FORMER SIMEON STAR NEBRASKA-BOUND
Alante Brown, who went the prep school route this season after a successful career at Simeon, signed last week with Nebraska.
Brown, a four-star prospect, played receiver for St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Connecticut, after spending most of his time at Simeon as a quarterback.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder was the topranked recruit nationally among prep school players in the Class of 2020, according to 247Sports.com.
In an interview on the Big Ten Network, Brown said his time in Connecticut ‘‘changed me as a person. It made me more mature.’’
Brown said he plans to enroll at Nebraska next month.
Carmel hires McKie
For the first decade or so of the 2000s, Carmel was one of the premier football programs in Illinois.
Former Bears fullback Jason McKie thinks history can repeat itself for the Corsairs.
After serving as an assistant this past season, McKie was named Carmel’s coach last week. He replaced another former Bear, Blake Annen, who resigned after two seasons.
‘‘They’re hungry to get back to the way things were,’’ said McKie, who played for the Bears in 2003-09. ‘‘I’m hungry to revitalize a program that had success.’’
The Corsairs have had five consecutive losing seasons, quite a change from their run of 12 playoff berths in a row (2000-11) under longtime coach Andy Bitto. That stretch included the Class 6A title in 2003, runnerup finishes in Class 7A in 2001 and 2007 and three more trips to the quarterfinals.
‘‘I hope to replicate that and surpass that,’’ McKie said.
McKie, 39, retired from the NFL after the 2010 season and had a coaching internship with former Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner at Florida International.
‘‘I loved it,’’ McKie said.
But he wanted to spend more time with his family before committing to full-time coaching.
Now he’s ready to get back into the game at Carmel, which was 2-8 this past season.
The Corsairs graduated most of their starting linemen, but they have some other key pieces back. Among them are junior running back/linebacker Syone Usma-Harper, junior cornerback/receiver Jalen Burton, sophomore receiver Jon Buckley and junior linebacker Matt Marti.
‘‘We have a good quarterback coming back, as well, in [6-2 sophomore] Aidan Lucero,’’ McKie said. ‘‘Our running backs have the ability to run inside the tackles and get outside.’’
He hopes all that will be enough to make Carmel relevant again. ‘‘It’s just a great opportunity,’’ McKie said. ‘‘I’m excited.’’
THOMAS TRANSFERS TO THORNWOOD
Junior running back Nate Thomas, the offensive player of the year in the CCL/ESCC Orange this past season, announced on Twitter that he’s transferring from St. Laurence to Thornwood next semester.
Thomas ran for 1,754 yards and 26 touchdowns for the Vikings. He rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns in St. Laurence’s 35-34 victory against Simeon in the Prep Bowl.
‘‘This [is] what was best for me,’’ Thomas wrote on Twitter. ‘‘I give thanks to my old teammates and coaches at [St. Laurence].’’ ✶