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Did you notice that only five Illinois high school products were included among the top 250 college football players in the country in the preseason ratings by national magazines?
They are quarterbacks Juice Williams (Chicago Vocational) of Illinois and Dan LeFevour (Benet) of Central Michigan, defensive end Tim Jamison (Thornton) of Michigan, offensive lineman Xavier Fulton (Homewood-Flossmoor) of Illinois and linebacker Larry English (Marmion) of Northern Illinois.
"The last few years have been down years for recruiting in the Chicago area. There has been no knockout year," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. "Recruiting was great in the 1980s and pretty good in the 1990s. The high water mark was 1986, when 141 players received scholarships and 20 went to the NFL.
"But recruiting has changed. Because so many Chicago area players are making early commitments today, it hurts other kids because college coaches don't come back to recruit in December and January. Consequently, they aren't taking as many players from the Chicago area as they once did. Instead, college coaches are going South in December and many late-developing prospects in the Chicago area are overlooked."
But Lemming predicts the class of 2010 in the Chicago area could be the best since 1990. In fact, he projects as many as 100 signees. The class is headed by Fremd offensive lineman Christian Lombard, Loyola defensive end Chance Carter and Johnsburg wide receiver C.J. Fiedorowicz. All three have been invited to participate in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl in San Antonio.
How's that for an early commitment?
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Completely disagree with the rationalization of Chicago being overlooked. The 3rd largest city in the country? Every airline connects through O'Hare! The bottom line is there are not as many kids playing football, the CPL has dried up, and CCL is not what it used to be. The talent is not very good - no speed and the skill is average compared to the warm weather areas. Linemen yes but how many true national recruits? It has been over rated for years! Name an all star team since 1990 for Chicago and it is pretty embarrassing. There is no comparison to Houston, LA, Dallas, Miami, or Atlanta. Three quality kids who have been offered by ND but let's see if they pan out 6 years from now! ND has had their share of misses and transfers including two from Chicago in the last year! Are they 'GREAT' players who everyone in the country will be after?
you might want to look at the fact that most southern high school associations [and possibly other areas of the country] allow their high school teams to have spring practice with some allowing practices with pads. Some states go as far as to allow junior high teams to practice in the spring. illinois does not allow this. southern states promote power lifting teams along with most skill position kids running track..been this way for 10-12 years..face it, whomever governs middle school and high school sports in illinois puts our kids at a competitive disadvantage