticipates those fireworks will continue.
“I expect us to come out firing every game this year,” Salomon said. “We have a lot of returning offensive starters. We have a good group of seniors.
“On defense, we have a lot of good players stepping up and filling roles. And they fill them right.”
An interesting fact about Salomon, who has played football since first grade with the Lemont Celtics, is has never played any other position but quarterback.
“I was throwing the ball around and they put me in at quarterback,” he said. “I fell in love with that position. I love taking control of the offense and leading everybody.
“It’s been quarterback ever since day one.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Team: Lemont.
2021 record: 11-1.
Offensive leaders: Payton Salomon, senior quarterback; Luke Wallace, senior, wide receiver, Jacob Katauskas, senior, offensive lineman, Jacek Blaszynski, senior offensive lineman.
Defensive leaders: Noah Taylor, senior safety/linebacker; Luke Hagedorn, senior defensive lineman, Alex Pasquale, junior defensive lineman; CJ Campos, senior, defensive lineman.
X-factor: Nick Hawkins, senior, tight end.
