Keeler, McCarthy aim to meet again
The COVID-19 pandemic robbed Ryan Keeler and J.J. McCarthy of one last go-around as Nazareth football teammates. But Keeler already has circled the date for the next time he expects the pair to be on the same field together.
“I always tell J.J., ‘Sept. 25, 2021,’ ” Keeler said, jokingly. “Rutgers and Michigan at the Big House. I told him I’m sacking him five times.”
McCarthy, a Michigan quarterback recruit, was the No. 1 player in the Class of 2021 in Illinois before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida in order to play a fall prep season as a senior.
Keeler, a three-star defensive end, was the area’s top uncommitted player in the class before announcing Tuesday on Twitter that he has committed to Rutgers.
Oddly enough, Rutgers was the last of 32 Division I schools to offer Keeler a scholarship. But the Scarlet Knights were starting from a position of strength. Defensive line coach Jim Panagos had been recruiting Keeler for Minnesota before switching Big Ten teams.
“Coach Panagos left for Rutgers in January,” Keeler said. “I knew then [that Rutgers] was going to offer me because of how good a relationship we had.”
Keeler likewise was able to find a connection with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, whose off-thefield efforts also resonated.
“They set a GPA record,” Keeler said of the Scarlet Knights’ 3.35 spring semester mark and 3.09 cumulative GPA in Schiano’s first semester back leading the program. Keeler plans to major in business. “I didn’t want to go to a school and just be used for football,” he said. “I want to get a good degree and set myself up for life after football.”
Before that, though, he expects to play plenty of football — if not right away. When the IHSA postponed football until next spring, Keeler said he’d either transfer out of state to play this fall or enroll in a remote learning curriculum and graduate early. He chose the latter and is studying with Apex Learning while continuing to train. That continues a trend that has been going on since Nazareth finished runnerup in Class 7A last November.
Keeler, who is 6-5, played at 255 pounds last season. He dropped 30 pounds of fat and added 20 pounds of muscle to get to his current 245.
“It’s a game-changer,” Nazareth coach Tim Racki said.
When Racki saw Keeler’s improved speed in summer workouts, “I would joke with him, ‘Keeler, you’re like a wide receiver,’ ” he said.
Some of Keeler’s former teammates are playing this fall. Syracuse-bound tight end Landon Morris, now at Fishers, Indiana, caught a touchdown pass in a season-opening loss last Friday.
“Honestly, it’s a really weird feeling knowing I should have my first game [Friday],” Keeler said. “But
I’m not going to dwell on it, to sit here and be sad.”
Junior achievement
Four Illinois players made the cut in the first Rivals 250 national rankings for incoming juniors. Kaleb Brown, St. Rita’s versatile receiver/running back, is No. 66, followed by Nazareth receiver Tyler Morris at No. 70, Evanston linebacker Sebastian Cheeks at No. 97 and Naperville Central receiver Reggie Fleurima at No. 172. All are four-star prospects.
Exodus from Illinois
The list of high school players who have left the state in search of a fall season continues to grow.
Among the recent departures: Lyons senior linebacker Jimmy Pouba to Mesa, Arizona; Montini sophomore quarterback Tre Jones to Denmark, Georgia.; Nazareth senior offensive lineman Sean O’Hara to Southeast Polk, Iowa; and Nazareth senior receiver/ defensive back Amarion Evans to be a teammate of Landon Morris at Fishers, Indiana.