Taylor Bell: July 2008 Archives

Hal Chiodo was born and raised in central Illinois, went to college there and coached Morton's football team to the state playoff 12 times in 13 years. But he always believed that coaching in the Chicago suburbs "is big-league for a high school coach in Illinois" and he finally got his opportunity to do it.

Chiodo, 52, is the new coach at West Chicago. Talk about a challenge. West Chicago is 54-181 since 1981 with only one trip to the state playoff. It competes in the Du Page Valley, which is generally regarded as the strongest football conference in the state.

West Chicago once was a powerhouse. In 1973, Paul Unruh produced an outstanding team led by future NFL player Scott Dierking. In 1974, after Dierking graduated, Unruh led his team to a state championship.

But then West Chicago joined the Du Page Valley against the likes of Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Wheaton North and Glenbard North. How tough is that? Well, Chiodo is West Chicago's third coach in three years.

"Being a football coach is in my blood and I can't gt it out of there," said Chiodo, whose father was a Hall of Fame coach at Normal University High. "My dream always was to move to the suburbs. Before I retire, I wanted a chance to be involved in it. It's very difficult for Downstate coaches to find good jobs in Chicago."

Chiodo resigned at Morton after last season. "I felt I had done all I could at Morton," he said. He mailed out 30 applications. He was one of six finalists at New Trier and a finalist at Lincoln-Way Central. He also interviewed at Richards and was offered the head coaching job at Granite City.

Bill "Flash" Flanagan, the Bloomington-based recruiting analyst, summed up a summer of basketball observations before going to the hospital to undergo back surgery.

* The best player I've seen? Glenbrook South's 6-9 Jack Cooley, who is committed to Notre Dame. "He is skilled for a big man...mobile, good timing, good passer, great second and third efforts," Flanagan said.

* Player to watch: Peoria Central's Bobo Drummond, a 5-11 freshman, a high major prospect who is in a class with the best point guards in the state. He isn't as good as Washington senior Dyricus Simms-Edwards, who missed the summer with a stress fracture of his right foot, but he is the best freshman in the Peoria area.

Phil Smith Jr., one of our most frequent commentators, has an interesting question: Who are the top 20 high school football coaches in Illinois?

He thinks the quality of football in Illinois is improving because (1) the Chicago Public League has introduced an elementary school program to promote more interest among pre-teens and (2) the quality of college programs has improved at smaller colleges.

Right on both counts. Former Julian coach J.W. Smith, who once was the supervisor of the Public League's sports programs, deserves credit for starting the elementary school program. It has been very successful and helpful in improving programs at several schools, including Morgan Park, Hubbard and Simeon.

Readers Ted Terry and Wendy Peffercorn were eager to respond to our recent blog about the state of Illinois high school football, the fact that only five products were listed among the top 250 players in the nation according to preseason college magazines. They made some interesting points. But we need to correct the record.

Terry argued that the Chicago area isn't overlooked, just overrated, claiming not as many kids are playing football today, the Public League "has dried up," the Catholic League isn't what it used to be, the talent isn't very good, there is no speed and only an average skill level compared to warm weather states.

"How many true national recruits does Chicago produce?" Terry asked. "Name an all-star team since 1990 and it is embarrassing."

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.

We're back after a month on a Florida beach and it's time to respond to mail, e-mails and telephone messages and note some other reflections before I sort out more than 350 interviews and begin writing my fourth book--on high school football in Illinois.

* Chris Watt's commitment to Notre Dame came only a few days after the Glenbard West offensive lineman reportedly was given a 24-hour ultimatum by Ohio State. Watt, Morgan Park defensive end Craig Drummond and East St. Louis wide receiver Kraig Appleton have been nominated to play in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl next January in San Antonio.

* Drummond has become a hot property among college recruiters since it was revealed that he scored 22 on his last ACT exam. Until then, he was being downgraded by some coaches and recruiting analysts.

Let's be realistic.

The NBA's "One and Done" rule is a sham, an embarrassment to the NCAA that refers to such basketball players as "student-athletes" and keeps a straight face while saying it.

But...

Would Derrick Rose have been the No. 1 choice in last month's NBA draft if he had been eligible to come out after his senior year at Simeon High School?

No.