Morgan Park freshman in demand early
Tysean Griffin played his first high school football game March 27. Just over two weeks later, the Morgan Park freshman had his first Division I scholarship offer, and it was an emotional moment.
“It was kind of a surprise,” Griffin said. “I was in my gym class working out and got a text from my coach out of nowhere [that] I got my first scholarship [offer] from Temple. I almost cried.”
That was just the start. Since then, Griffin has added offers from Central Michigan, Syracuse, Iowa State and Illinois.
Morgan Park coach Chris James expects many more.
“We told a few [college] coaches about him, ‘This is a guy who could be special, who guys should get in on early,’ ” James said.
James said Griffin’s rare blend of speed and physicality will make him a hot prospect on both sides of the ball. The 5-11, 165-pounder has yet to turn 15 but started at defensive back and slot receiver in the abbreviated pandemic season.
“It was kind of tough because I didn’t think I’d have my freshman season,” Griffin said. “After months of waiting, I was just so ready to play football.”
James wanted to be careful with his budding star.
“Him being young, we tried to limit the amount of plays he played,” he said. “Next [season], we don’t know what he’ll play. He’s pretty good at both [offense and defense].”
Griffin started playing football when he was 6.
“I had seen my big brother [Tyrone Griffin] play in high school [for Hillcrest],” he said. “He made me want to play football, and I liked it.”
Now colleges like what they see in him. So does James.
“He’s better than we thought he was,” James said.
And the Morgan Park coaches thought he’d be pretty good.
Badke plans to step down
After 24 years, Brother Rice’s Brian Badke is ready for a break from coaching. Badke, 46, will lead the Crusaders this fall before stepping away to spend more time with his family.
“To do it the right way, it’s a 24hour, seven-day-a-week job,” he said.
Brother Rice is 63-38 over nine seasons under Badke with six IHSA
playoff berths, a Class 8A runnerup finish in 2018 and two more trips to the quarterfinals.
His son Mick, the oldest of his four children, played for Rice and graduated Thursday. He plans to continue his football career at Division III John Carroll.
Being able to schedule his life around his kids’ games is something Badke is looking forward to. “I like to be a fan,” he said.
He left the door open to returning sometime down the road.
CCL/ESCC realignment
The Chicago Catholic League/ East Suburban Catholic Conference released its realigned divisions for the 2021 fall and 2022 seasons, and there’s plenty of movement.
The powerhouse Blue lineup of Brother Rice, Loyola, Marist and Mount Carmel is unchanged, but eight schools are switching divisions. There’s also an open spot in the Red with St. Joseph closing at the end of this school year.
Here are the new lineups (with
the former divisions in parentheses for teams that will be changing alignments:
Green: Benet (Orange), Nazareth (Orange), Notre Dame, St. Rita.
Orange: Joliet Catholic (White), Montini (Green), Providence (Green), St. Laurence.
White: De La Salle (Orange), Fenwick, Mamion, St. Ignatius.
Purple: Carmel, Marian Catholic (Red), St. Patrick, St. Viator.
Red: DePaul Prep, Leo, Marian Central (Purple).